The 1990s tour Kurt Cobain wouldn’t tolerate performing on: “So fucked up”

A resurfaced 1990s interview reveals that Kurt Cobain declined an invitation for Nirvana to support Ozzy Osbourne on tour, part of a broader pattern in which the band turned down high-profile support slots to preserve creative control over their live shows. The encounter took place at North Hollywood's Devonshire Studios, where Nirvana and Osbourne's teams were both working on mixes at the same time, and Cobain later described Osbourne as visibly intoxicated during their brief, wordless encounters in the corridors.

Cobain told journalist Gilbert Blecken that he and Osbourne never spoke, recalling having to press against a wall as a heavily drunk Osbourne stumbled past. Despite Osbourne's offer to join his tour, Nirvana turned it down, with Cobain saying he had no wish for the band to play "huge arenas supporting someone" despite acknowledging it might have been fun. The article notes Nirvana similarly rejected support slots with Skid Row, Rush and Guns N' Roses, while Alice in Chains later took up the Osbourne tour offer instead; Osbourne, for his part, later said in his 2009 autobiography that he was proud to learn Cobain admired him.