Nirvana's 'Most-Played' Chart Revealed By PPL

Although he may not have approved of us all fawning over his memory and pining for his return, on what would have been his 50th birthday, I’m sure Kurt Cobain would forgive us for obsessing over his music. Whether we’ve sought solace in his ability to touch hearts and empathise with our teenage angst, or simply enjoy dancing along to the hits at parties, each of us have a favourite Nirvana song (for me it’s ‘Pennyroyal Tea’…).

Although I left the angst of teenagedom long ago, for me it is this empathy, and overwhelmingly powerful ability to connect and reassure, that makes Kurt Cobain one of the greatest songwriters of our time. From songs about chronic stomach pain, loneliness and love, to violence against women, everyone has their favourite Cobain song – the one that means the most to them.

But have you ever wondered what the most-played Nirvana songs are? If so – on the day Cobain would have turned half a century – music liscensing organisation PPL has revealed a Top 20 chart of the most played Nirvana tracks on UK radio and TV in the 21st Century.

Tim Silver, head of Music Reporting Services at PPL has said: “On what would have been his 50th birthday, we are delighted to be able to honour him [Kurt Cobain] with a chart of the 20 most-played Nirvana songs on radio and TV. There’re a lot of their best-known tracks in there but also one or two curveballs too.”