Foo Fighters drummer Josh Freese pays tribute to Taylor Hawkins

Drummer Josh Freese has marked his first anniversary of joining the Foo Fighters by honouring the late Taylor Hawkins.

Hawkins had been in the Foo Fighters for 25 years when he passed away suddenly, as the band were preparing to play a show in Bogota, Colombia.

Foo Fighters announced his death in an official statement, which read: “The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of Taylor Hawkins. His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever.

“Our hearts go out to his wife, children, and family, and we ask that their privacy be treated with the utmost respect in this unimaginably difficult time.”

Foo Fighters vowed to continue as a band with Freese as their drummer nine-months after Hawkins passing, in a live stream event dubbed Foo Fighters: Preparing Music For Concerts, which featured cameos from Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith, Mötley Crüe’s Tommy Lee and Tool’s Danny Carey.

A year after the announcement was made, Freese took to Instagram to pay tribute to the late drummer.

 

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Sharing clips from Preparing Music For Concerts livestream, he wrote:

“A year ago today this aired and I got to stop keeping quiet about what had been referred to as “the worst kept secret in the music business” at the time (though I thought we did a pretty good job on our end.)

“Foo Fighters released an hour-long special of us playing some songs at rehearsal. Here’s three clips of the first song. I love the way it came out and am proud of it. I joked that all we really needed was ‘All My Life’ and then move on (because it’s so goddamn good.)

“That being said, I continue to miss Taylor as does the band, his family, friends and the rest of the world,” Freese concluded. “We also continue to try and make the most of the situation by moving forward and doing what we love doing….playing music, honouring Taylor and staying positive.”

Hawkins passed away in 2022 from a sudden cardiac arrest caused by an overdose, according to a toxicology report.

After making his gig debut at Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion on May 24 last year, Freese has played almost 60 shows with Foo Fighters.

The Foo Fighters will kick off their Everything or Nothing at All UK Tour on June 13, with stadium shows in Manchester, Glasgow, London, Cardiff and Birmingham.