Courtney Love hints that Hole might reform

Courtney Love
(Image credit: Nicholas Hunt / Getty Images)

Hole leader Courtney Love has hinted again that the band might reform in 2021. 

Love, who is currently living in London, made the comments in an interview with the NME. "Before I came back I actually had Melissa [Auf der Maur, bass] and Patty [Schemel, drums] come with our tech to this old-world rehearsal studio. We had a good session, but it takes a bit of time to get back into the rhythm of it all. 

"It’s something I’d love to do and [I've] been taking guitar lessons over Zoom during lockdown and I’m writing again so we’ll see!"

In October 2019 Love posted a photo on Instagram from the rehearsal, showing herself, Schemel and Auf Der Maur, captioned, “Whose rusty af? Ladies !!!” using the hashtags #hole, #rehearsal, # tonight and #hollywood.  

She later commented, "We r so rusty. Just finding our way through songs n songs we like n riffs seeing what's what! It's cool. Af nice to be together."

In May 2019 Love spoke to The Guardian about the possibility of Hole reforming for the 25th anniversary of the classic 1994 album Live Through This, saying, "We are definitely talking about it. There's nothing wrong with honouring your past; I’ve just kind of discovered that. If you don’t, people will rewrite history and you will become an inconvenient woman."

Love has been hinting at a Hole reunion since as long ago as 2014, when the four band members – including guitarist Eric Erlandson – got together in the studio, sparking hopes of a follow-up to 2002’s Celebrity Skin. However, Love later indicated that tensions in the group were high, saying: “Nothing might happen and now the band are flipping out with me."

In an interview with Inquirer.net in July the same year, Love said, “I don’t want to get on the oldies circuit. I don’t need to do that for money. I want to put out music that is relevant today. Being one of the last chicks in a rock and roll band is a weird place to be. It’s scary not to be selling out." 

In 2016 she shared an Instagram post showing her with Auf der Maur and Schemel with the caption: “With the girls, serving up a Hole lot of something… maybe."

This year, Love and Auf der Maur were due to perform at Planned Parenthood’s Bans Off My Body event in March alongside Perry and Etty Farrell and others, but the show was shelved as lockdown restrictions were implemented.

Fraser Lewry
Online Editor, Classic Rock

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 38 years in music industry, online for 25. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.