‘I watched society burn a woman at the stake’: Melissa Auf der Maur on her bandmate Courtney Love and the farce of the 90s

Wary of working with Hole’s ‘impossible, drug addict’ lead singer, the bassist soon found herself entranced. So why did she jump ship for the Smashing Pumpkins – and start a relationship with Love’s enemy Dave Grohl? It took Melissa Auf der Maur 25 years to tell anyone, even her husband, how her father had died. It was April 1998 and she was the bassist in Hole, the blistering alternative rock band founded by Courtney Love. They were on a brief break from recording what would be the band’s hi...

By Jenny Stevens