Rush reunite with Dave Grohl for Taylor Hawkins tribute show at Wembley
The Taylor Hawkins tribute show at Wembley was blessed with countless rock star appearances, singing 50 songs of pure joyful jubilation. It witnessed countless reunions, rejuvenation and rehabilitation. But one extra special moment came when Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush reunited on stage.
The late Foo Fighters drummer was a known superfan of the prog-rock group and as the evening was dedicated to “the music he made and the music he loved,” it felt fitting that the duo, minus their own dearly departed drummer, Neil Peart, should entertain the crowd.
As Foos frontman, Dave Grohl, said in his introduction, “Now if there’s one band that I always associated Taylor Hawkins with, it’s these next two guys. Taylor got up and played with two guys once, in their hometown of Toronto, Canada. And I have to say, it was not only one of the greatest nights of my life watching him do that, but perhaps, one of the greatest night of his.”
Grohl, anotyher superfan of the group, joined the duo for a performance of ‘2112’ before Omar Hakim took over for a performance of ‘YYZ’. “For Alex and I, it’s a privilege to be up here and play with SuperDave,” said Lee from the stage.
“In 2008, as Dave told you, we got a call from Foos’ management, asking if we’d come to the Toronto show, and show up so that Taylor could play one of his favourite Rush songs with us. We obliged, and that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
“You can imagine how nervous I was,” Hawkins told Prog magazine in 2014 about the exeprience of joining Rush for a song. “But I got through YYZ with them. Even though they told me I was playing too fast! The nerves I was going through; here I was replacing Neil Peart in Rush – well, almost!”
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