THUMPER's Benedict Warner-Clayton on Taylor Hawkins: "I saw Foo Fighters play Oxegen and he was just phenomenal"

Culture
05 May 22

Benedict Warner-Clayton by Sara-Louise Bowrey.

On March 25, 2022, the terrible news went out across the wires, the cables and the routers that Taylor Hawkins had died in his room in the Four Seasons Hotel Casa Medina Bogota, in the caiptal city of Columbia, Bogotá where his band Foo Fighters were on tour. Here, some of Ireland’s greatest drummers pay tribute.

Benedict Warner-Clayton (THUMPER)

He was a big figure to me. I was hugely into the Foo Fighters when I started playing the drums as a teenager. For most people, Dave Grohl is the figurehead of the band - but the drums in Foo Fighters came from Taylor, and I just loved it.

He had this unique package in the way he played and the way he acted. His energy and stamina were so impressive. ‘Everlong’, in particular – it’s just relentless. He played with real power, but he had fun as well. I saw the band play at Oxegen and he was just phenomenal. He had this energy and charisma and enthusiasm; it was so impressive to watch.

His loss hit me hard. It was quite poignant, to see how greatly he affected and influenced so many people, both as a person and a player. By all accounts, he was just a really nice person. He would sit side-stage and watch the support act, chat with everybody who came up to him after shows. He was such a positive figure.

I’d hate to see a band pack it in because a member had died. But it will always feel like a part of them is missing. It’ll be the Foo Fighters minus Taylor, from now on.

Read the Hot Press tribute to Taylor Hawkins in full in our current issue: