Watch the tribute performance from James Gang, Taylor Hawkins’ favourite band of all time
In March, the music world confronted the tragic news that Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins had passed away, aged just 50. Hawkins was found in his hotel room in Bogotá, Colombia, just hours before the band were due on stage to headline a festival in the city as part of Foo Fighters’ South American tour.
Since then, words of tribute have scattered the internet from fans, friends and colleagues, from Liam Gallagher to Paul McCartney. Fleetwood Mac singer and close friend of Hawkins, Stevie Nicks, even wrote the late drummer a farewell poem.
In the wake of the devastating news, the surviving Foo Fighters understandably needed pause for thought and emotional recovery, but in September, Dave Grohl organised two bumper tribute concerts, one at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum and the other at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Both events carried a mouth-watering ensemble of class rock and pop stars, mostly friends and admirers of the late drummer. Across the two dates, host Grohl was joined by the likes of Joan Jett, Travis Barker, Pink, Josh Homme, Stewart Copeland, Alanis Morissette, Liam Gallagher, Chrissie Hynde, Brian May, Krist Novoselic, Supergrass and Lars Ulrich.
One of the most obscure and exciting acts on the lineup for both concerts was the newly reformed James Gang, the formative band of famed guitarist and singer Joe Walsh. The Ohio-based band formed in 1966 and reached their peak lineup and prominence in the early 1970s following the release of James Gang Rides Again in 1970.
That same year, the group managed to secure opening slots for six of The Who’s dates during their US tour. Pete Townshend was so impressed with the group that he invited them back to tour with them in the UK, where they made a BBC television debut on Top of the Pops.
Following the band’s third studio album, released in the summer of ‘71, Walsh left to form Barnstorm, with whom he’d perform until he joined the Eagles in ‘75. Meanwhile, James Gang struggled to attain the popularity of their tenure fronted by Walsh. Over the course of six years and five further studio albums, the band failed to produce a hit, and they finally broke up in 1977.
Since then, the classic lineup, featuring Walsh, Dale Peters and Jim Fox, reunited for various isolated reunion shows. While the band haven’t released any new material since the ‘70s, it was rumoured that the trio were seen at Cleveland-area Lava Room Recording Studios working on new material in 2012. Sadly, nothing has come of this yet.
Back in August, James Gang once again announced their reunification as it was confirmed that Walsh would host VetsAid 2022 alongside Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails, The Black Keys, The Breeders and Dave Grohl, among other Ohio-based artists on the bill.
Before VetsAid, which took place last weekend, James Gang were asked to play a few tracks at Grohl’s Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts. Since James Gang were Hawkins’ favourite band of all time, Walsh and the band were hardly going to pass up the opportunity to say goodbye to their late friend and admirer.
“Taylor Hawkins, his favourite band in the whole world was the James Gang. He told me that many times,” Walsh told Consequence in a recent conversation. “And when Dave Grohl decided to do some concerts in memory of Taylor, I thought about it and said, ‘What if I get the James Gang together to be part of this?’ And he thought that was the best idea he’d heard in a long time.”
James Gang joined the star-studded bill for Taylor Hawkins’ tribute concert at London’s Wembley Stadium on September 3rd. It was their first live show together since 2006. The setlist comprised ‘Walk Away’, ‘The Bomber: Closet Queen / Bolero / Cast Your Fate to the Wind’ and ‘Funk #49’, the last of which saw the band joined by Dave Grohl.
“It was a beautiful thing. The greenroom backstage was just full of everybody,” Walsh told Consequence. “A lot of us had known each other for years and years and years, and the whole community got together in remembrance of Taylor.”
Watch footage from James Gang’s London performance below.
