Drummer Josh Freese has made a touching tribute to Taylor Hawkins, as he marks his first anniversary of joining Foo Fighters.
Freese joined the band as the replacement for Hawkins, who tragically died on March 25, 2022, aged 50.
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.”
Further tributes were paid from across the music world, including from members of Queen, Rage Against The Machine, Nickelback, The Beatles, Black Sabbath and more. It was later confirmed that the iconic drummer died of an accidental drug overdose.
After taking some time away, the band confirmed that they would be continuing to make music in January 2023, and went on to confirm that Josh Freese would be joining the line-up four months later.
The news was confirmed during their Foo Fighters: Preparing Music For Concerts livestream, in which the band prepared for their comeback tour and delivered “a few surprises”.
Now, a year since the announcement was made, Freese has looked back at his time in the band and paid tribute to Hawkins.
Sharing clips from the aforementioned Preparing Music For Concerts livestream on Instagram, 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.)”
He continued: “@foofighters 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.”
The moving post about the late drummer and his time in the band also comes after Freese recently recalled the unexpected moment Dave Grohl asked him to join the band.
“I was on a walk with my wife and some of our dogs, and I go, ‘Ah, Dave just tried calling me like 20 minutes ago’,” he told Rick Beato in a recent interview. “And she’s like, ‘I know why he’s calling you’. I was like, ‘Easy. I’m not thinking that’. I swear to God, that’s not why I thought [he was calling].”
“I said, ‘Hey, did you go record?” Freese continued, before adding that Grohl responded: “‘Yeah, we recorded a bunch of stuff. And I played drums, and I’m really happy with the way it sounds. [I’m] really excited about it… And we had the drummer talk. And we want you to be the guy’.”
Foo Fighters are due to tour in the UK this summer, with the run of dates including two shows at the London Stadium. Find any remaining tickets here.
They’ll head out on the road in North America next month, with tickets for those concerts available here.
In other news, Freese recently rejoined A Perfect Circle for part of their joint North American headline tour with Puscifer and Primus – 13 years after he last played with the band.