Dave Hingerty on Taylor Hawkins: "He saved rock and roll, in some ways"

Music
28 Apr 22

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 capital city of Columbia, Bogotá where his band Foo Fighters were on tour. As part of a special tribute in the current issue of Hot Press, some of Ireland’s greatest drummers pay tribute.

Dave Hingerty

There’s this lovely camaraderie and brotherhood amongst drummers. We like hanging out with each other and supporting each other when we can. Taylor fit right into that ethos. He seemed down to earth, friendly and helpful – there wasn’t any sort of diva vibe around him.

When you have such a passion for drums, there’s this little club. It doesn’t matter how famous you are or aren’t, everybody just becomes even-stevens. There’s a sort of socialism then, just that baseline respect for the drums, that shared interest. He had that fascinating contrast – his ability to play hard and fast and have lots of energy, while still being laidback. He saved rock and roll, in some ways.

Maybe dying, as young as he did, his fame will multiply, and even more people will be aware of him. I certainly hope so.

Internationally renowned drummer Dave Hingerty has played with the likes of Chris Martin, The Frames, The Swell Season, Josh Ritter, The Pixies, Louis Stewart, Mary Coughlan, The Corrs, Luka Bloom, Grada, Nina Hynes, Ann Scott, Mark Geary and Steve Reynolds. His Side 4 Collective's debut album, We Burn Bright – featuring Josh Ritter, Paul Noonan and more – was released in 2020.

Read the full Taylor Hawkins tribute in our current issue: