Foo Fighters play triumphant surprise set at Glastonbury - setlist and photos

A Churnup for the books!

Author: Scott ColothanPublished 23rd Jun 2023
Last updated 23rd Jun 2023

Foo Fighters performed a surprise set on The Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury this evening (23rd June) under their pseudonym The Churnups.

Back at the end of May, Glastonbury unveiled its full 3,000-strong line-up and listed a mystery band called The Churnups as playing The Pyramid Stage at 6.15pm on the Friday night.

The announcement sent the rumour mill into overdrive, with bands including Pulp, Tenacious D, Red Hot Chili Peppers, blur and Foo Fighters all rumoured for the coveted main stage slot.

The speculation that it was Foo Fighters intensified when Dave Grohl shared a thank you note to fans on 6th June following the band’s first shows with new drummer Josh Freese.

Alluding to The Churnups, Grohl wrote towards the end of the note: “… it feels good to see you, churning up these emotions together.”

Earlier this afternoon, Foo Fighters’ not-so-secret set was confirmed when a photograph of Dave Grohl holding a cup of coffee backstage was shared on Twitter.

Confirming their Glastonbury slot, Foo Fighters themselves then posted a photo of a 'Churn It Up' flag in the crowd in front of The Pyramid Stage.

An hour later, Foo Fighters duly took to The Pyramid Stage in front of a colossal crowd and launched into a riff-heavy rendition of ‘All My Life’ and a blistering ‘No Son of Mine’ featuring tantalising snippets of Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’ and Black Sabbath's 'Paranoid'.

After a suitably anthemic ‘Learn to Fly’, Dave Grohl told the audience, “we gotta keep going! We can’t stop!” before they dispatched ‘But Here We Are’ lead single ‘Rescued.’

Josh Freese's drum kit featured The Churnups band name in a death metal font alongside a hawk in homage to the late-great Taylor Hawkins.

The colossal crowd for Foo Fighters at Glastonbury

Following 'The Pretender', Dave said: “Hi! You guys knew it was us this whole f---ing time! Well it's nice to see your face again, it’s been a long time.

"This is beautiful. Another beautiful day and a beautiful audience. I’ll make it short, they only gave us an hour so we’ve got to f--king pack it in..."

The ever-captivating frontman then led the 100,000 crowd into a powerful singalong of 'My Hero', yelling "f---ing louder! Let's go!"

Bringing out his daughter Violet, Dave then introduced the shoegazey 'Show Me How', saying: "This is a song we wrote for my mother (the late Virginia Hanlon Grohl who died in 2022), Violet's grandmother."

Naturally a band of Foo Fighters' calibre attracted not only an admiring crowd out front but also a host of watchers on stage. Paul McCartney could be seen applauding his former bandmate Grohl, whilst Dave emplored Chris Shiflett to shred a guitar solo, pointing to a shadowy figure weraing sunglasses in the wings and shouting "Slash is over there!"

The all-too-short set continued with a gargantuan sounding 'Best of You' - "We could do this all f---ing night!", screamed Dave.

Confirming Foo Fighters' 2024 UK tour plans, Dave said before the finale: "Well it's been nice to be here for 58 minutes and 22 seconds. We usually play this one as our way of saying goodbye because we never like to say goodbye.

"We're coming back next summer for a whole f---ing tour, so I'll see you guys again," Dave said.

The nine-song performance culminated with a pulsating and poignant 'Everlong', which Dave dedicated to his late band mate and best friend Taylor Hawkins.

See photos of Foo Fighters at Glastonbury 2023:

Foo Fighters at Glastonbury


Foo Fighters at Glastonbury


Foo Fighters at Glastonbury


Foo Fighters at Glastonbury


Foo Fighters at Glastonbury


Foo Fighters at Glastonbury


Foo Fighters at Glastonbury


Foo Fighters at Glastonbury


Foo Fighters at Glastonbury


The Glastonbury performance this evening came six years after Foo Fighters headlined The Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury.

Dave Grohl also made a surprise appearance during Paul McCartney’s set at Glastonbury in 2022, guesting on The Beatles’ ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ and Wings’ ‘Band on the Run’ before returning to the stage for the finale performance of ‘The End’ with McCartney’s other special guest Bruce Springsteen.

It’s not the first time Foo Fighters have adopted a pseudonym, as the band released the disco covers album ‘Hail Satin’ in July 2021 as The Dee Gees.

Foo Fighters’ setlist at Glastonbury 2023:

All My Life

No Son of Mine

Learn to Fly

Rescued

The Pretender

My Hero

Show Me How (with Violet Grohl)

Best of You

Everlong

The real names of 100 rock stars, including Foo Fighters' Pat Smear:

Cozy Powell’s real name: Colin Trevor Flooks


Alex Lifeson’s real name: Alexandar Živojinović

'Lifeson' is a semi-literal English translation of the Yugoslavian surname Živojinović, which means 'son of life'

Ginger Baker's real name: Peter Edward Baker


John 5’s real name: John William Lowery


Yngwie Malmsteen’s real name: Lars Johann Yngwie Lannerback


Rudy Sarzo’s real name: Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Lavieille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont


Eric Carr's real name: Paul Charles Caravello


Vinnie Vincent’s real name: Vincent John Cusano


Tina Turner’s real name: Anna Mae Bullock


King Diamond’s real name: Kim Bendix Petersen


Joey Tempest's real name: Rolf Magnus Joakim Larsson


Michael Monroe’s real name: Matti Antero Kristian Fagerholm


Mikkey Dee’s real name: Micael Kiriakos Delaoglou


Jonathan Cain’s real name: Jonathan Leonard Friga


Nikki Sixx's real name: Frank Ferrano


Steven Adler’s real name: Michael Coletti


Axl Rose's real name: William Bruce Rose


Bon Scott's real name: Ronald Belford Scott


Fish’s real name: Derek William Dick


Eddie Vedder's real name: Edward Louis Severson III


Peter Criss’ real name: George Peter John Criscuola


Freddie Mercury's real name: Farrokh Bulsara


Flea's real name: Michael Peter Balzary


Perry Farrell's real name: Perry Bernstein


Geddy Lee’s real name: Gary Lee Weinrib


Mick Mars' real name: Robert Deal


Tré Cool's real name: Frank Edwin Wright III


Courtney Love's real name: Courtney Michelle Harrison


Pat Smear's real name: Georg Albert Ruthenberg


Gene Simmons' real name: Chaim Klein Witz


Spike’s real name: Jonathan Gray


Iggy Pop's real name: James Newell Osterberg, JR.


Alice Cooper's real name: Vincent Damon Furnier


Slash's real name: Saul Hudson


Mike Dirnt's real name: Michael Ryan Pritchard


Ronnie James Dio's real name: Ronald James Padavona


Brody Dalle's real name: Bree Joanna Alice Robinson


Skin's real name: Deborah Anne Dyer


Nicky Wire's real name: Nicholas Jones


Amy Lee's real name: Amy Lynn Hartzler


Bill Wyman's real name: William Perks


Izzy Stradlin's real name: Jeffrey Isbell


Paul Stanley's real name: Stanley Eisen


Vince Neil's real name: Vincent Neil Wharton


Duff McKagan's real name: Michael McKagan


Jack Black’s real name: Thomas Jacob Black


Lemmy's real name: Ian Fraser Kilmister


John Paul Jones' real name: John Baldwin


Joan Jett's real name: Joan Larkin


Eric Clapton's real name: Eric Patrick Clapp


Siouxsie Sioux's real name: Susan Janet Ballion


Rachel Bolan’s real name: James Richard Southworth


David Bowie's real name: David Robert Hayward Stenton Jones


Little Richard's real name: Richard Wayne Penniman


Sid Vicious' real name: John Simon Ritchie


Ace Frehley's real name: Paul Daniel Frehley


Lou Reed's real name: Louis Firbank


Joe Strummer's real name: John Graham Mellor


Marc Bolan's real name: Mark Feld


The Edge's real name: David Howell Evans


Meat Loaf's real name: Marvin Lee Aday


Steven Tyler's real name: Steven Victor Tallarico


Ozzy Osbourne's real name: John Michael Osbourne


Jon Bon Jovi's real name: John Francis Bongiovi


Joey Belladonna’s real name: Joseph Bellardini


Jack White's real name: John Anthony Gillis


Bono's real name: Paul David Hewson


Sting's real name: Gordon Sumner


Billy Idol’s real name: William Michael Albert Broad


Geezer Butler’s real name: Terence Butler


Pat Benatar’s real name: Patricia Mae Giraldo


Bo Diddley’s real name: Ellas McDaniel


Muddy Waters’ real name: McKinley Morganfield


Stevie Nicks’ real name: Stephanie Lynn Nicks


Doro’s real name: Dorothee Pesch


Sebastian Bach’s real name: Sebastian Philip Bierk


Joe Perry’s real name: Joseph Pereira


Jimi Hendrix’s real name: James Marshall Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix)


Zakk Wylde’s real name: Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt


Maynard James Keenan’s real name: James Herbert Keenan


Blaze Bayley’s real name: Bayley Alexander Cooke


Biff Byford's real name: Peter Rodney Byford


M. Shadows' real name: Matthew Charles Sanders


Syd Barrett's real name: Roger Keith Barrett


Chris Jericho's real name: Christopher Keith Irvine


Ginger Wildheart's real name: David Leslie Walls


Paul Di'Anno's real name: Paul Andrews


Phil X’s real name: Theofilos Xenidis


Peter Green’s real name: Peter Allen Greenbaum


Nicko McBrain’s real name: Michael Henry McBrain


Noddy Holder’s real name: Neville John Holder


Steel Panther’s real names

Michael Starr: Ralph Michael Saenz, Satchel: Russell John Parrish, Stix Zadinia: Darren Leader, Spyder: Joe Lester.

Lexxi Foxx’s real name: Travis Haley


Jet Black’s real name: Brian John Duffy


Buddy Holly’s real name: Charles Hardin Holley


Elvis Costello’s real name: Declan Patrick McManus


Rikki Rockett’s real name: Richard Allan Ream


Blackie Lawless' real name: Steven Edward Duren


Maxim's real name: Keith Andrew Palmer


Rat Scabies' real name: Christopher John Millar


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