Nirvana – Bleach

Bleach is the debut studio album by American rock band Nirvana, released on June 15, 1989, by Sub Pop. After the release of their debut single “Love Buzz” on Sub Pop in November 1988, Nirvana rehearsed for two to three weeks in preparation for recording a full-length album. The main recording sessions for Bleach took place at Reciprocal Recording in Seattle, Washington between December 1988 and January 1989. It is the only Nirvana album released on the Sub Pop label and their only album to feature drummer Chad Channing.

Bleach did not chart upon initial release, but was well received by critics. When reissued internationally by Geffen Records in 1992 following the success of Nirvana’s second album, Nevermind, Bleach peaked at number 89 on the Billboard 200, peaked at number 33 on the UK Albums Chart and number 34 on the Australian albums chart. In 2009, Sub Pop released a 20th anniversary edition of Bleach featuring a live recording of a 1990 Nirvana performance in Portland, Oregon as bonus material.

Bleach had sold 40,000 copies in North America before the release of Nevermind. It has since been certified platinum by the RIAA and has sold more than 1.9 million copies in the United States alone. It is Sub Pop’s best-selling album to date and is unlikely to be surpassed by competitors. Frontman Kurt Cobain’s death in April 1994 also led to a resurgence in the album’s popularity, reaching number one on the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart. In April 2019, Bleach was ranked No. 13 on Rolling Stone’s 50 Greatest Grunge Albums list.