Taylor Hawkins, Drummer For Foo Fighters, Has Passed Away

On March 25th, Taylor Hawkins, who was the drummer for the rock band Foo Fighters, passed away at the age of 50.

In 1996, guitarist Dave Grohl and drummer William Goldsmith had a significant argument and this resulted in Goldsmith's exit from Foo Fighters, requiring a total re-recording of the album The Colour and the Shape which was released in the following year. Grohl sought the advice of Hawkins, who was one of his acquaintances, for recommendations to replace his role as the drummer. At the time, Hawkins was working on Alanis Morissette's tour and preferring to be a part of a band rather than accompanying a solo act, Hawkins volunteered himself.

The rest, as the saying goes, is history. Hawkins cited Stewart Copeland and Roger Taylor to be formative influences on his drumming style and he contributed an immense amount to Foo Fighters image and trajectory over the 25 years that he spent with the band, including songwriting and vocals. Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders was his own project which released a trio of albums between 2006 and 2019 and he was a founder of the supergroup NHC with Dave Navarro and Chris Chaney. The album will be released some time this year.

"The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins," read a statement from the band's social media account. "His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever." Brian May responded to his tragic passing on Instagram, saying, "Taylor, you were family to us. Our friend, our brother, our beloved child. Bless you. We will miss you so bad."

At the moment, the cause of death is not known to the public. However, a report from the local health authority in Bogotá, Colombia, described that Hawkins was unwell with chest pain in his hotel room at the Casa Medina and emergency health personnel administered CPR to the drummer. Foo Fighters were to perform at the Estéreo Picnic Festival on that Friday night - instead the stage was made into a candlelight vigil for Hawkins.

Our thoughts go out to Hawkins' wife Alison and their three children as well as his family and friends at this difficult time.