Courtney Love has sent fans into overdrive after sharing a cryptic social media post that suggests a Hole tour is on the horizon.

The grunge icon shared an Instagram video featuring bassist Melissa Auf der Maur set to the band’s 1998 hit “Malibu”, accompanied with the caption: “So do we tell the kids about the tour.”

Auf der Maur responded to Love’s post with equally mysterious words: “it starts with eternal love….”, fuelling speculation that the long-dormant band might finally be preparing to return to the stage.

Love’s teases didn’t stop there. She later reposted a nostalgic photograph from the Chateau Marmont, taken months before Hole released their monumental album Celebrity Skin in September 1998.

The social media hints follow Love’s recent surprise appearance with Billie Joe Armstrong’s cover band the Coverups in London, where she explicitly teased fans about her future plans. “Later, I’ll be back in Hole,” she declared.

The original Hole lineup called it quits in 2002 following The Beautiful Monsters Tour, which they co-headlined with Marilyn Manson. Love attempted to revive Hole between 2009 and 2012 with a different lineup, but the reformation proved short-lived.

Love has previously dismissed speculation about a Hole reunion, telling Vogue in a 2021 interview: “No. Absolutely not. And you guys have gotta get over it.

“Our old manager Peter Mensch calls once a year to ask about a reunion: ‘Hey, just doing my thing I do every year with you and Jimmy Page. And I’m so honoured to be in that company, but it’s just not gonna happen.”

In November 2020, Love told NME that she wasn’t against the idea of getting the group back together, saying she had been taking guitar lessons in preparation.

“Before I came back I actually had Melissa and Patty come with our tech to this old-world rehearsal studio,” she revealed.

Auf der Maur is currently preparing to release her memoir, Even the Good Girls Will Cry: A 90s Rock Memoir, set for release on 17th March, which chronicles her journey from Montreal through her tenure with both Hole and Smashing Pumpkins.

Meanwhile, the recent Sundance premiere of Antiheroine, a documentary exploring Love’s life and career, has renewed interest in her artistic legacy.