Brian Might and Roger Taylor be part of Foo Fighters for Queen set at Taylor Hawkins tribute live performance
Each lively founding members of Queen – lead guitarist Brian Might and drummer Roger Taylor – joined the Foo Fighters to carry out a five-song set of their very own hits on the first Taylor Hawkins tribute live performance.
The particular gig – which befell at Wembley Stadium final evening (September 3) and was simulcast all around the net, TV and streaming platforms – honoured the late Foos drummer with performances from Liam Gallagher, Mark Ronson, Queens Of The Stone Age’s Josh Homme, Supergrass, Metallica’s Lars Ulrich and AC/DC’s Brian Johnson, The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde, Blink-182’s Travis Barker, Kesha, and extra.
The Queen/Foos supergroup have been launched with archival footage of Hawkins himself, who welcomed Roger Taylor out at one of many Foos personal reveals earlier than he handed. Hawkins was a famous superfan of the British rock icons, and Foos units would typically see the drummer take over from Dave Grohl to carry out lead vocals on a canopy of ‘Someone To Love’.
“After I was 10 years outdated, my older sister took me to go see Queen in live performance – the primary live performance I ever noticed – and I watched the fucking drummer, and I stated, ‘I wanna fucking be him, I wanna do this’,” Hawkins says within the archival clip screened eventually evening’s live performance, after hyping the group up along with his imitation of Freddie Mercury’s well-known “ay-oh” chant.
The set itself started with a canopy of Queen’s 1977 hit ‘We Will Rock You’, for which Taylor was joined on drums by his son Rufus, and Luke Spiller of The Struts sang lead vocals. With Taylor on vocals, they moved on to 1975’s ‘I’m In Love With My Automobile’, earlier than welcoming out The Darkness’ Justin Hawkins to sing on the 1981 basic ‘Underneath Strain’.
Subsequent up within the setlist was ‘Someone To Love’, for which Sam Ryder took over the mic. Introducing him, Grohl defined that, since Hawkins would all the time cowl the music on vocals throughout the Foos’ personal units, it was significantly difficult to search out the fitting vocalist for final evening’s tribute.
“It may need been Roger that had this concept,” he stated. “Roger confirmed us a clip of somebody singing alongside to this subsequent music, and we made one telephone name, and inside 20 minutes, this particular person instructed us that he would come right here tonight to sing it with us.”
Rounding out the set, Might delivered an acoustic efficiency of 1975’s ‘Love Of My Life’. Earlier than taking part in the music, Might instructed the group: “I didn’t write this music, it was written by a younger boy known as Freddie Mercury. And in 1986, we have been on this actual spot, singing this music collectively.
“And in 1992, precisely 30 years in the past, we stated goodbye to Freddie in a mode much like this – so I do know that Freddie can be very glad to make use of this music to honour Taylor Hawkins. However right here’s the deal: I don’t sing this music, all of us sing this music collectively.”
Take a look on the full Foos/Queen efficiency under:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c6NcR5NP-Q
Queen and Foo Fighters performed:
1. ‘We Will Rock You’ (with Luke Spiller of The Struts)
2. ‘I’m In Love With My Automobile’
3. ‘Underneath Strain’ (with Justin Hawkins of The Darkness)
4. ‘Someone To Love’ (with Sam Ryder)
5. ‘Love Of My Life’ (Brian Might performing solo)
Grohl and Hawkins’ Foo Fighter bandmates opened the live performance with an emotional speech that paid tribute to their late drummer. “For these of you who knew him personally, you realize that nobody else might make you smile, or chuckle, or dance, or sing like he might,” the frontman stated.
Comic Dave Chappelle additionally recalled spending time with the rock star and his son in New York. “I’ve seen Taylor be a rock star many nights nevertheless it was my first time seeing him be a dad, and what a cool fucking dad,” he stated. “Taylor Hawkins is a legend of a person, he’s a legend of a musician and he’s a legend of a father.”
Liam Gallagher kicked off the stay music in the present day, performing two Oasis songs with the assistance of the surviving members of Foo Fighters, whereas the Pink Sizzling Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith shared a heartwarming story about Hawkins in a particular video message.
Grohl’s 16-year-old daughter Violet additionally took to the stage to cowl two Jeff Buckley songs on the present, earlier than Grohl’s supergroup Them Crooked Vultures reunited for the primary time in 12 years. Supergrass additionally carried out, with the trio recalling a tour they did with the Foos and Hawkins within the ’90s.
Elsewhere within the present, Metallica’s Lars Ulrich and AC/DC’s Brian Johnson joined forces to carry out a pair of the latter band’s hits – ‘Again In Black’ and ‘Let There Be Rock’ – following Violet’s return to cowl The Zutons’ ‘Valerie’ with Ronson, The Residing Finish’s Chris Cheney and Jason Falkner.
Foo Fighters closed out the evening with a star-studded set that encompasses a revolving forged of drummers, together with Travis Barker, Nandi Bushell, and Hawkins’ 16-year-old son Shane. Paul McCartney additionally joined the group onstage, delivering a efficiency of two Beatles songs.
Hawkins, who drummed with Foo Fighters from 1997 alongside his function in bands like Chevy Metallic and Taylor Hawkins And The Coattail Riders, died in March 2022. He was 50 years outdated.