Josh Freese honours Taylor Hawkins on Foo Fighters anniversary
"I continue to miss Taylor"
Josh Freese has marked his first anniversary of officially joining the Foo Fighters by paying tribute to the late-great Taylor Hawkins.
Nine months after Taylor Hawkins’ passing in March 2022, Foo Fighters vowed to continue as a band, however the identity of their new drummer was shrouded in mystery with The Darkness’ Rufus Taylor in the rumour mill alongside Josh Freese.
Foo Fighters finally unveiled Josh Freese as their drummer during their Foo Fighters: Preparing Music for Concerts livestream on 21st May 2023, which featured cameos from Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith, Mötley Crüe’s Tommy Lee and Tool’s Danny Carey.
Marking the anniversary of the announcement, Josh Freese took to Instagram to reflect on the humorous video and also pay tribute to his legendary predecessor.
“A year ago today this aired and I got to stop keeping quiet about what had been referred to as "the worst kept secret in the music business" at the time (though I thought we did a pretty good job on our end.) Foo Fighters released an hour long special of us playing some songs at rehearsal,” Josh Freese wrote.
“I love the way it came out and am proud of it. I joked that all we really needed was ‘All My Life’ and then move on (because it's so goddamn good.) That being said, I continue to miss Taylor as does the band, his family, friends and the rest of the world.
“We also continue to try and make the most of the situation by moving forward and doing what we love doing....playing music, honouring Taylor and staying positive.”
After making his gig debut at Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion on 24th May last year, Josh Freese has played almost 60 shows with Foo Fighters.
The upcoming ‘Everything or Nothing at All UK Tour’ will see Foo Fighters play seven colossal stadium shows in Manchester, Glasgow, London, Cardiff and Birmingham from Thursday 13th June through Thursday 27th June 2024.
Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, Rami Jaffee and Josh Freese will be joined by an alternating support of Wet Leg, Courtney Barnett, Chroma, Himalayas, Honeyblood, Hot Milk, and Shame on the UK trek.
Foo Fighters played their only UK show of 2023 at Glastonbury Festival last June after being billed as mystery band The Churnups.