The music world is still reeling from the shock death of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who was found unresponsive in his Bogota, Colombia hotel room ahead of a show the band was due to perform on March 25, 2022.
Foo Fighters were slated to perform at the 64th Grammy Awards in Las Vegas on April 3, but made the decision to withdraw from the show in order to grieve.
Instead, the talented drummer, who joined the group in 1997, was honoured at the annual event with an emotional tribute video set to Foo Fighters’ “My Hero”.
The video featured footage of Hawkins at past Foo Fighters’ concerts, both playing drums and taking the stage as a singer. Hawkins would often trade places with frontman Dave Grohl when they covered Queen’s “Somebody to Love”.
The band won all three of the awards it was nominated for at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, for Best Rock Album (Medicine at Midnight) and Best Rock Performance (“Making a Fire”) and Best Rock Song (“Waiting on a War”).
Billie Eilish also paid tribute to Hawkins, wearing a t-shirt with the late drummer’s face on it as she performed her hit song “Happier Than Ever” during the show.
Shortly after Hawkins’ untimely death, a post was uploaded to the official Foo Fighters social media accounts reading, “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.”
Hawkins was just 50 years old. While no official cause of death has been announced as yet, preliminary toxicology reports released by Colombian authorities found 10 psychoactive substances and medicines in Hawkins’s system including THC (marijuana), tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines and opioids however, the volume of these substances were not revealed.
The band, who were on the South American leg of their world tour, made the decision to cancel all remaining tour dates, including the leg that was to see them perform in stadiums around Australia in December.
Tributes to the beloved musician did not just take place at the Grammys, with many fans and fellow performers sharing their grief at his passing via social media.
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