Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins passed away suddenly at 50 years old.
The Foo Fighters announced his passing in a brief statement on Friday night that mentioned no official cause of death.
“The Foo Fighters family Is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins,” the band wrote in a brief statement on Twitter. “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.”
— Foo Fighters (@foofighters) March 26, 2022
On Saturday night, a Columbian journalist revealed that Hawkins had allegedly passed away from a drug overdose.
Taylor Hawkins Reportedly Had Opioids & Heroin In His System
Columbian journalist Luis Carlos Velez tweeted, “#BreakingNews – #TaylorHawkins died of overdose. Colombian authorities found: marihuana, antidepressants, opioids, heroine. At least 10 different substances found, sources of @FiscaliaCol tells me. Official report soon.”
Earlier in the day, Velez reported that officials had found a “white powder” in his hotel room in Bogota, where the band was staying on their South American tour. The “cocaine-like powder” has yet to be identified as such by authorities. Officials also reportedly found an empty beer can, an open bottle of vodka, a bottle of Coca-Cola, and “some other articles” that are currently being analyzed.
Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office reported an initial forensic examination of the body, preliminary results of a urine toxicology test indicated that there were at least 10 different substances found in his body at the time of his death. These included THX (marijuana), tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines, opioids, and other substances.
Witnesses told Velez that Hawkins had called the front desk of the hotel complaining of “chest pain.” He was later found dead in his hotel room.
Hawkins was vocal about his drug use over the years and had almost died from heroin once before in 2001.
Taylor Hawkins Overdosed On Heroin And Spent A Week In A Coma In 2001
Although the event happened over twenty years ago, Hawkins reflected on the event in an interview with Kerrang! last year, saying that he “loved doing drugs” but admitted that he “took it too far.”
“Everyone has their own path and I took it too far,” he told the publication at the time. “I was partying in London one night, and I mistakenly did something and it changed everything. I believed the bull—- myth of live hard and fast, die young. I’m not here to preach about not doing drugs, because I loved doing drugs, but I just got out of control for a while and it almost got me.”
“I was heading down a road that was going to lead to even worse paths. Whether someone’s sober, or they like a glass of wine with dinner, or they want a bottle of Jägermeister before they go on stage, or they like to smoke doobies all day long, everyone has their own path, and I took it too far,” he continued. “I’m glad it got knocked on the head at that point. I wouldn’t take anything away that I’ve done or been through either, because it’s all part of the trip and the journey. I’m trying to be as candid as I can be.”
The loss of a bandmate is especially hard for frontman Dave Grohl, who had previously lost Kurt Cobain in 1994 when he was the drummer for Nirvana. He later founded the Foo Fighters. Hawkins joined the band for their third album in 1999 and stayed with the band until his death.
Dave Grohl Said That He Had An Immediate Bond With Taylor Hawkins
I genuinely do not know how to feel, Taylor Hawkins was one of my favourite drummers. I just finished Dave’s book today and this part means more now than anything. pic.twitter.com/SaNIjw7TFz
— jackson (@jacksonburleyy) March 26, 2022
In his 2021 book, “The Storyteller,” Grohl called Hawkins his “brother from another mother, my best friend, a man for whom I would take a bullet.”
“Tearing through the room like an F5 tornado of hyperactive joy was Taylor Hawkins, my brother from another mother, my best friend, a man for whom I would take a bullet,” Grohl wrote. “Upon first meeting, our bond was immediate, and we grew closer with every day, every song, every note that we ever played together.”
“I am not afraid to say that our chance meeting was a kind of love at first sight, igniting a musical ‘twin flame’ that still burns to this day,” he continued. “Together, we have become an unstoppable duo, onstage and off, in pursuit of any and all adventure we can find. We are absolutely meant to be, and I am grateful that we found each other in this lifetime.”
