Nevermind: The album that changed my life

Decided we would take a little break from the features today and do something a little different.

The year was 1992 and i had just done my confirmation in March of that year, i had confirmation money from my parents and family and i was just going on the age of 13. Up to that point i had being listening to various forms of music that included GUNS N ROSES, WASP, SPRINGSTEEN, THE BEACH BOYS THE RAMONES etc and i had just began learning how to play guitar and failing miserably.

The day after my confirmation i went into town to purchase a new “Hi-Fi” stereo that had a record player attached to it. Back in 1992 Stauntons sports shop used to be situated at the top of the main street where Mary’s of Castlebar is now situated. Back then they had a sports store downstairs and a music store upstairs that sold tapes, no cd’s just tapes.

Nirvana’s “NeverMind” came out in September 1991 but it wasn’t until 1992 when it began to major impact on people’s lives in Ireland.

I was anxious to find something new to listen to. I was growing tired of listening to the same Rock N Roll. I wanted something that was a bit more real. I spoke with the guy that was working behind the counter and asked did he have any recommendations, he smiled at me and handed me this tape with a blue cover and naked baby floating in a pool almost chasing and swimming after a 1 dollar note. I was instantly intrigued i handed the guy £10 in change that was left over from the hi-fi i had just purchased, the hi-fi was your typical 80’s beast of a machine with a turntable at the top. I carried that hi-fi up Rathbawn road in Castlebar. All i cared about was getting home and firing that baby up (no pun intended)

On first listen i was stunned, what is this i thought, from those very familiar opening chords to “Smells Like Teen Spirit” right through to “Something in the Way”. I must have listened to that album on repeat for the next few months. All of a sudden Nirvana and Nevermind was on every teenagers walk man. It opened up a whole new world for me, from searching out bands that may have been unnoticed in Ireland such as Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth, Teenage Fanclub and a whole host of others.
Fashion and style began to change, grunge was in and rock was out. I began to buy copies of The NME and Hotpress magazine, grew my hair and all i wanted to do was join a band.

Our local discos in the townhall in Castlebar began playing Smells Like Teen Spirit as the last song of the night and if you got caught in the moshpit you better prepare to have some form of shin or safety guards because people would loose their minds to this track. The local DJ’s nickname was Mr Techno aka Tony Gallagher who would literally have teenagers in a sweat by playing Rage Against The Machine and a whole host of other tracks from artists that were really beginning to make an impact. It was a great time to be alive!
It was a whole new era for music, it was raw, it was heavy, it was punk and i honestly believe that no other generation or music other than maybe brit pop has had such an impact on the way people dressed and styled their hair and the whole of society as much as Nirvana’s Nevermind when it was released in September of 1991. For me it will always have a very special place in my heart. As a matter of fact think i might crank it up right now.