Hole was founded in 1989 in the USA (California). The direction in music is alternative rock. Founders: Courtney Love and Eric Erlandson, supported by Kim Gordon. The first rehearsal took place in the same year at the Hollywood studio Fortress. The debut line-up included, in addition to the creators, Lisa Roberts, Caroline Rue and Michael Harnett.
Interesting Facts. The group was formed by an advertisement filed by Courtney in a local small circulation publication. The name also arose spontaneously: initially, it was planned to perform under the name Sweet Baby Crystal Powered By God. The group's name Hole, according to Courtney Love, was taken from the Greek legend "Medea" (auth. Euripides).
Hole's early years
After a series of performances with short-lived rock bands, Courtney Love decided to launch her own project. This is how Hole was born. By 1990, the starting line-up of the group had changed: instead of Lisa Roberts and Michael Harnett, Jill Emery came to Hole.
The band's debut singles were released in 1990. These were: "Retard Girl", "Dicknail", "Teenage Whore" (performed in a lyrical style with a touch of erotica). The success of the first creations of the Hole team is evidenced by the reviews of the British press of those years.
The group was talked about as one of the most promising in 1991. After the recognition of these tracks by the public, Courtney wrote a letter to Kim Gordon with a request to become a permanent producer of the project. In the envelope, she put a hairpin in the form of a white cat with a red bow on her head (Hello Kitty is a Japanese pop culture character) and recordings of the group's early compositions.
Debut work Hole
Hole's first full length album was released in 1991. Recorded and promoted "Pretty on the Inside" with two producers: Don Fleming and Kim Gordon. The album peaked at number 59 on the UK National Hit Parade, with tracks from it staying on the UK charts for about a year. This could be considered a success, followed by a joint European tour by Hole and MUDHONEY (an American grunge band).
It was at these European concerts that Courtney became known as the first female performer to smash her guitar on stage.
"Pretty on the Inside" was inspired by the Gridcore and No Wave genres in music. Electronic devices for creating effects were used. Also interesting is the fact of borrowing guitar settings from another well-known rock band at that time, Sonic Youth (direction-experimental rock). The Village Voice magazine recognized the creation of Hole as the album of the year.
The compositions presented in "Pretty on the Inside" were built around the themes of confrontation - the real and the fake, the prejudices of sexism and new trends, violence and pacifism, beauty and ugliness. A common, characteristic feature is figurativeness.
In 1992, the founder of the group marries another well-known performer, the leader of NIRVANA - Kurt Cobain. These events and Love's pregnancy put the band on hold for a while.
The heyday and first breakup of Hole
During a period of creative lull, Courtney and Eric Erlandson began preparations for the release of a new album. It was decided to change the direction of creativity in favor of more melodic pop-rock (with the addition of grunge). This caused controversy in the team, Jill Emery and Caroline Rue left Hole. They are replaced by Patty Schemel (drummer) and Kristen Pfaff (bassist).
For a long time the band couldn't find a bass player. On the recording of the single "Beautiful Son", this role was played by producer Jack Endo, and "20 Years in the Dakota" was played by Courtney Love on bass.
In 1993 Hole began recording their second album, Live Through This. The emphasis was on straightforward melodic rock with meaningful lyrics. It was decided to refuse excessive sound effects. The result was 52nd in the US charts and 13th in the UK charts.
"Live Through This" was voted "album of the year" and went platinum. In addition to their own compositions, the line-up includes "I Think That I Would Die" (co-production by Courtney and Kat Bjelland) and a cover version of "Credit In The Straight World" (performed by YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS).
The album was given a 10 out of 10 by Spin, with Rolling Stone calling it "the strongest piece of female rebellion ever recorded on tape".
A difficult period in life and influence on the music and work of the group
Events in Courtney's life had a strong influence on the music of that period: they tried to deprive her of parental rights on charges of drug use. There was a lot of negativity towards the singer from the media.
The album was released in 1994 just a week after the tragic death of Kurt Cobain. In this regard, the final track was replaced: the ironic "Rock Star" was replaced with "Olympia", a satire on the American feminist movement in rock music.
Many people confuse "Olympia" with "Rock Star" because of the hasty replacement: the final composition was changed after the disc packaging was printed.
The death of her husband greatly affected Love. She temporarily stopped performing and did not appear in public for several months. "The trouble does not come alone" and in 1994 a new tragedy happens in the Hole team. Bassist Kristen Pfaff dies of a heroin overdose.
Kristen was replaced by Melissa Auf Der Maur. At 95 Hole, he hosts an acoustic concert on MTV (on Valentine's Day, February 14), participates in a UK tour and releases a number of new singles ("Doll Parts" and "Violet").
In 1997, the band began recording their third album, Celebrity Skin. They chose a style with a smooth sound, in a radio format (power pop). Circulation in the United States amounted to 1,35 million records. At the start, in 1998, the album took 9th place on the Billboard charts.
There is another obscure Hole album released in 1997, My Body, The Hand Grenade. It included early, unreleased songs from the band. The assembly was prepared by Erlandson. Example: "Turpentine", performed back in 1990.
At the end of 1998, the team conducts a joint tour with Marilyn Manson. In the same year, Melissa Auf Der Maur left the group, deciding to start a solo career. In fact, the group breaks up (the last concert took place in Vancouver). It was officially announced in 2002.
Attempts to revive the band and performances before the second breakup
In 2009, Courtney Love attempted to revive Hole with a new line-up of Stu Fisher (drums), Shaun Daley (bass) and Micko Larkin (guitar). The musical group released the album "Nobody's Daughter", which did not enjoy much success. In 2012, Love announced the final dissolution of the group.
Future prospects
In 2020, in an interview with NME, Courtney Love stated that she would like to revive Hole (a year earlier, a joint rehearsal was held with Courtney, Patty Schemel and Melissa Auf Der Maur). In the same year, the group was planning to enter the New York stage. The concert was supposed to be a charity. The event was canceled due to the pandemic.
During the existence of the group, more than 7 million discs were released, Hole was nominated 6 times for Grammy. "Live Through This" was included in the top 5 albums of the 90s (according to the authoritative music magazine Spin Magazine).
