Kurt Cobain walked around in a spiritual daze, "almost in tears" when he was in Cork.
Never shy about extolling the virtues of their county, the news that the Nirvana frontman has roots in the ‘People’s Republic’ has delighted Corkonians everywhere.
The band supported Sonic Youth in the city’s Sir Henry’s nightclub in August, 1991 – an event that the majority of Cork rock fans aged over 40 swear they have attended.
Now it has emerged in a “lost” 1993 interview with the rock icon in Guitar World magazine that his visit to the Real Capital stirred some powerful feelings in the rock icon.
“I never really knew about my ancestors until this year, when I learned that the name Cobain was Irish,” he said.
“I found out by looking through phone books throughout America for names that were similar to mine.
“I couldn’t find any Cobains at all, so I started calling Coburns. I found this one lady in San Francisco who had been researching our family history for years.”
When the interviewer asked: “So it was Coburn?”, Cobain responded: “Actually it was Cobain, but the Coburns screwed it up when they came over.
“They came from Co Cork, which is a really weird coincidence, because when we toured Ireland, we played in Cork and the entire day I walked around in a daze.”
“I’d never felt more spiritual in my life.
Kurt Cobain in Cork, sure where else would he go for the craic? @gaffneyamy @CorkRebelWeek pic.twitter.com/rMWFZzLo8Q#KurtinCork-OldDays
— Native Irish Honey Bees (@Irish_Bees) May 23, 2013
“It was the weirdest feeling and I have a friend who was with me who could testify to this I was almost in tears the whole day.
“Since that tour, which was about two years ago, I’ve had a sense that I was from Ireland.”