"I was told by somebody from Nirvana’s label that they sold an extra million copies of Nevermind after my parody came out." How Nirvana rescued 'Weird Al' Yankovic from "the wilderness"

Smells Like Nirvana video still.

Comedian and musician 'Weird Al' Jankovic credits Nirvana with rescuing his career from "the wilderness" in the early '90s.

In April 1992, the Californian released Smells Like Nirvana, an entertaining, tongue-in-cheek parody of the Seattle band's game-changing breakthrough hit Smells Like Teen Spirit, the opening song, and first single, on the trio's major label debut Nevermind.

The song, sanctioned for release by Kurt Cobain, became Yankovic's second Top 40 hit in the US, eight years on from his Michael Jackson parody Eat It peaking at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: its parent album, 1992's Off The Deep End, went on to sell one million copies in the US.