Footage of a 1990 Nirvana show will be auctioned, along with its copyright, in Los Angeles next Thursday, September 25.
Video and audio recordings of the grunge band’s show at the Iguanas venue in Tijuana, Mexico, are for sale at Bonhams with an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000 (£73,000 – £110,000).
Footage on Sony Video 8 tapes was recorded from two cameras on February 17, 1990. Those tapes are being sold, with digital transfers, copyright certification, and some Nirvana memorabilia from the same period.
The tapes have 1:31:19 of footage in total, with a 45:33 professionally edited film of the show.
The tour promoted Bleach, Nirvana’s first album. Thirteen songs are played by the band’s then line-up of Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and original drummer Chad Channing.
Cobain plays three guitars during the show. Two of which he smashes.
The film was shot by Peter Tackaberry, who was a film student at the time.
Four tapes containing historic, highly valued footage. Image courtesy of Bonhams.
He told Bonhams: “The show was electrifying, as seen in the footage. We feel lucky to have been there and appreciate Kurt and the rest of the band letting us film the show.
“This original master footage has sat untouched for over 35 years. Until now.”
Nirvana are perhaps the most valuable band for current collectors.
Most sought after are Cobain’s guitars. In 2020, the Martin acoustic he played on MTV Unplugged sold for $6 million. A Fender Mustang from the Smells Like Teen Spirit video made $4.5 million in 2022.
It’s unusual to sell copyrighted material at auction. Last year, a few seconds of film showing the motorcade of President John F. Kennedy speeding away from the President’s murder scene sold for $137,500 with copyright.
Some music artists have sold one-off recordings with copyright. Bob Dylan sold a single disc of a 2021 recording of Blowin’ in the Wing in 2022, bringing in £1.4 million.
