Courtney Love plays surprise Hackney gig

Notorious American rock chick Courtney Love played a surprise gig in Lower Clapton at the weekend, where only the first 50 lucky fans in the queue managed to get into the shop co-owned by the drummer from Florence and the Machine.

At midday on Saturday a “crazy” queue began to form up Lower Clapton Road after the 49-year old tweeted she would be playing at Hayden Wylds record and coffee shop at 6pm.

Courtney Love is friends with the girlfriend of the shop’s co-owner, Chris Hayden, and agreed to stage the small acoustic show.

Mr Hayden, who is pretty famous himself, as the drummer in Florence and the Machine, said: “It’s not only good for us in the shop but it’s good for Clapton too, I can’t imagine anyone like that has played in Clapton before.”

“She was great, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen her perform, you can see that she’s a rock star basically, she’s a natural performer and she really enjoyed herself,” added the drummer who’s in the middle of recording the third album with his band.

Before her gig, the singer - whose real name is Courtney Michelle Harrison - posed for photos outside where she spoke to fans who had not managed to gain entry to the tiny venue.

Love performed next to the cake counter on a make-shift stage, and following a performance of “Doll Parts”, she told the audience: “You know I didn’t do a good job, but that’s the charm.”

Love, whose husband the Nivana frontman, Kurt Cobain, committed suicide in 1994 after taking a lethal dose of heroin and shooting himself, will play nine gigs on her UK tour this month, starting at Shepherd’s Bush Empire this weekend.