Post-mortem finds Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins had drugs in his system when he died

A preliminary post-mortem from Columbian investigators has found that Taylor Hawkins had marijuana, opioids and other drugs in his system before he died.

The 50-year-old Foo Fighters drummer passed away in a hotel in Bogota shortly before the group was set to perform at the Estereo Picnic Fesival. Though the toxicology report found several drugs in the musician's system, the investigators did not specify whether or not the mix caused his death.

“The urine toxicology tests performed on Taylor Hawkins’ body preliminarily found 10 types of substances including THC, tricyclic anti-depressants, benzodiazepines and opioids," investigators said.

The statement continued: "The National Institute of Forensic Medicine continues to conduct the necessary medical studies to ascertain the cause of death."

The Bogota municipal government said the city's emergency centre received a report of a patient with "chest pain" on friday evening. After paramedics failed to revive Hawkins, he was declared dead at his hotel in northern Bogota.

The group announced the tragedy across their social media, with frontman Dave Grohl saying they were "devastated by the untimely loss" of their bandmate and asked that the privacy of Hawkins' family be respected.

pic.twitter.com/ffPHhUKRT4

— Foo Fighters (@foofighters) March 26, 2022

Hawkins had been with the Foo Fighters for decades – since their third album, 1999's There is Nothing Left To Loose. He took up drumming at the age of 10, having had his head turned at a Queen gig in 1982. "It was the beginning of my obsession with rock n' roll," he told Kerrang last year. "I knew that I wanted to be in a huge rock band."

Hawkins got his first break playing with Alanis Morissette, drumming on the massive Jagged Little Pill world tour, during which he first met Dave Grohl. On top of his drumming, Hawkins also added guitar and keyboards to various Foo Fighter recordings and even took over lead vocals on the odd occasion, including on 'Cold Day In The Sun' and 'Sunday Rain', from In Your Honor and Concrete And Gold respectively.

He also recorded three albums with side project, Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders. He was known, and admired, for his powerful drumming style and affable personality, which was evident when he spoke to Hot Press last year.

Revisit the powerful interview here.

Following the news of Hawkins untimely death, tributes from musicians immediately began to pour in.

Miley Cyrus dedicated her show in Brazil to the late drummer, performing a poignant rendition of her Plastic Hearts track 'Angels Like You'.

LAST NIGHTS SHOW IN BRAZIL IS DEDICATED TO MY FRIEND & LEGEND #TAYLORHAWKINS 🦅 pic.twitter.com/jnDIWerf7X

— Miley Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) March 27, 2022

Queen guitarist Brian May commented on his Instagram saying: "No. It cannot be. Heartbroken. Taylor, you were family to us. Our friend, our brother, our beloved child. Bless you. We will miss you so bad. Bri"

No. It cannot be …. Bri https://t.co/iCYDDPq6k1

— Dr. Brian May (@DrBrianMay) March 26, 2022

Mick Jagger also gave his condolences saying: "So incredibly sad to hear of the passing of Taylor Hawkins. My thoughts are with his family and the band at this time."

So incredibly sad to hear of the passing of Taylor Hawkins. My thoughts are with his family and the band at this time. pic.twitter.com/wueydCu5gw

— Mick Jagger (@MickJagger) March 26, 2022

See more tributes, here.