Taylor Hawkins dead at 50

26 March 2022

Taylor Hawkins has died.

Taylor Hawkins dead at 50

The Foo Fighters drummer has passed away at the age of 50, the band announced on Twitter on Saturday (26.03.22).

The message said: "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.

"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."

Local news outlets in Bogota, Colombia, reported that Hawkins was found dead in a hotel room in the city where the band was due to play the Festival Estéreo Picnic.

He had reportedly been complaining of chest pains earlier.

A number of musicians took to social media to pay tribute to the late drummer with Nickelback writing on Twitter: "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."

Gene Simmons added: "Shocked and saddened to hear @taylorhawkins has passed away today.! Our prayers and condolences go out to the Hawkins family, @foofighters friends and fans. Sad."

Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello wrote: "God bless you Taylor Hawkins. I loved your spirit and your unstoppable rock power," and Slash wrote on Instagram: "Devastated by the loss of our friend #TaylorHawkins I've no words to express all the feelings I have about his passing. But my heart goes out to his family. his band friends. RIP Taylor."

Hawkins was previously the touring drummer for Alanis Morissette, before joining Foo Fighters in 1997.

Speaking previously about their friendship, frontman Dave Grohl wrote in his 2021 autobiography, 'The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music': "During his stint as Alanis Morissette’s drummer, long before he became a Foo Fighter, we would bump into each other backstage at festivals all over the world, and our chemistry was so obvious that even Alanis herself once asked him, ‘What are you going to do when Dave asks you to be his drummer?' Part Beavis and Butthead, part Dumb and Dumber, we were a hyperactive blur of Parliament Lights and air drumming wherever we went."

Hawkins is survived by his wife Alison, and their three children.