MARK ARM
"I like Courtney, but she's fucking bonkers." - Mark Arm, Mudhoney.

KURT COBAIN
"I just want you people to know that Courtney Love, lead singer of the sensational pop group Hole, is the best fuck in the world." - Kurt Cobain, Nirvana, Courtney's now deceased husband.
 

JULIAN COPE
"I wish I'd never known Courtney now, cos I thought she was gonna be a really cool person and now she's a total dickhead. She needs shooting and I'll shoot her. This is her big chance and she's fucking up so badly. She was horrible, though. She was one of those people that you want to talk about all the time, but being around is unbearable.
But in 1981 there was something that was a light in her. I spent her 16th birthday with her. She was fixated with the same shit she's coming out with in interviews now. She used to phone me at 4.30am and the conversation would go : 'Fuck Fucking FUCKING AAARGH!' 'Courtney, what?' 'I THINK I'VE FUCKING FUCKING FUCKING GOT IITTTTTT!!!!! AAAAAAAGH!' 'Got what, Courtney?' 'THE NANCY ROLE! THE FUCKING NANCY FUCKING ROLE! AAARGH!' But she didn't get it, so she went mad. And she's had to actually become Nancy Spungen." - Julian Cope, knew Courtney in the Liverpool scene (his band is so famous that I can't even remember the name).
 

BILLY CORGAN
"She says I'm paranoid because, quote - unquote, I have this thing that she's going to fuck me publicly. And then, the first thing she does is go and call up a reporter and says 'Billy's not really involved, and he doesn't have any writing credits.'
I was the svengali on that album. It was only a few months ago and there she was, totally denying it. Basically, she's still very, very concerned about how these things are seen in indie - rock - world thinking. She's doing Versace ads but she's still worried about what Melody Maker's gonna say! It's one world or the other, Courtney.
She's beyond indie - pop's pull, her gravity is way beyond that. She's in the diva business and divas have to keep rolling. Just look at the Celine Dion's of this world - they keep rolling. They're like entities beyond themselves. If she had her act together, she could obscure someone like Patti Smith - she has that much raw talent. In terms of intelligence, she's almost a genius in an insane kind of way.
She said I'm a great fuck? I am a great fuck. I mean, you'd have to be a great fuck to be with her." Billy Corgan, Smashing Pumpkins (ex-boyfriend of Courtney's).

EVAN DANDO
"I saw her, everything was fine. She's totally like completely changed. She doesn't even take pills or nothing. She's taking Hollywood by storm, she got a Golden Globe nomination, she's scarily together right now. Courtney's always amusing, I'll say that for her. She's incredibly intelligent and really funny. Whatever.
She's Courtney and she's off drugs. I'm really happy for her because obviously that wasn't working for her." - Evan Dando, The Lemonheads, rumoured ex-boyfriend of Courtney's.
 

LARRY FLYNT
"I first met her at a script reading at my house. She arrived three hours late. Woody (Harrelson), who'd been waiting around the whole time, was mad. She came in and Woody said, 'Courtney, when we start shooting, I'll give you a half hour. Anybody deserves a half hour. But don't ever do this to me on the set.' Love did not like Woody's attitude, and asked him pointedly, 'Who the fuck are you?' At that point, Woody jumped up from his chair and threw Love to the ground like a professional wrestler. When she started to fight him, he got on top of her, pinned his knees on her arms and said, 'Bitch, you're not getting up til you apologize.' Love apologized, and they got on just fine after that." - Larry Flynt, pornographer, subject of Courtney's film The People Vs Larry Flynt.
 

STEVE MALKMUS
"Courtney was her own little star act. She was taking drugs, invoking her husband, anything to get attention. Which she still does, but now she's learnt that there's other ways to get attention. Which is fine. She's obviously interesting to people. I mean, everything revolves around her, ya know? That's her thing. You have to relate to her. It's like, I'm reading The Beautiful And The Dammed by F Scott Fitzgerald and essentially his wife's character always wants to hear about herself, like, 'Really? and what did I do?' Courtney's like that." - Steve Malkmus, Pavement (toured with Hole in 1995 with the Lollapalooza tour).

MARILYN MANSON
"I asked myself, 'What is the last band in the world I would ever, ever want to tour with?' and it was Hole, beyond a doubt. But then I thought, 'I love a challenge, I like to surround myself with aggravation, it helps me perform better.' And I thought, 'Well here's a chance to show Courtney the difference between being a celebrity and being a real rock star.' We're just going to blow her off the stage. My show will be the biggest and greatest show of the 90s. She never talked to me until I sold a million records. Sometimes we talk and it seems ok, other times, she's just a bitch. I really don't like her too much." - Marilyn Manson, whose tour with Hole ended with Hole leaving the tour.
 

EDWARD NORTON
"If Nick Broomfield never found anyone with affection for Courtney Love, it's only because he conspicuously avoided the countless friends, colleagues and fans who appreciate her talent and admire her as a person. But then, why would Broomfield have opened up his film to those of us who work with Courtney and are close to her when there are so many bitter left - behinds and desperate attention - seekers eager to validate his attack on her character? Inquisitors in every age, scared of forceful women, have used all kinds of half - baked testimony to whip up chants of 'Burn the witch!' " - Edward Norton, Courtney's co-star in The People Vs Larry Flynt and ex-boyfriend.

TRENT REZNOR
"No, I didn't fuck Courtney Love. She's a manipulator and a careerist." - Trent Reznor, Nine Inch Nails, Courtney's ex-boyfriend.

CHRISTINA RICCI
"She gave me all this advice. She said 'You know, you don't have to be interesting all the time' and I thought, 'oh, that's right.' " - Christina Ricci, Courtney's co-star in 200 Cigarettes, after Christina rang Courtney to apologize for calling her a "sellout."
 

GAVIN ROSSDALE
"I was in a real state. I think that it'd be expected anyway, cos it's not a normal situation to be in. No one tells you how to deal with fame. So yes, Courtney was the best friend I could have : the fact that she said, 'just relax, let it go, you'll feel better...' When bad things are written about you, it's like every word is five inches big. She knows all about that." - Gavin Rossdale, Bush (rumoured former lover of Courtney's).
 

MICHAEL STIPE
"I think what she has to offer just as a pop icon to the public at large is so significant. There's no comparison to what you usually get being a musician or an actor. No comparison. She's not part of the machine, she hasn't sold herself out. She's made certain compromises that are acceptable to her, if only just, and in doing so she's widened her audience a great deal. And if, in doing that, what she's done has raised the stakes a little bit in terms of what the value is, what the quality is, then that's an achievement." - Michael Stipe, Rem (friend of Courtney's)