Nirvana Receive MTV Video Vanguard Award

Nirvana have added another major honour to their already legendary history, taking home the MTV Video Vanguard Award.

The prestigious award recognises an artist's impact on music videos and popular culture, with previous recipients including Madonna, Michael Jackson, Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses, Tom Petty, R.E.M., Beastie Boys and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Nirvana were honoured at this year's ceremony with a speech from Public Enemy's Chuck D, who reflected on the band's huge cultural impact during their rise to fame in the late '80s and early '90s.

While Kurt Cobain's death in 1994 brought Nirvana's career to an end, the band's influence has continued to grow. Their run of iconic tracks and videos, including "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Come As You Are", "In Bloom" and "Heart-Shaped Box", helped change the face of rock music and became staples of MTV.

Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl and Pat Smear were all on hand to accept the award, with Novoselic delivering the band's speech.

Reflecting on Cobain's impact, Novoselic said:

"Kurt was one of one. None of us could have imagined that our band, our sound, our aesthetic could mean so much to so many people, but ultimately the music had a life of its own."

He continued by saying Nirvana's music still resonates because people are "hungry for authenticity" and "something real, something uncompromising."

"Kurt would've loved that legacy," Novoselic added.

Across their career, Nirvana released nine official music videos, beginning with a 1990 version of "In Bloom" released through Sub Pop.

The band found much bigger success with the 1992 video for "In Bloom", directed by Kevin Kerslake and famously styled as a parody of the classic Ed Sullivan Show.

Then came "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Directed by Samuel Bayer, the video became a defining moment in Nirvana's rise to global fame and helped introduce the band to an enormous mainstream audience.

Videos followed for "Come As You Are", "Lithium", "Sliver", "Heart-Shaped Box", "You Know You're Right" and "Dumb".

The band's legendary MTV Unplugged in New York performance also spawned a number of videos following Cobain's death.

More than three decades after Nirvana changed the game, the MTV Video Vanguard Award is another reminder of just how massive, and lasting, their impact has been.