Nirvana's Kurt Cobain Arrested For Assault

Kurt Cobain, lead singer for the rock band Nirvana, was arrested June 4 for allegedly assaulting his wife, Courtney Love.

Police reports described the incident as an argument over the presence of guns in the couple's North Seattle house that led to a pushing match. Love said the two were playing loud music and wrestling, but she denied Cobain had assaulted her.

"Kurt is not violent, he is not a wife-beater, we are the most compatible people on earth," said Love, lead singer for the band Hole. Cobain didn't want to be interviewed, but he was present while Love spoke over the phone.

"It started because we were playing loud music in our garage and we live in a quiet neighborhood," Love said. "All of a sudden there were sirens and, like, three cop cars, six cops in the house."

Pushed around

When police arrived, Love told them she had thrown a glass of juice into her husband's face and he pushed her. She said she pushed him back, then he pushed her to the floor and choked her, the police report said.

According to the report, Love received a small scratch on her forearm and a scratch on her neck in the scuffle. Love, however, said she scratched her arm with a guitar string.

Police arrested Cobain for investigation of domestic assault, a misdemeanor. He was released from jail on $950 bail.

A prosecutor declined to file charges immediately and referred the case to the Family Violence Project. Charges could still be

filed, police said.

"Kurt spent three hours in jail. It was hell. I was crying the whole time," Love said.

Police took three guns into safekeeping - a Beretta .380, a Taurus .380 and a Colt AR-15 - as well as ammunition clips for the guns.

Love said the two did argue about having the guns in their house, but only after police arrived and asked if there were any weapons. Cobain had recently bought the guns, Love said; she didn't want them around.

Kurt Cobain and Nirvana pushed the sound of Seattle rock into national consciousness with the album "Nevermind." Led by the single "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Nevermind" has sold more than 4 million copies since its release a year and a half ago. On the heels of Nirvana's success, Seattle bands Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam all had platinum-selling albums, and grunge - a term used to describe their clothes as much as their heavy guitar sound - became a household word.

Turbulent ride

The rapid ride to stardom has been turbulent for Love and Cobain. Both have been outspoken in their opinions of other bands, and an unguarded comment by Love in an interview stirred rumors of heroin use. Cobain and Love have said they had a brief bout with the drug.

"We knew when to stop," said Love, now a mother. "Our daughter's going to be 1 in a month. We're just boring little kids in a punk rock band."

Seattle Times reporter Dave Birkland contributed to this article.