Seconds after Glastonbury’s full line-up emerged in May, eagle-eyed fans were quick to spot that one band playing high up on the pyramid stage bill feels a little… mysterious. Sandwiched between Nineties rockers Texas and recent strop-throwers Royal Blood, The Churnups immediately raised suspicion as a completely unknown group with no online presence, in one of the highest-profile slots of the entire festival.
Though a newly-reformed Pulp were touted as possible contenders, their drummer Nick Banks quickly shut it down. "Though it’s very tempting to tease you lot again. I know nothing of the ‘Churnups’ band. OK?” he tweeted. Foo Fighters, on the other hand, have done very little to quell the growing rumours and on June 6, frontman Dave Grohl further stoked the flames by dropping a huge hint.
“Hey, it’s been a while,” he wrote in a message to fans on social media. “Now that we’ve returned from our first run of shows, I felt compelled to reach out and thank you all for being there for us.Every night, when I see you singing, it makes me sing harder. When I see you screaming, it makes me scream louder. When I see your tears, it brings me to tears. And when I see your joy, it brings me joy. But, I see you… and it feels good to see you, churning up these emotions together.”
Thank You. pic.twitter.com/ZjhC9wls0r
— Foo Fighters (@foofighters) June 6, 2023
Grohl seems to be referring, in part, to his experiences of touring But Here We Are; a deeply emotional new record that explores the band’s experiences of grief following the death of their drummer Taylor Hawkins in March 2022. Grohl’s mother also passed away that same year, and both events heavily shape the band’s most recent material.
But that’s not the only thing going on here: the final sentence also feels like it’s dropping a massive, glaringly-obvious hint. “Churning up these emotions together,” he says. It brings to mind a certain Glastonbury booking, that’s for sure.
Elsewhere, Seattle Times report that pre-Nirvana and Foo Fighters, Grohl used to play in a band called Churn as a teenager. Foos also have form when it comes to appearing under different monikers (in 2014, they played a secret show as The Holy Sh*ts).
Adding further fuel to the fire, amateur sleuths have also spotted that there’s a hawk hovering above the stage on Radiohead collaborator Stanley Donwood’s poster for the 2023 edition of the festival.
Wait a minute... What's this?! 🔎🤔💭#FooFighters #Glastonbury2023❓ https://t.co/V2P4u2Zt06 pic.twitter.com/TWzTC4Nv4r
— Glasto Fest Feed (@GlastoFestFeed) May 30, 2023
It’s significant because the late Taylor Hawkins had a bird of prey tattoo, in a nod to his surname â more recently, the hawk has become a tribute symbol to celebrate the drummer’s legacy. We are agog.
