Courtney Love has once again denied rumors of a Hole reunion after hinting at one on social media. The singer clarified on Instagram that she and former bassist Melissa Auf der Maur are simply touring new songs together. This follows a pattern of teased but unfulfilled band comebacks.
Courtney Love sparked brief excitement among fans when she posted on Instagram, tagging former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur with the message, “So do we tell the kids about the tour?” However, just 48 hours later, Love set the record straight in response to a comment from Spin magazine. “No Hole reunion,” she wrote, adding that Auf der Maur and she are “playing some shows, new songs,” accompanied by emojis and a cryptic reference to “They didn’t see us, Patsy.” Love later clarified in an edit to her original post: “Not a reunion baby. Me and @xmadmx touring new songs.”
Hole, known for its core members Love and guitarist Eric Erlandson, officially disbanded in 2002. A 2009 reunion announcement led to a 2010 album, Nobody’s Daughter, but featured none of the original lineup besides Love. The band's last joint performance occurred in 2012 at an after-party for a documentary about drummer Patty Schemel. That set included Love, Erlandson, Auf der Maur, and Schemel, covering Beat Happening’s “Red Head Walking,” the Wipers’ “Over the Edge,” and Hole’s “Miss World.”
Love has repeatedly dangled reunion possibilities over the years, including a 2013 photo with Erlandson and a promised new single, a 2019 group shot with the Celebrity Skin-era members, and a 2020 tour plan with Auf der Maur disrupted by Covid-19. In a 2021 Vogue interview, she was unequivocal: “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... it’s just not gonna happen.”
Separately, Auf der Maur’s memoir, Even the Good Girls Will Cry, covering her time in Hole and the Smashing Pumpkins, is set for release on March 17. Love is featured in the documentary Antiheroine, which premiered at Sundance and portrays her as a survivor.
