The pain Dave Grohl must be feeling at the devastating loss of his bandmate and best friend Taylor Hawkins is unimaginable. Foo Fighters was on tour, and just hours before they were supposed to play in Colombia, the drummer was found dead in his hotel room. Besides a few official announcements, the band has stayed silent so far in their grief.Fans know just how close these two musicians were. Dave even went as far as to jokingly call him "the love of his life" on a few occasions. This is what their beautiful friendship was like.
8 Dave Grohl Thought Taylor Hawkins Was Too Good For Foo Fighters
Taylor Hawkins was not the Foo Fighters' original drummer, but he was the first name that came to Dave Grohl's mind when he needed a drummer. He didn't think he would accept, though. The two of them had met a few times while Taylor was playing in Alanis Morissette's band. At the time, in 1997, she was one of the biggest stars in the world, and Dave thought Foo Fighters would be "a demotion" for him. Taylor shared in Foo Fighters documentary Back and Forth that, when he called Dave and said "I heard you need a drummer," the frontman replied, "Yeah, do you know any?" They laughed about it for years.
7 They Were 'In Love With Each Other'
It wasn't only that they had an amazing chemistry on stage, they were also immediately fond of each other. Dave described their first meeting in his book, The Storyteller, as "love at first sight," and said that Taylor was "the man for whom I would take a bullet."
In an interview for Radio X, he was asked about Taylor's most insane shenanigans, and as he relayed some stories he talked about how their friendship started. "We were like in love with each other," he said with a smile. "The first time we had a beer together we knew we were gonna be best friends for the rest of our lives."
6 Taylor Hawkins Said That Dave Grohl 'Held His Hand Through' His First Album
Playing drums for the band fronted by one of the greatest drummers in the world is inevitably unnerving, so when Taylor had to play on his first album with Foo Fighters, he was terrified.
"At one point I just said to Dave, 'Listen, dude, I just don’t think I can do this,'" Taylor shared with Rolling Stone magazine, tearing up. "And he said — it kind of chokes me up — he just held my hand through it, and he’s like, 'You’re going to play some drums on this.' And I did half the drums on it, because he f***ing held my hand through it, like that older brother, best friend does. So there you go. That’s why we’re here today, because he knew he wanted me there with him as a friend, as a family member, as his younger brother that he can f***ing rubber-finger any time he wants, that ultimately totally looks up to him and wants to make him happy."
5 Dave Grohl Supported Taylor Hawkins Through His Addiction
Taylor's addiction was talked about in length in Back and Forth, and he was very open about his struggles and how Dave had helped him through them. Dave, who's one of the few rock stars that has never gotten involved with drugs, said in the documentary that he had been worried about Taylor for a long time, trying to talk to him and convince him to get help, but it wasn't until he overdosed in 2001 that he realized how serious it was.
The drummer was in a coma for two weeks, and during all that time, Dave never left his bedside and was there when he woke up. A few years later, he wrote the song "On The Mend" about that difficult time.
4 Their Big Falling Out
It was shortly after Taylor recovered from his overdose that Foo Fighters started working on their fourth record, One by One, but after the stress of the past few months, no one was in the right state of mind to start recording something new. The process was becoming exasperating, so when Dave Grohl got asked to play drums and tour with Queens of the Stone Age, he accepted instantly and told the band they would figure out what to do about the album when he came back. Taylor was very hurt by this, and the next time they saw each other, right before they played Coachella, they had a huge fight in which Taylor almost quit the band.
3 Their Reconciliation
After their big fight before playing Coachella, they agreed on a truce for the sake of the show. They decided that depending on how they felt about how the festival went, they would decide if they wanted to stay together or not. Taylor was the first to extend an olive branch. The day before the Foo Fighters played, Dave was playing drums with Queens of the Stone Age, and Taylor went to the show to support him. The next day, they played an incredible set, and after that, the two friends took a long walk together and sorted out most of their issues. Revitalized, the band went back to the studio and rerecorded One by One in a week. They included the song "Times Like These", which Dave wrote about how he felt when he was at odds with his best friend. It became one of Foo Fighters' greatest hits.
2 When Taylor Hawkins Saved The Day
No one could forget the time Dave Grohl broke his leg by falling off the stage and finished the show anyway. But before he was given medical attention and allowed to return, it was Taylor who kept the show going. Dave knew that his bandmate was also an amazing singer, so when he told the audience what had happened, he practically thrust the microphone into Taylor's hands and asked him to continue the show for him. Of course, his friend didn't let him down, and he gave an incredible performance while he waited for Dave to return.
1 Their Last Concert
Dave and Taylor's banter on stage was one of Foo Fighters' trademarks. From Dave declaring his undying love for his bandmate while laughing at his fashion choices to Taylor jokingly dedicating Queen's "Love Of My Life" to his friend, they had all sorts of jokes and bits. At their last show, though, at the Lollapalooza in Argentina, they got a little more serious. They were still joking around, but when Dave introduced the drummer, he said "(Taylor Hawkins) is the best drummer in the world, we love him so much." They hugged affectionately before resuming the show, and Taylor said "I f***ing love Dave Grohl, man. I'd be delivering pizzas if it wasn't for f***ing Dave Grohl."
The loving friendship these two legends shared was as honest and pure as they get, and while Dave will be heartbroken at the loss of his best friend for a long time, he undoubtedly has lots of special moments to look back on and remember happily.
