Hole Biography
US hardcore guitar band fronted by the effervescent Courtney Love (b. 9 July 1965, San Francisco, California, USA; vocals/guitar). An ex-stripper and actress, who had minor roles in Alex Cox's Sid And Nancy and Straight To Hell, she was born to hippie parents (Grateful Dead associate Hank Harrison and Oregon therapist Linda Carroll) and even attended the Woodstock Festival as a small child. She spent the rest of her childhood years at boarding schools in England and New Zealand, where her parents had bought a sheep farm, before travelling around the world in her teens. She spent some time in San Francisco, founding the ill-fated Sugar Baby Doll (with L7's Jennifer Finch and Kat Bjelland), and also participated in a formative line-up of Bjelland's Babes In Toyland. In Los Angeles, Love appeared for a while as vocalist with Faith No More in an incarnation that only reached the rehearsal stage. Still in LA, she formed Hole with Caroline Rue (drums), Jill Emery (bass) and Eric Erlandson (b. 9 January 1963, Los Angeles, California, USA; guitar), following encouragement from Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon. The band quickly produced a trio of fine singles; "Retard Girl", "Dicknail", and "Teenage Whore", which were pointed and unsettling dirges, set in a grimly sexual lyrical environment.
Favourable UK press coverage, in particular from the Melody Maker's Everett True, helped make Hole one of the most promising new bands of 1991. Equally impressive was a debut album, produced by Don Fleming and Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth), followed by massive exposure supporting Mudhoney throughout Europe. It was on this jaunt that Love achieved further notoriety by being the first woman musician to "trash" her guitar on stage in the UK. In March 1992, Love married Nirvana singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain. That same month bass player Emery departed from the line-up, with Rue following shortly afterwards. Love's domestic travails continued to dominate coverage of her musical project, with Cobain's death on the eve of the release of Live Through This practically obliterating that album's impact. This served to do the much-maligned Love a genuine disservice, as the album contained another startling collection of songs, written with intellect as well as invective. It included "I Think That I Would Die", co-written with old friend and sparring partner Kat Bjelland, as well as a cover version of the Young Marble Giants' "Credit In The Straight World".
Replacements for Emery and Rue had been found in Kristen Pfaff (bass) and Patty Schemel (b. 24 April 1967, Seattle, Washington, USA; drums), though tragedy again followed Love when Pfaff was found dead from a heroin overdose in her bathtub shortly after the album's release, and just two months after Cobain's death. She was replaced by Melissa Auf Der Maur (b. 17 March 1972, Montreal, Canada) for Hole's 1994 tour, which extended into the following year with stays in Australasia and Europe. These dates again saw Love dominate headlines with violent and/or inflammatory stage behaviour. In 1997, she moved back into acting with a starring role in The People Vs Larry Flynt. My Body The Hand Grenade was a compilation of rare and unreleased material from the band's early days, compiled by Erlandson that served as a stopgap for the eagerly awaited Celebrity Skin. Lacking the raw abrasiveness of Live Through This, the album was ultimately a disappointingly mainstream work, although maybe this was not surprising considering Love's new "media friendly" image. Auf Der Maur left the band the following year to join the Smashing Pumpkins.
Courtney Love made the headlines again in February 2001 when she issued a countersuit against her record company, Universal, who sued the singer the previous month for allegedly backing out of her contract. Love argued that not only was her own contract unfair but that the major music labels act together as an illegal trust which forces artists to sign unfair contracts. Love and Erlandson elected to disband Hole while the lawsuit was still being processed.
Courtney Love released her solo album called America's sweetheart and worked with Brody Dalle, Samantha Maloney and Linda Perry. She has now left behind her drug problems and is focusing on her new album which is expected this summer (2007). Her new album will be produced by Linda Perry who has worked with James Blunt, P!NK, Christina Aguilera etc and had her own band in the past (4 non blondes).
Melissa Auf der Maur enjoyed success with her debut solo work titled Auf der Maur for which she colaborated with Queen's of the Stone age Josh Homme, ex Qotsa Nick Oliveri, Chriss Goss and ex boyfriend Tinker singer. She is now working on her highly expected new album.
