Foo Fighters to hold tribute show for Taylor Hawkins at Wembley Stadium

8 June 2022, 14:22 | Updated: 8 June 2022, 14:33

By Radio X

@RadioX

Dave Grohl will lead his bandmates in the first of two memorial shows for the late drummer on 3rd September, with a second taking place in Los Angeles later that month.

Foo Fighters have announced that they will perform two very special "all star" tribute shows for their late drummer Taylor Hawkins.

Foo Fighters and the Hawkins Family Present Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert will take place at London's Wembley Stadium on Saturday 3rd September to remember the musician, who died on 25th March this year.

There will also be a Stateside concert at Los Angeles' Kia Forum on Saturday 27th September.

Tickets for both shows will go on sale on Friday 17th June 2022.

The lineups for each show will be announced shortly. Fans are being told to sign up to receive information on timings, ticketing links and on sale dates at https://www.foofighters.com/.

The band announced: "Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear and Rami Jaffee will come together with the Hawkins family to celebrate the life, music and love of their husband, father, brother and bandmate with The Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts.

"As one of the most respected and beloved figures in modern music, Taylor’s monolithic talent and magnetic personality endeared him to millions of fans, peers, friends and fellow musical legends the world over. Millions mourned his untimely passing on March 25, with passionate and sincere tributes coming from fans as well as musicians Taylor idolized."

"The Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts will unite several of those artists, the Hawkins family and of course his Foo Fighters brothers in celebration of Taylor’s memory and his legacy as a global rock icon—his bandmates and his inspirations playing the songs that he fell in love with, and the ones he brought to life."

In a message on Twitter, Hawkins' widow Alison wrote: "My deepest thanks and admiration go out to the global Foo Fighters community and Taylor's fans far and wide for the outpouring of love each and every one of you have shown our beloved Taylor. Your kindness has been an invaluable comfort for my family and me during this time of unimaginable grief.

"As Taylor's wife and on behalf of our children, I want to share how much you meant to him and how dedicated he was to "knocking your socks off" during every performance. Taylor was honoured to be a part of the Foo Fighters and valued his dream role in the band every minute of his 25 years with them. We consider every band member and the extended Foo Fighters team our family.

"Taylor's endearing spirit and deep love of music will live on forever through the collaborations he so enjoyed having with other musicians and the catalog of songs he contributed to and created.

"In celebration of his life, it is now up to all of us who loved him most to honour Taylor's legacy and the music he gave us.

"Thank you all again for your love and sympathy. Taylor loved all of you and we love you to.."

The Foo Fighters drummer tragically died on 25th March this year, aged 50. The band were in Bogata, Columbia, for their huge world tour which was set to see them eventually head to the UK this year. All live shows scheduled for 2022 were subsequently cancelled.

Taking to social media on the late hours of 25th March (26th March UK time), Dave Grohl and the band announced the shocking and tragic news. with a statement, which read: "The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of Taylor Hawkins."

They added: "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."

The drummer's final performance was at the Lollapalooza festival in Argentina on 20th March, where he sang the lead on a cover of Queen's Somebody to Love. The last song they played was an encore of Everlong.

Oliver Taylor Hawkins was born in Fort Worth, Texas on 17th February 1972 and grew up in Laguna Beach, California. He played in the experimental band Slyiva before getting his break playing drums on Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill and Can't Not tours. He later admitted: "I’d be delivering pizza if it wasn’t for her."

He officially joined the Foo Fighters in 1997, replacing the band's original drummer William Goldsmith. When Hawkins called Dave Grohl offering his services, he considered leaving Alanis Morissette's band to join Foo Fighters a demotion.

Grohl told Chris Moyles in 2018: "They’re playing stadiums all over the world, why the f**k would he wanna join our band - that was playing the Astoria on a Tuesday night?"

Asked about the Foo Fighters musician in the wake of his death. Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea told Radio X: "I love Taylor. He was an uplifting dude."