Matt Everitt Reveals What Taylor Hawkins Was Really Like Behind The Scenes

Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkinspassed away suddenly at 50 years old.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame rock band announced the news on Twitter, saying, “The Foo Fighters family Is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins,” the band wrote in a brief statement. “His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever. 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.”

Matt Everitt of the BBC interviewed Hawkins several times and posted a few thoughtful memories of what he was like behind the scenes.

On Saturday morning, Everitt paid tribute to Hawkins by revealing what he was like off-stage.

“I interviewed Taylor Hawkins a few times and he was always funny, astute, irreverent and passionate about the music he loved,” he began. “He also had a pretty finely tuned bullshit detector if truth be told - the grin would be followed by a raised eyebrow if your questions weren't smart.”

“He seemed to have endless enthusiasm for playing and making music, and was such a fanboy; the best chat we ever had was about how Queen's Roger Taylor positioned his toms and Oriental China cymbals (if you want to geek out, Taylor placed his in an identical way - that's love)” he added.

He noted that “Brian May's tribute felt especially touching – ‘Taylor, you were family to us. Our friend, our brother, our beloved child. Bless you. We will miss you so bad.’

“He was also a pretty d--- good singer,” Everitt noted. “Cold Day In The Sun is brilliant... And if you haven't heard Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders? They were fricking great...”

“He was such a great drummer. He had feel, power, flair, instinct and great taste (something often overlooked with rock drummers – ‘Am I gonna play much here? Nah’). He was Bonham good, Grohl good, Copeland good, Peart good. All the people he loved.”

The drumming masterclass he did with  @steve_lamacq for  @BBClamacqshow on  @BBC6Music is well worth a watch... ‘Dude, you're a drummer! You can just tell!.’”

“He once told me Aurora was his favourite Foo Fighters song. Explaining that although it wasn't a single or 'big' song, the fans just seemed to find it and it meant something to a lot of them. It's great. RIP Taylor Hawkins you totally beautiful man,” he concluded.

“Beautiful tribute to him Matt, I'm sure he'd be humbled to be mentioned in the same breath as all his drumming heroes but he earned his place there,” one fan commented. “What a tragic loss. Xx”

“Some people just bring such good energy and passion to the world. Lovely and fitting tribute, thanks Matt,” another wrote. “So glad I saw them live many times, he brought a party to each gig and his playing was always first class, and rightly up there with his idols as you say.”

“Thanks Matt,” another said. “I’ll never listen to that track in the same way again. What a beautiful man.”

“Thank you Matt. Most sensitively worded and moving post yet. Heartbroken,” said another.

Tom Morello tweeted, “God bless you Taylor Hawkins. I loved your spirit and your unstoppable rock power. Rest In Peace my friend.”

Ozzy Osbourne tweeted, “. @TaylorHawkins was truly a great person and an amazing musician. My heart, my love and my condolences go out to his wife, his children, his family, his band and his fans. See you on the other side – Ozzy”

FINNEAS tweeted, “So heartbroken to hear about Taylor Hawkins’ passing, what an incredible talent, who didn’t also need to be so kind and generous and cool but was all those things too anyway. The world was so lucky to have his gifts for the time that it did, Rest In Peace.”

Nickelback tweeted, “In utter disbelief at the news of Taylor Hawkins. Our deepest condolences to his family, his bandmates, his team, his friends and everyone that was ever touched by the music he created with @foofighters @Alanis and so many others. This is so incredibly sad.”

The Smashing Pumpkins tweeted, “Taylor Hawkins 1972-2022. Our deepest sympathies to Taylor’s family, his fans, and of course his band.”