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Home / Entertainment

Fans mourn grunge rock icon Kurt Cobain 25 years after death

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5 Apr, 2019 10:29 PM2 mins to read

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Kurt Cobain of Nirvana died on April 5, 1994 in his home near Lake Washington. Photo / Getty Images

Kurt Cobain of Nirvana died on April 5, 1994 in his home near Lake Washington. Photo / Getty Images

On the 25th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death, dozens of people left flowers, candles and handwritten messages at a Seattle park near the house where the Nirvana frontman killed himself.

Cobain, whose band rose to global fame in the city's grunge rock music scene of the early 1990s, was 27 when he died April 5, 1994, in his home in a wealthy neighborhood near Lake Washington.

Fans trekked to nearby Viretta Park, leaving memorials on benches, where flowers mixed with handwritten phrases like "thank you for your art" and "find your place."

In an essay on the Crosscut news website, Cobain biographer Charles R. Cross wrote that few Seattle musicians "have been as tied to Seattle in the mind of the popular zeitgeist as Kurt Cobain."

Nirvana's breakthrough album, "Nevermind," was released in 1991. Featuring the hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit," the album went to No. 1 on the Billboard charts and has sold tens of millions of copies worldwide.

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Messages honouring the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain are written on a park bench near his home in Seattle. Photo / AP
Messages honouring the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain are written on a park bench near his home in Seattle. Photo / AP

Nirvana was the most prominent of the era's series of Seattle grunge bands, including Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains, that would go on to release best-selling records.

Cobain's angst-filled lyrics and his band's powerful, dark rock struck a chord with young people. Days after his death, thousands of people gathered near the Space Needle for a public memorial.

An investigation determined he took a massive dose of heroin and then shot himself.

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- AP

WHERE TO GET HELP:

If you are worried about your or someone else's mental health, the best place to get help is your GP or local mental health provider. However, if you or someone else is in danger or endangering others, call police immediately on 111.

OR IF YOU NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE ELSE:

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• 0800 543 354 (0800 LIFELINE) or free text 4357 (HELP) (available 24/7)
• https://www.lifeline.org.nz/services/suicide-crisis-helpline
• YOUTHLINE: 0800 376 633
• NEED TO TALK? Free call or text 1737 (available 24/7)
• KIDSLINE: 0800 543 754 (available 24/7)
• WHATSUP: 0800 942 8787 (1pm to 11pm)
• DEPRESSION HELPLINE: 0800 111 757 or TEXT 4202

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