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The Foo Fighters end ‘the toughest and most tragic year our band has ever had’ by pledging to continue without Taylor Hawkins

January 1, 2023

Foo Fighters’ Pat Smear, Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohl attend the Los Angeles premiere of ‘Studio 666’ at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood just a month before Hawkins died. (Photo: Rich Fury/Getty Images)

Following the sudden death of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins on March 25, 2022, the band’s future was uncertain, given the extremely close friendship Hawkins shared with Foos frontman Dave Grohl, as well as his crucial role in the lineup (he had been a core member since 1997, co-writing on every album from 1999 There’s nothing to lose). Four days after Hawkins’ death, the Foo Fighters canceled all future concerts indefinitely, including a performance at the 64th Annual Grammys (where they ended up winning three awards in absentia.)

While Grohl has occasionally made surprise live cameos — with Lionel Richie at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, with Billie Eilish at the Los Angeles Forum, with Sir Paul McCartney at Glastonbury — the band’s only live performances have been at two all-star tribute concerts held in London and Los Angeles last September. But now the Foo Fighters have confirmed in an emotional social media post that they will be continue without Hawkins – although they will naturally be a “different group”.

“As we say goodbye to the most difficult and tragic year our group has ever known, we remember how grateful we are for the people we love and cherish the most, and for loved ones who are no longer with us,” the band said. “The Foo Fighters were formed 27 years ago to represent the healing power of music and a continuation of life. And over the past 27 years, our fans have built a global community, a dedicated support system that helped us all get through the darkest times together. A place to share our joys and sorrows, our hopes and fears, and to join a chorus of life together through music. Without Taylor, we wouldn’t be never became the band we were – and without Taylor, we know we’re going to be a different band in the future. We also know that you, the fans, meant as much to Taylor as he meant to you. And we know that when we see you again – and we will see him again soon – he will be there in spirit with us every night.

The year and a half leading up to Hawkins’ shocking death was a particularly bustling and prolific time for the seemingly unstoppable Foo Fighters. They released their 10th Grammy-winning album medicine at midnightthe Record Store Day disco covers album Hi Satinand the horror-comedy movie Workshop 666; performed at the inauguration of President Joe Biden; received the Global Icon Award at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards; and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by McCartney.

Foo Fighters inductee Taylor Hawkins speaks onstage during the 36th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on October 30, 2021. (Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame )

The Foo Fighters were also one of the first actively touring bands to return to the stage once COVID restrictions eased in 2021, starting with a six-song set at SoFi Stadium’s Vax Live event on May 2 this year. year, followed by a full 23 songs. show at the 610-seat Canyon Club in Agoura, Calif., to celebrate the “reopening” of Los Angeles County nightlife on June 15. The Foos also reopened New York’s Madison Square Garden just five days after the Canyon Club show and headlined several festivals, including Chicago’s Lollapalooza. Overall they played around 40 shows in 2021, and at the time of Hawkins’ death there had been around 60 dates, in North America, South America, Europe and Australia, on the schedule. Foo Fighters for 2022.

Hawkins’ last show with Foo Fighters was in Lollapalooza Argentina on March 20, 2022. Five days later, he was found dead in his hotel room in Bogotá, Colombia, just hours before the Foos went perform at the Estéreo Picnic Festival; instead of the concert, candles were placed on stage that night to honor him. Two months after his death, rolling stone released an explosive report titled “Inside Taylor Hawkins’s Final Days as a Foo Fighter”, claiming that the drummer was on the verge of exhaustion after playing so many physically taxing, nearly three-hour shows, and had considered cutting his duties or even quit the band altogether because he “knew he didn’t have it in him”. The Foos camp has never publicly addressed these claims, but two of Hawkins’ close friends who were interviewed for the article, Matt Cameron of Pearl Jam and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, blasted rolling stonereport.

The cause of death has still not been revealed, and the Foo Fighters’ December 31 statement did not mention who might replace Hawkins in the lineup or any specific plans for a new album or tour.

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