Rock Hits
A Lock of Kurt Cobain’s Hair Is Now up for Auction
A plaque containing six strands of Kurt Cobain’s hair, cut from the late Nirvana bandleader’s head by a fan in England in 1989, is now up for auction. The same auction includes rare and stage-used memorabilia from Black Sabbath, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney and more.
The items are all part of a block of rock-related collectibles hitting the market via the “Amazing Music Auction” from Arizona auction house Iconic Auctions. And the lock of Cobain’s hair comes with all the materials one would need to prove that the hair indeed hails from the musician.
Down toward the bottom of this post, see an image of the hair plus photos documenting the fan encounter that resulted in the loose strands.
Per an overview, the Kurt Cobain hair is “entirely fresh-to-market, and accompanied by an impeccable lineage of provenance including images of Kurt posing with the woman who cut this hair, scissors in hand, and a fantastic shot of the hair actually being cut! The lucky friend who trimmed the Nirvana frontman’s iconic blonde locks was an early confidant, Tessa Osbourne, who cut his hair in 1989 — well prior to his Nevermind breakthrough — whilst on the Bleach tour.”
Osbourne eventually gifted the lock, along with a note of authenticity, to an artist named Nicole DePolo following Cobain’s April 1994 death. Included with the hair on the auction block is an affidavit from DePolo and the actual images of Osbourne clipping the musician’s mane.
“From DePolo,” Iconic Auctions says, the hair passed directly to John Reznikoff of University Archives, “who was named in 2014’s Guinness World Records book as having the world’s ‘Largest Collection of Historic Hair.’ Our research indicates it is the only available Cobain hair on the market.”
Another piece of the grunge icon’s hair initially was included in a 2015 auction that saw Cobain’s MTV Unplugged sweater go for $137,500. However, the hair that time — it was reportedly given by Courtney Love to someone to use in making a doll — was ultimately pulled from bidding. (The Unplugged sweater sold again in 2019 for $334,000.)
Now, Nirvana fans have another chance to get real Kurt Cobain hair in the auction that went live Thursday evening (May 6). Interested parties can place their bids through May 15 at iconicauctions.com.