Foo Fighters' Drummer Taylor Hawkins' Death Brings Back Memories Of 2001 OD

Legendary band Foo Fighters' drummer, Taylor Hawkins has died, aged just 50. He is survived by his family and his 'devastated' bandmates, although for now, no cause of death has been mentioned.

The official Twitter and Instagram accounts of Foo Fighters released an official statement and tributes have started pouring in from fans and the music industry alike.

The official statement issued by the Foo Fighters spoke about their pain as they took to both Instagram and Twitter to write, "The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins. His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever."

The message continued to read, "Our hearts go out to his wife, children, and family, and we ask that their privacy be treated with the utmost respect in this unimaginably difficult time."

While Hawkins is best known as the drummer for rock band Foo Fighters, whom he joined in 1997, he toured with the likes of Sass Jordan and Alanis Morissette before and was also the drummer for experiential band Sylvia. Hawkins also has a band, Hawkins and the Coattail Riders when he played drums and also ran the vocals.

He is survived by his wife, Alison, whom he married in 2005, and their three children. The Californian drummer had OD'd on heroin in 2001, which put him in a coma for two weeks. He called it a wake-up call and got clean afterward.

Foo Fighters was on tour in South America and last week, performed at Lollapalooza, Argentina. They were set to perform on Friday at the Festival Estéreo Picnic in Bogota, Colombia but canceled due to a "medical emergency",  before this news broke.

Dave Grohl, the lead singer of Foo Fighters, was first the drummer of yet another legendary band, Nirvana, which disbanded after the suicide of lead singer, Kurt Cobain.

Grohl founded Foo Fighters soon after, in 1994, but Hawkins joined the band in 1997.

Both Grohl and Hawkins went way back, so obviously, Instagram is feeling for Grohl. On the official statement post, one Foo Fighter fan posted, " can’t even…. Omg. I am so sorry, Dave. I know you and Taylor go way back. There are a ton of broken hearts tonight. ?"

More Instagram users commiserated with Grohl's loss, writing, "I can’t imagine what dave is going through… this is the second time his bandmate dies."

And.

"I feel like we are all here in shock first then think about Dave. Tragic. Just tragic."

Here are the two erstwhile bandmates together...

More fan tributes poured in.

"Rest In Peace one of the drummers that inspired me the most, I’ll always remember you Taylor thanks for everything."

A Twitter user used one of Foo Fighter's most famous lines to grieve, "Times Like These".

The Instagram handle of the late singer Chris Cornell, who was part of bands like Audioslave and Soundgarden also posted a message. While it's obviously being handled by his family or colleagues, it nearly sounded like a message from beyond the grave. Cornell suffered from chronic depression and was found dead in 2017, in his hotel room.

The IG post was a picture of Cornell with Hawkins during their younger days, and wrote, "Heartbroken … Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your loved ones. Rest In Peace Taylor ?"

As one fan wrote, "Sorry to hear this, love the foo fighters, see Chris Cornell will take care of Taylor, fly high, play some music up there, sorry to band family and Taylor's wife and children.."

The Foo Fighters were part of the tribute show for Cornell, as one Instagram user remembered this and wrote, "Saw him play last at the tribute show for Chris. That evening will hold another close memory for me now. Sorry everyone ?❤️"

Another Hawkins fan also felt the pain, writing, "Ughhhh this is the most heart-wrenching post of them all so far. Dammit."

RIP Taylor Hawkins.