The drummer of the Foo Fighters, Taylor Hawkins, has died aged 50 the band has announced.
Hawkins was considered one of the most influential and talented drummers of his generation.
The band broke the shocking and heartbreaking news on Twitter.
They wrote:
“The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved 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 (@foofighters) March 26, 2022
Hawkins was found unresponsive in his hotel room in Bogota, Colombia. No further details of his death have been released.
At Lollapalooza Argentina earlier this week, in what was to become Hawkins’ final show, the drummer took over the mic for a cover of Queen’s ‘Somebody To Love’ and paid homage to his friend and bandmate Dave Grohl.
He said:
“I f*ckin’ love Dave Grohl, man,”
“I’d be delivering pizzas if it wasn’t for fuckin’ Dave Grohl. I’d be managing the drum department at a Guitar Center if it wasn’t for Dave Grohl.”
Watch the video below:
4 days ago in Argentina. RIP Taylor Hawkins pic.twitter.com/UtZUNSQNpM
— Bryce Mata (@BryceMata) March 26, 2022
And you can watch the full show here:
Fans are all sharing their tributes to the charismatic drummer on social media, with one fan sharing what they believe to be the last photo of Hawkins before he died.
LA ÚLTIMA FOTO de #TaylorHawkins, se la tomó con esta niña de 9 años, una fan que llevó su batería hasta el hotel donde se hospedaba la agrupación. El famoso músico bajó a tomarse la inmortal fotografía con ella.#NoticiasSinControl #Noticias #Información #Colombia pic.twitter.com/2poTadD1pq
— @noticias_sincontrol (@NSincontrol) March 26, 2022
The video shows Hawkins happily posing for a photo with a nine-year-old fan who had taken her drums to the hotel where the band were playing.
Fans were waiting for The Foo Fighters to perform at the Estereo Picnic festival in Colombia when the news was broken to the crowd.
The band were scheduled to perform at the Grammys on April 3 and The Foo Fighters’ new tour of North America was set to start in May.
Colombian police have confirmed how they think he may have died.
