Well, like most of these, this one is completely unexpected and it’s likely you’ve already heard the news, as confirmed by Foo Fighters themselves. Taylor Hawkins, one of the best drummers of the modern age, has ed away, aged 50. As an extraordinary drummer on all those Foo Fighters hits and albums, it’s not an easy gig to shoulder when one of your bandmates was the drummer in Nirvana. But he made it look effortless, and he did it with a smile.
The band’s statement reads:
The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins. His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever. Our hearts go out to his wife, children and family, and we ask that their privacy be treated with the utmost respect in this unimaginably difficult time.
Foo Fighters simply wouldn’t sound like Foo Fighters without Hawkins and his input to the band’s legacy will be there forever. “The Pretender” wouldn’t sound as ferocious as it does without Hawkins battering his kit and the bluesy lament of “Walk” with its infectious head-bobbing groove as it builds around Dave Grohl’s screams showed his finesse as a drummer. And whilst we know him best for being the mainstay on the drum stool, his own solo material in The Coattail Riders and The Birds of Satan shouldn’t be overlooked either. Then, of course, there’s his time with Alanis Morisette during her Jagged Little Pill era which initially brought him to the masses before g up to be a Foo Fighter. Plus, there’s his backing vocal appearances on Slash’s “Crucify the Dead” and Queen & Paul Rodgers’ “C-Lebrity”.
However, whilst the innumerable tributes have talked about his skill and talent on the drums, most of them talk more about what he was like as a person by those who knew him well or those who only briefly met him. It would seem he was the same in private moments as he was in interviews and documentaries and was never “on”. I only saw Foo Fighters once – I was at one end of Murrayfield Stadium, him at the other, a tiny speck behind his kit. But my favourite memory of him was watching Sonic Highways, as the band recorded “Outside” at Rancho De La Luna and drafted in Joe Walsh for a guitar solo. Walsh comfortably nails it on the first take but is happy to do it again, despite Butch Vig’s affirmation that he got it. All the while, Hawkins watches on, visibly mesmerised before losing it, all composure gone. And that’s really what shows you what’s at the heart of all musicians – they’re music fans just like all of us.
It’s likely be a long while before this one truly sinks in. Go find your favourite contribution of Hawkins and play it loud.
Header image by Rich Fury
