Does a newly posted photo potentially tease the return of Hole‘s classic lineup? In a new Instagram post from the From Her to Eternity account, Courtney Love and bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur are seen hanging out together in a studio, with the caption noting it’s the first time they’ve been “in studio together in 24 years.”
The Hole Reunion Story
Courtney Love recorded three ’90s albums with Hole, each with guitarist Eric Erlandson. For a majority of that run, the band also included bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur and drummer Patty Schemel. But the 2000s brought about lineup changes and by 2010 a fourth album from the band with Love as the only member of that core four was released.
In the time since, the reunion of the band’s core has oft been discussed, but rarely have they played together. The lone time came in April 2012 with the four members coming together onstage for the first time in 15 years at a show in Brooklyn. The performance took place at the Public Assembly in Williamsburg as part of an after party for a documentary viewing of Hit So Hard about the band’s drummer Patty Schemel.
That appeared to open the doors for a Hole reunion, and in April 2014 Love declared that she had been back working with the classic lineup. But a month later she appeared to sour on the reunion, claiming that a reunion would only mean something if they did something relevant and by the summer she ruled out the reunion claiming she was not interested in the “oldies circuit.”
In 2016, Love reignited hope of a reunion by posting old photos online and speaking publicly of her desire to play with the band again, but nothing came of it. Then, in 2019, she stated that Hole were “definitely talking about” getting back together again.
But, in 2021, she once again threw water on the possibility of the band reuniting telling Vogue, ”No, absolutely not. And you guys have gotta get over it. Our old manager Peter Mensch calls once a year to ask about a reunion: ‘Hey, just doing my thing I do every year with you and Jimmy Page [of Led Zeppelin].’ And I’m so honored to be in that company, but it’s just not gonna happen.”
She went on to add, ”We’re all really good friends and Melissa and I are especially close—we talk every day,” said Love. “But Eric is kinda off-the-grid right now—I think he’s in Japan literally becoming a monk. I’m not even kidding. Melissa, Patty, and I think he’s become a monk or something on that level of aestheticism.”
In recent years, Love has spoken about working on new music and digging into writing her memoir. But as far as Hole’s future, Love hadn’t offered much in terms of an update until a guest appearance earlier this year playing with Billie Joe Armstrong’s cover band, The Coverups, back in February. As she exited the stage, she told the crowd, “Later …. I’ll be back in Hole.”
Of course, Love’s claim that she’ll be back in Hole doesn’t necessarily mean a full-fledged reunion of the classic lineup. She has previously recorded under the Hole moniker without any of the other ’90s members.
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What Else the Photo Could Mean
As Love stated, she and Auf Der Maur have remained close friends through the years. It’s notable that the post appeared on the From Her to Eternity Instagram. The account was set up to “celebrate the contributions of women to music,” with Love serving as one of the Instagram account’s curators.
The series of photos look more like they’re for a photo shoot with no instruments or recording equipment spotted in site. So this “studio” reunion could be more to speak about the contributions of women in music than it is the pair working out some tunes.
Still, the sight of Love and Auf der Maur hanging out together raises our hopes that we may eventually see the classic lineup back onstage together at some point.
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Gallery Credit: Philip Trapp