Never before seen photos of one of Nirvana’s earliest UK gigs have been shared online by Manchester based photographer Richard Davis. The photos depict the band at their second ever UK gig at Manchester Polytechnic Students Union, that took place on October 24, 1989.

The photos depict the band head banging and dancing while playing to an adoring crowd, who seemed equally as a frantic as the now-iconic band. Some photos even depict the members of the group stagediving into the middle of the audience, as was common in many punk gigs that took place at the time. The collection have quickly found viral fame, and been shared by music lovers globally.

Davis told the Manchester Evening News that he discovered the negatives of the photos mid-lockdown, having previously never developed them. “For years I was convinced that someone had nicked the negatives. But about two months ago I was going through my kids’ stuff and found it among the old primary school photos. I looked at it and thought ‘Oh my God, I thought I’d lost them,” he explained to the publication.

He also described his memories of the gigs, stating he was not familiar with the band when attending. “I didn’t know much about Nirvana at the time. I’d heard a couple of songs off Bleach, but I was a big fan of Sonic Youth, Mudhoney and Dinosaur Jnr, so I knew it was going to be good,” Davis stated. “I laugh about it now, but afterwards one of Nirvana’s team asked me if I’d like to interview the band and I turned them down because I was knackered.”