Saturday 23 January 1999, we are in the [V] backstage area at the Sydney Big Day Out with all four touring members of Hole. Melissa (Auf Der Maur) is clutching a cup of coffee, Courtney's got a cold drink, Eric (Erlandson) and Samantha (Maloney), drummer, sit on the end and get a word in when they can ... We start the interview as Courtney disses previous attempts by another TV channel to light her in a flattering way. Fortunately for us our lighting person makes her look real good ...

Courtney: ... his lighting is better than the Associated Press lighting! See your lighting's great - what's their problem? Okay, they don't even get us, alright ... hope you're filming this (rattles her icecubes) a diva at work ... grrrr ... darling ...

Jabba: Well here we are outside backstage at the Big Day Out for 1999 and we're joined by the band Hole, holy my goodness gracious, we've waited all day and you're finally here.

Courtney: I know, I'm obsessed with my lighting. I'm such a diva …

Jabba: That's what you should've done with your career, done lights for bands …

Courtney: I don't know enough about it, I'm not a Streisand-type enough yet …

Jabba: Hole's latest album, their third album … I hope you haven't covered this forever and ever, but the record's dedicated to "all the stolen water of Los Angeles".

Courtney: We've covered that forever and ever.

Melissa: That was a mistake actually.

Jabba: Was it?

Melissa: No. (laughs)

Jabba: Was there really water stolen from Los Angeles?

Melissa: No, opposite. There was water stolen to Los Angeles to make it the paradise that it is …

Courtney: We pump it in. We started pumping it in in 1905 from Owen's Valley which was a real fertile valley and we turned it into a desert. We've just been stealing water ever since, in LA.

Melissa: It's a fake paradise.

Courtney: It's like Vegas, only lusher. Totally is …

Jabba: We were there at Christmas!

Courtney: Pretty huh? Well it's fake. But we like that about it …

Jabba: Are you kind of relieved to be out of your home country at the moment, cos it seems to be crazy.

Courtney: The Clinton thing?

Jabba: And the Saddam thing.

Courtney: Most of us don't turn on our televisions ... most Americans … You know what it is, it's a bunch of people at CNN talking to each other. Americans have tuned it out. And I can speak for everyone I know. From someone like your grandma, to little kids. No-one cares. It's the stupidest damnest most embarrassing thing in the history of our country since I've been alive.

Jabba: What about the Teletubbies?

Courtney: They're great! (Her eyes light up.)

Jabba: You watch them?

Courtney: Are you kidding? My daughter, oh … I love them. I wish that when she was really little, that instead of having 'Barney', she'd've had the Teletubbies. I love them … "La, la" (imitates a Teletubby) … their little tummies (rubs her tummy in a Teletubby way), they've got little televisions, they're like … I love them.

Jabba: Is the band a fan of the Teletubbies?

Eric looks ambivalent. Sam starts counting them off on her fingers.

Sam: It's Lala, Po, I forget the other …

Courtney starts holding her tummy again and making noises …

Jabba: Bret Easton Ellis, he claims that they are evil.

Courtney: Well he's just a cynical, jaded old twat.

Melissa: He's afraid of aliens.

Courtney: No, be diplomatic. I think he's cynical, I think he's from that cynical generation. He needs to get hip and get happy … we're very happy that Australia is such a happy country full of happy people. And that you like us, thank you very much.

Jabba: We're all ex-convicts you know.

Courtney: But I think maybe that's why we get along. Yeah, (looks at Melissa) her Dad was kind of an outlaw, and my Dad is evil (looks at the camera) …

Melissa : We're all outlaws … we're very fun loving criminals.

Courtney: We're the fun loving criminals. Yeah. I love that you're all good looking too …

Melissa: Healthy, good looking.

Courtney: … I see the most handsome audiences here in Australia that I've ever seen. Try an audience in England, (looks at camera again) no offence.

Jabba: So what's the next spot on the tour? England? "Yeah, we were just in Australia, man, that audience, what a bunch of ugly …"

Courtney: You know why we don't kiss much butt in England? They have to sign that crazy contract, and then I torture them. I love torturing the British press ...

Jabba: What a fun life! Cruising round …

Courtney: There is the Murdoch problem, but I can ignore it. I can deal with the Murdoch thing.

Jabba: You can deal with Murdoch?

Courtney: Well I dunno if I can deal with it … Sean Penn just wrote an excellent letter to Fox, about not using the private jet to fly to a premiere. It'll be on a national syndicated wire, I just read it this morning. It made me laugh harder than anything I've read in a long time. Sean Penn, (does her favourite chest-thumping 'props' gesture) soul mate … so we're gonna play, we're really happy … we're gonna play a Hoodoo Gurus song tonight I think.

Jabba: One of the Hoodoo Gurus is here in another band …

Courtney: I know, I know, and we asked him to … there were two Hoodoo Gurus here … we asked him to play guitar, cos I unfortunately, we just started, decided to do this song 'Bittersweet' tonight, and cos it's such a great song …

(Courtney and Melissa start singing together "Don't cry/for a love gone wrong/don't cry/used to be my favourite song/he's so bittersweet")

Courtney: Come on!

(Courtney spends some time admonishing Melissa cos she can't remember how the song goes.)

Jabba: Do you need more practice before …?

Courtney: That's the whole thing, it's bungee-jumping right? It's bungee-jumping, so we got the guitar player - at first he was reluctant, now he's gonna play on it.

Jabba: (talking to Sam) Do you know 'Bittersweet'?

Sam: I only learned it two hours ago.

Jabba: What about Men at Work, would you do a Men at Work song?

Melissa: I would.

Courtney: 'Bittersweet' is one of the greatest pop songs of the 80s. If it had been put out two years ago, those guys would've been like jillionaires. So, I really want … props (chest-thumping gesture again) …

Jabba: Maybe the royalties from your performance.

Courtney: No, I don't think it's gonna do anything … but thank you Australia for great pop songs.

Jabba: Your people are winding me up …

Courtney: I know, but I like you! Okay, one more question.

Jabba: Oh, okay. (Jabba searches through his notes desperately.)

Sam notices Jabba's t-shirt, which Jabba thought was Wesley Snipes.

Sam: I love your shirt. That's Coo Mo Dee, that's totally representin' New York! That's awesome.

Jabba: A reputable scientist offers to clone the members of Hole so the real members can pursue a life of leisure. Would you do it?

Courtney: Ask Sam, she's really good at this stuff.

Sam: Yes. Yeah. We talk about it all the time, and we've come to the collective conclusion, yes.

Courtney: Only if they would clone Rick Rubin and I could just be Rick Rubin for a day.

Jabba: Who would you be Eric?

Eric: (Looks stumped.) A lot of dead people that I'd wanna be.

Courtney: You'd be Kate Moss for a day. You've been inside of Kate Moss. (She laughs as Eric attacks her.) We've gotta go man, I gotta play, I'm sorry, I wanna talk to you all night.

And with that, they were gone.