AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson “honoured” to play Taylor Hawkins tribute concert
This Saturday, some of rock music’s biggest names will gather together at Wembley Stadium in London to celebrate the life of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. Hawkins died back in March while the Foos were on tour in Colombia, with the death coming as a shock to the band and a number of Hawkins’ friends.
A number of those friends are high-profile musicians, most of whom will be appearing at at least one of the two planned tribute concerts in Hawkins’ honour. The London show will feature Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush, Liam Gallagher, John Paul Jones, Krist Novoselic, Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen, Lars Ulrich, Nile Rodgers and Stewart Copeland alongside the Foos and a host of other guests.
One of those figures who will be paying tribute to Hawkins at the London show is Brian Johnson, legendary longtime frontman for hard rock gods AC/DC. On the eve of the concert, Johnson has shared a statement laying out his gratitude to Hawkins for his friendship and detailing his pride at being involved in the tribute show.
“Okay here we go. Taylor was a lovely man, his smile was legend, his drumming intense and brilliant, and he could sing as well,” Johnson shared. “When we gather to salute this man and his family, we do it as friends, we do it for him, and we do it with his band the Foo Fighters, who I know will do him proud. I’m honoured to be part of it.”
Johnson joined the Foos on more than one occasion to bust out a few AC/DC tracks during live shows. Hawkins was also known to dip heavily into the AC/DC catalogue with his side project, Chevy Metal. Johnson is just one of many of Hawkins’ heroes that are paying tribute to the late drummer this month at one or both of his scheduled tribute shows.
The London edition of the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert will air at 4:30 PM BST / 11:30 AM EDT on Paramount+ in the US and on MTV YouTube channels internationally.
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