Evan Dando Reflects on Courtney Love’s Allegations to Kurt Cobain, Expresses Regret Over Lost Friendship
A new interview with Lemonheads frontman Evan Dando has resurfaced allegations made by Courtney Love to her late husband, Kurt Cobain, alleging an affair with Dando. The musician described the situation as “a bummer,” lamenting the lost potential for a genuine connection with the Nirvana icon.
Dando discussed the incident during a recent conversation with NME as part of their ‘Does Rock ‘N’ Roll Kill Braincells?!’ series, a retrospective look at memorable moments throughout his career. The interview tested Dando’s recollection of past events, including a 2022 performance at London’s Roundhouse during the 30th-anniversary tour of The Lemonheads’ album It’s A Shame About Ray. He correctly identified “Into Your Arms” as the song he was performing when Love joined him onstage.
When asked about whether Love had read his recently published autobiography, Rumours Of My Demise, Dando responded with stark candor: “Fuck, I hope not! I think I might not be alive [if she had].”
The conversation then turned to the allegations themselves – Love’s claim to Cobain that she and Dando had been involved romantically, reportedly in an attempt to incite jealousy. “My first spiritual experience was when Kurt died [in 1994], because I felt that he knew the truth – because he went to his death not knowing,” Dando revealed. He added that Pat Smear, a guitarist who played with both Nirvana and The Lemonheads, informed him that Cobain genuinely believed the affair had occurred.
Dando acknowledged attempting to present a balanced portrayal of Love in his memoir, but conceded he couldn’t omit the unsettling anecdote about her remark following the rise of grunge. “I hope I’m balanced in the book about her, but I couldn’t help saying that the first thing she said to me when grunge broke and everybody had money was: ‘Evan, this is great! We can put hits out on people now!'”
He further elaborated on a perceived connection with Cobain, describing a strange mirroring between the two musicians. “I felt that Kurt knew the truth a lot after he died. ‘Cause me and him had this weird barrier. We were doppelgängers in a way. People who worked with us both said they couldn’t even tell who was on stage,” Dando explained. “We listened to a lot of the same music and even his singing – I think that early on, he heard our early stuff. There’s something about his voice.”
Ultimately, Dando expressed a sense of regret over the fractured relationship. “This sounds like a podcast and it’s so boring and who-gives-a-shit, but we could have been friends and it’s a bummer,” he concluded. “And I think we are friends now ’cause he knows the truth. One thing Courtney always used to say was that he said his prayers every night.”
The full interview with Evan Dando,including discussion of his unreleased collaboration with Noel Gallagher on a song titled ‘Purple Parallelogram,’ can be found here. Rumours Of My Demise, initially announced in 2020, was published in May of last year.
The Lemonheads recently released their latest album, Love Chant, and are embarking on a UK tour beginning in Sheffield at the end of September, with further dates scheduled in Newcastle, London, Glasgow, Manchester, and other cities. Tickets are available here.
