Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has shared a poignant tribute to the band’s late drummer, Taylor Hawkins, describing him as an "incredible human being" and lamenting that the "world is not the same" without him. Hawkins, who was 50 when he died suddenly in 2022, had been a pivotal member of the American rock group for over two decades.
Speaking to Zane Lowe on his Apple Music show, Grohl, 57, revealed the profound challenges the band faced in continuing after Hawkins’ death, stating they "talk about him every day". He reflected on their long history, saying: "We had Taylor Hawkins as our drummer for 25 years and, beyond being an amazing drummer, he was this incredible spirit."
Grohl continued, emphasising the personal loss: "He was this incredible human being and he was our brother. He was our best friend. So continuing on after Taylor was really complicated, not just for us, but for any drummer that was going to come in to like, you know, fill his shoes." The interview took place on what would have been Hawkins’ 54th birthday, adding another layer of emotion to Grohl’s comments.
The musician shared how Hawkins remains a constant presence in their lives. "We wake up in the morning and everybody just texts about how much we miss him and how the world’s not the same without him, but we still feel him very much," Grohl explained. "We always talk about him every f****** day. In everything we do we want to have that energy – we want to have that energy for Taylor."
Formed in 1994, the Foo Fighters currently comprise Grohl, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett and Rami Jaffee. American drummer Ilan Rubin reportedly joined the group in 2025 in Hawkins’ absence. With over three decades in the music industry, the band is set to release their latest album, Your Favourite Toy, in April.
Grohl also discussed the band’s creative direction for their twelfth record. "I got to this place where I was like, so what’s the intention? What’s the ambition? Like what are we? It’s our 12th record," he mused. "We’ve been a band for 30 years and as people, we’re evolving and we’re growing. Where do we go from here? What do we do?" He expressed a desire to create new music that would "make us jump around and smile and scream."
Recalling the album’s genesis, Grohl detailed spending a year and a half writing and experimenting, generating "30 or 40 different ideas." He found inspiration one night while listening to a playlist: "randomly there were these 10 songs in a row in my playlist that were all just like noisy, loud bangers. Up-tempo, like back to the old days. I was like, ‘wait a minute, maybe this is the record’."
The Foo Fighters, celebrated for hits such as Everlong and Best Of You, boast 15 Grammy Awards and six number one albums in the UK. The full interview with Dave Grohl is available to hear on Apple Music.
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