Fans and fellow musicians are mourning the sudden, devastating loss of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.
Fans and fellow musicians are mourning the sudden, devastating loss of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.
News of the rockstar’s death sent shockwaves around the globe.
“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,” the band said in a statement. “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.”
Hawkins died Friday in Bogota, Colombia. The band was there to perform at the Festival Estereo Picnic before their headlining set for Lollapalooza, Brazil on Sunday, March 27.
According to CNN, fans had already gathered at the venue around 11 p.m. Friday night, when they received word the show had been canceled. Minutes later, fans created a vigil on the same stage Hawkins was set to grace, placing candles in tribute on it instead. Screens at the venue were illuminated with the message, “Taylor Hawkins Por Siempre,” which translates to “Taylor Hawkins Forever.”
Shortly before his death, Hawkins reportedly complained of chest pains to staff at the Casa Medina hotel. The AP reports that the Bogota municipal government issued a statement Saturday saying the city’s emergency center received a report of a patient with “chest pain” and sent an ambulance to Hawkins’ hotel room, but a private ambulance had already arrived.
Health care workers tried to revive Hawkins, but were unable to do so.
No official cause of death has been released yet. Taylor Hawkins was 50 years old.
News of Hawkins’ death comes barely a year after the Foo Fighters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and one day after Foo Fighters announced they would be performing at the 64th annual Grammy Awards in Las Vegas on April 3.
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl formed the band in 1994, after his former group, Nirvana disbanded due to the suicide of lead singer Kurt Kobain. In 1997, drummer William Goldsmith left the band and Hawkins replaced him that same year. Prior to joining Foo Fighters, Hawkins was the drummer for singer Alanis Morissette.
In Dave Grohl’s recently released autobiography, “The Storyteller,” the Foo Fighters frontman fondly speaks of Hawkins as his brother, recounting a comedic tale of a cross-country trip the pair took in 1998. “Taylor and I had become practically inseparable since he had joined the band the year before, becoming devious partners in crime from day one,” Grohl wrote.
“Part Beavis and Butthead, part Dumb and Dumber, we were a hyperactive blur of Parliament Lights and air drumming wherever we went, so there was no one I would have rather shared this psychopathic safari with than Taylor.”
Across social media, Hawkins’ peers and fans have been sharing fond memories of the drummer. Rage Against the Machine frontman Tom Morello shared a photo with the caption, “God bless you Taylor Hawkins. I loved your spirit and unstoppable rock power. Rest In Peace my friend.”
Actor John Stamos shared a recent text message Hawkins sent to him, writing, ‘Ya We’ve yet to fully have a hang -Got a put that s*** together before we die’ Wise words from my friend- put that s*** together! I'm so f****** sad. Another one gone too soon.”
Miley Cyrus, who performed at the same festival in Bogota, shared a photo of a beaming Hawkins behind his drum kit writing, “This is how I’ll always remember you…My show tomorrow is dedicated to Taylor Hawkins.”
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