Taylor Hawkins could have had a very different career if he had taken Axl Rose up on his offer.
The Foo Fighters drummer, who has tragically died at the age of 50, was once headhunted by the Guns N' Roses frontman who was desperate to recruit him for the band.
Axl reached out to Taylor while the Foos were in London promoting their 1999 album There Is Nothing Left To Lose, and the drummer got a phone call from his mum who said Guns N' Roses' management had called asking for him.
Taylor once told Louder Sound : "Axl was trying to get together a new version of Guns N’ Roses, and I think he was checking around for people. They wanted to know if I would come in and try out or whatever. It was kind of otherworldly."
Unsure of what to do, he turned to his idol and friend, Queen drummer Roger Taylor, for advice.
And he had a story to tell him.
Roger shared how he faced a similar decision back in the early 70s, when former Mott The Hoople singer Ian Hunter and guitarist Mick Ronson wanted to recruit him for a new band they'd call Hunter Ronson Taylor.
Queen hadn't broken into super stardom yet and Roger considered the offer, but said he came to realise that he wouldn't feel right looking up on stage and not seeing Freddie Mercury and Brian May in front of him.
Taylor added: "And he said, 'I see you and Dave [Grohl] onstage and there’s something you can’t buy there. There’s something between you guys that might not be there with Axl Rose.' And he was right."
Speaking about his friend, Taylor went on: "For all our trials and tribulations, Dave is like a brother. When we walk out onstage, every time we nod and look at each other and go, 'Alright, here we go.' We’re getting in the ring together."
Dave had recruited Taylor for the band after a fallout with drummer William Goldsmith saw him quit.
At the time, Taylor was the drummer for Alanis Morrisette, and although Dave wanted him for his own line-up, he didn't think Taylor would want to give up the gig.
He once told LA radio station 95.5 Klos: "When it was time to look for a drummer, I wished that he would do it but I didn't imagine he would leave Alanis Morissette because at the time she was the biggest artist in the world.
"So when I called him and said, 'Hey, I'm looking for a drummer'. He said, 'You know I'm your guy'. And I think it had more to do with our personal relationship than anything musical.
"And to be honest, it still does. Our musical relationship, the foundation of that is our friendship, and thats why when we jump on stage and play, we're so connected because we're like best friends, and it's great."
Describing the moment they met, Dave added: "Oh my god. The first time we met, we were at some radio show backstage, and he came up with a beer in his hand.
"He’s like, 'Hey, man, what’s up? I’m Taylor, I play with Alanis Morissette. Dude, I love your record, it’s so cool!' I was like, 'Wow, you’re either my twin or my spirit animal, or my best friend!'
"In the first 10 seconds of meeting him. And, of course, I’d seen him play the drums, and I thought he was an amazing drummer."
Foo Fighters shared the tragic news that Taylor had died yesterday.
They said in a statement: "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."
Taylor was found dead in a hotel room in Bogota, Colombia, where the band had been due to play at a festival.
Colombian officials have said Taylor had traces of 10 different drugs in his body when he died.
He's believed to have suffered a suspected heart attack, according to health chiefs in Bogota, which is likely to have been due to an overdose.
