Melissa Auf der Maur Reveals Why She Could Not Join Elastica

Melissa Auf der Maur has reflected on the time she was unable to join Elastica, sharing that she felt it was “not cool” that circumstances forced her to decline the opportunity.

Read More: Melissa Auf der Maur: “The world needs Hole’s power, rebellion and intelligence right now”
The Hole bassist spoke about the situation in a recent interview with NME for the Does Rock N’ Roll Kill Braincells?! feature, where she tested her memory on key moments from her career and revisited stories from her years in the music scene.

At one point in the conversation, she was challenged to name the Britpop group that once approached her to become their bassist, which she correctly identified as Elastica.

The invitation came after their bassist Annie Holland was dealing with heroin withdrawal, and for a short time it looked like Auf der Maur might join them on stage at Lollapalooza before Hole’s management stepped in and stopped it from happening.

“It was a great opportunity, but frustrating that I had to turn it down! We as women in rock were always supporting and looking out for one another,” Auf der Maur told NME, as she continued explaining what made Elastica so memorable to her during that period.

“When Elastica arrived with that UK post punk energy mixed with strong pop hooks, they really stood apart,” she said. “People often talk about the ‘90s as a big era for women, but many did not stay visible and there still were not many around.

“Looking at that Lollapalooza lineup, yes, there was Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth and a woman playing bass for Beck, but overall it was still very male dominated. That is why Elastica felt so refreshing, especially as they stepped in after Sinéad O’Connor, who had previously filled that powerful female presence.”

After being reminded that Sinéad O’Connor had only agreed to appear at Lollapalooza because of her admiration for Hole, Auf der Maur responded: “Kindred spirits recognize each other, and those powerful women [O’Connor and Love] both faced being misunderstood, and they were fully aware of it while it was happening.”

Read the complete NME interview here, where the musician also discusses passing on a guest appearance in The Simpsons, collaborating with Rufus Wainwright, appearances on Top Of The Pops, and other moments from her career.

The bassist also revealed a new memoir titled Even The Good Girls Will Cry toward the end of 2025, which officially arrived on March 17. The book is described as a “part coming of age story, part travel journal, part psychedelic scrapbook” and includes uncommon images from different stages of her journey.

Regarding performances and recordings, Hole’s well known lineup featuring Auf Der Maur, Courtney Love, Eric Erlandson, and drummer Patty Schemel has largely been inactive since 2002, although a version of the group returned from 2009 to 2012 with a changed lineup.

Since that time, Love has gone back and forth about the idea of a full reunion, and recently sparked new rumors after posting a cryptic clip online. The video included Hole’s 1998 single ‘Malibu’ playing while showing Auf der Maur, along with a caption from Love that read: “So do we tell the kids about the tour?”

Soon after, Love cleared up the speculation, explaining that there would be “no Hole reunion”, but that she and Auf der Maur planned to be “playing some shows, new songs” together instead. More announcements are expected soon.