Kirk Hammett ‘Pleaded’ With Nirvana to Join Metallica Tour
Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett recalled “pleading” with Kurt Cobain to join his band’s double-header tour with Guns N’ Roses in 1992.
Faith No More took the support slot after Hammett failed to convince the Nirvana leader to take his band on the road alongside Axl Rose’s group.
“I had to make the phone call to Kurt to talk to him about the possibility of joining our tour and he just went on and on about how he just didn’t like what Guns N’ Roses stood for,” he told NME in a new interview. “I said to him: ‘Just go out there and represent Nirvana – just play the show and then that’s it’.”
He continued: “I pleaded with him, but he just wasn’t having it. So there you have it. It would have been great if Nirvana was part of that tour – but you know, Faith No More were great as well.”
In the same interview, he remembered receiving one of the “highest compliments” of his career when David Bowie described Lulu, Metallica’s controversial collaboration with Lou Reed, as Reed’s greatest album. “I remember Lou sharing with me that letter David Bowie sent… it was written on paper and it was such a glowing, gruelling appraisal of the Lulu album,” he said.
“When Lou showed it to me, it brought me to tears, bro! ‘Cause I might be some heavy metal guy, but Lou Reed and David Bowie made tons of great music that has been a huge inspiration to me over the course of my life.”
He added: “It’s hard for me to listen back to Lulu because it brings me back to that time – thinking about working with Lou and soaking up his vibe. It became a very emotional album for myself, and I’m afraid to listen to it!”