Foo Fighters are on the press circuit now as they gear up for their 12th album, Your Favorite Toy, on April 24, 2026. They’ve discussed the nostalgic sound of the album and their current live shows, as well as reminisced about their early days.
That inevitably turns to revisiting heavy emotions. But as Dave Grohl told the BBC on April 21, “This band was born out of the pain of losing Kurt [Cobain] and Nirvana.”
That being said, he added, “We’ve always relied on music to help us through difficult times.” He acknowledged that music has helped somewhat in the last year and a half, following the revelation that he’d fathered a child outside his marriage. It also helped keep the band together after the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in March 2022.
Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins died on March 25, 2022, in Bogotá, Colombia
Following that tragedy, the band worked through their grief on their 2023 album, And Here We Are. This latest project is a return to an older, more familiar sound, they’ve explained. But the aftermath of losing Hawkins had them questioning if they could continue.
“I was like, ‘Can we still do this without Taylor?’, and I’m sure everyone else felt that, too,” said bassist Nate Mendel. “But one thing that I’ve come to realize,” he added, “is that Taylor is with us … We’re still very close to the Hawkins family. We talk about him every day.”
Dave Grohl told the BBC that “Continuing as a band was not easy.” But Foo Fighters had friends, family, and even fans who were also feeling their grief. Grohl spoke about the importance of having support during times of trauma and loss.
Paul McCartney Helped Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters Grieve After Taylor Hawkins’ Death
Apparently, Paul McCartney was one of those people Grohl knew he could rely on. McCartney and Grohl first met around 2002. They formed a lasting friendship, which Grohl previously wrote about in his book The Storyteller.
“But whenever we go through something really difficult, we go through it together, with our families and our kids and our wives. We really rally,” he said. “And if you’re surrounded by people that you know you can really rely on, that’s the key.”
Three months after Hawkins’ death, McCartney invited Grohl to join him onstage at Glastonbury Festival. As his first public appearance since the loss, being onstage with a close friend probably softened the moment. But Grohl almost missed the opportunity, he explained. Apparently, all of his flights to the U.K. were canceled.
“I walked backstage 20 minutes before we were supposed to go on, so the whole thing was kind of a blur, but it meant a lot, for sure,” said Grohl. “He and his family were always so sweet and supportive and welcoming.”
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