Foo Fighters cancel Grammy performance in light of Taylor Hawkins' death

The Recording Academy have confirmed that the Foo Fighters will no longer perform at the 2022 Grammy awards following the death of their beloved drummer Taylor Hawkins.

A tribute to the 50-year-old, who passed away on the South American leg of the band's tour, will take place at the 64th annual awards ceremony on Sunday, according to an official statement.

Hawkins' sudden death was announced at the weekend, after he had taken ill at his hotel in northern Bogota.

The 12-time Grammy-winning band later announced they were cancelling all of their upcoming tour dates "in light of the staggering loss".

In their statement, the band also encouraged fans “to grieve, to heal, to pull our loved ones close, and to appreciate all the music and memories we've made together".

A note on the Recording Academy website read: "Foo Fighters will no longer perform at the 2022 GRAMMYs, although a tribute to Taylor Hawkins will take place."

Hawkins had played in the band fronted by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl for more than two decades, alongside Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett and Rami Jaffee.

He joined Foo Fighters in 1997 after previously touring with Alanis Morrissette on her Jagged Little Pill journey, Hawkins also starred with the band in their recently released film, Studio 666.

The likes of Flea, Paul McCartney, Liam Gallagher, Mick Jagger, Ringo Starr, Guns & Roses, Billy Idol, Ozzy Osbourne and more paid tribute to the musician.

Among other acts that are scheduled to perform at this year’s Grammy’s are Oscar-winner Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X, Olivia Rodrigo, BTS, Jack Harlow and Brandi Carlile.

The Grammys is slated to take place this year in Nevada for the first time and will be hosted by The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah.

The ceremony was postponed from its original date of January 31 this year due to concerns about the spread of Covid-19.

Revisit Taylor Hawkins' riveting 2019 interview with Hot Press here.

A couple of months prior to Oxegen, Taylor told Hot Press' John Walshe in 2005 that, "There was a time in our band where we sought, especially me, a far more grandiose lifestyle, but luckily I found out quite early on that it's more of a charade than anything else. It's not very fulfilling. It's not fun being hungover all the time. We try to keep everything pretty fucking normal. We're family-like as a band and with our crew. It's kinda like taking a construction team on the road: we go and build a rock show in a different city every night."

Having recorded and extensively toured seven albums with the Foos since 1997, time off was at a premium but whenever he had some Taylor would spend it working on a side-project like The Birds Of Satan, Chevy Metal, The Coattail Riders and his latest flight of fancy, NHC, with his mates.

The last thing he said to deputy editor Stuart Clark was: “I’m so fucking fortunate to have the life I have, I really am.” Revisit Clark's memories of Taylor Hawkins here.