In 1989, MTV began the Unplugged series, presented by Jules Shear, it was a chance to hear popular music performed acoustic, think of it as the Tiny Desk sessions of the 90’s. Many of these performances were later brought out as albums usually titled the band’s name followed by ‘Unplugged’. November of 1993 saw Nirvana grace the screens of Unplugs viewers, little did anyone know, maybe not even Cobain himself, that it would be one of the band’s last performances as, 4 months later, he would be found dead in his Washington home from a self-inflicted gunshot. This circumstance, along with the incredible performance, has made Nirvana Unplugged iconic, including some of their own hits like ‘Come as You Are’ and the only acceptable cover of David Bowie’s ‘The Man Who Sold the World.’ In June 2025, The Royal College of Music in South Kensington put on an exhibition, Kurt Cobain Unplugged, and I decided to go along.
The exhibition got mixed reviews on the college’s social media, it’s a little-known fact the Cobain struggled with the concept of fame and his fans seem more than ready to voice their opinions in his absence, commenting, ‘he would of hated this.’, ‘Sad as he would be rolling over and over.’ I personally always bare in mind that these people didn’t know Cobain personally and most people just like to have something to whinge about, however, after my visit, it wasn’t a case that I think he would have hated it, but I was left feeling slightly uncomfortable.
The displays were generally well put together and on arrival I was given a free audio guide to give me some more background information, nothing you wouldn’t have already heard if you’re a fan, but still nice to have. Everything is in one room and being able to see his grey cardigan, lyrics written in his own hand and the crowning glory, his 1959 Martin D-18E acoustic-electric guitar used in the MTV performance, original strings and all. The first thing that annoyed me was the audio guide, it first claimed that Nirvana didn’t find their signature sound until drummer there second drummer, Dave Grohl joined, I think this is doing Chad Channing a disservice, Bleach, their first album in which Channing played, is an incredible album and was them starting how they meant to carry on, no mention of Channing was made at all, give the man his flowers. It also credited Nirvana for creating grunge as a genre, which isn’t true at all, granted, they helped pioneer the genre, but you cannot discredit the likes of Soundgarden, Pearl Jam or Alice in Chains, just to name a few.
Above – Kurt Cobain’s 1959 Martin D-18E acoustic – electric guitar.
After looking through the artifacts on show, there was an adjoining room, I could hear someone playing Nirvana and singing on the guitar but I was taken aback when I saw he was wearing a blonde wig and grey cardigan, I thought it was strange and a little distasteful. The second room also featured a Guitar Hero set up and a colouring station with colouring pages of Cobain, yes, I snagged one to do at home. In addition to the performer, who, to his credit, was so good with the kids in the room, there was a second wig and cardigan. I understand that the college wanted to make the exhibition interactive for those with tiny humans, but considering the way Cobain died and it being an exhibition in his honour, I don’t think it was a necessary addition, it made me question if I would feel the same way if it was about a different artist that hadn’t died so young and by their own hand, for example, David Bowie, and I don’t think I would. Yes, music lovers worldwide mourned his death, including myself, but at 69 he had led a fairly long life. Also, Bowie was known for his different stage personas and the fashion that went with them. When I think Kurt Cobain, I don’t think fashion icon.
To conclude, for £5 if you’re stuck for something to do and you’re a Nirvana fan, I would say its worth having a look, The Royal College of Music is nestled amongst The Royal Albert Hall and The Natural History Museum so you could easily make a day of it, but frankly, I would judge a grown adult who chose to wear the ‘Kurt’ wig and grey cardigan that had ‘RCM museum’ crudely written on the back with Sharpie.
Exhibition runs 3rd June – 18th November 2025.