The “ultimate” drummer Taylor Hawkins thought defined rock and roll
The late Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins, was one of the finest drummers of his generation. Hawkins crafted an indomitable style by fusing the raw power of classic rock titans like John Bonham and Neil Peart with the jazz panache of Stewart Copeland and the innovative rhythms of Steven Perkins. Unsurprisingly, Foo Fighters took proceedings up a notch after he entered the fold.
It was an absolute tragedy when he passed away in March 2022, and it says everything about his work that one of the most influential musicians of all time, former Beatles man Paul McCartney, penned a heartfelt tribute to him. He wrote: “Taylor’s sudden death came as a shock to me and the people who knew and loved him. Not only was he a GREAT drummer, but his personality was big and shiny and will be sorely missed by all who were lucky to live and work alongside him.”
For Hawkins to befriend, work with and be praised by those he called heroes was indicative of the gravity of his being. Although he named a host of prominent figures amongst his most important influences, British rockers Queen were his favourite band of all time. Notably, he saw the quartet live when he was ten years old, changing his life trajectory forever. “After that concert, I don’t think I slept for three days,” he told Kerrang! in 2021.
For a lot of people, Queen represent a slightly unwanted part of rock music. They were overtly theatrical, incredibly successful and wildly popular, meaning, as often things do, that the band were also routinely ridiculed for being all three things at once. But Hawkins, despite his affiliation with hard rock, was completely captivated by Taylor and his band.
He then described how vital Queen’s drummer, Roger Taylor, was to his story. Describing the rhythmic legend and ‘Radio Ga Ga’ songwriter as his “hero”, he said: “It changed everything, and I was never the same because of it. It was the beginning of my obsession with rock’ n’ roll, and I knew that I wanted to be in a huge rock band after seeing Queen. I was just starting to get into the drums, and Roger Taylor became my hero. I remember telling my mom that I’d play there one day.”
Hawkins had already reflected on Taylor’s impact on him nearly two decades before this conversation. Recalling one moment in particular, he described the drummer as “the ultimate in cool and collected” and that he embodied the rock ‘n’ roll spirit. The late Foo Fighters man said: “Roger Taylor playing ‘We Are the Champions’ with Queen – I will never forget watching that. I remember all this sweat flying off his hair – he was so visual, the ultimate in cool and collected. He was rock’ n’ roll.”
Queen returned the love Hawkins had for them, and they would eventually become friends, with the drummer collaborating with guitarist Brian May. Plus, it never failed to amaze the axeman how big of a Queen fan Taylor Hawkins was. He even posited that the Foo Fighters member made Queen cool again.
“The funny thing was, he turned out to be the greatest Queen fan in the world,” May told Planet Rock. “That was always a shock to me because he seemed to be a lot cooler than we were. I think Taylor Hawkins single-handedly made Queen cool to a new generation. He knew everything about us… everything!”
Taylor Hawkins was more than just a percussionist, more than a singer or even a member of a rock band. Taylor Hawkins was a supreme lover of rock music, in all its forms. One band who kept him warm most of the time was Queen and their illustrious drummer Roger Taylor.
