Drummer Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters performs onstage during the One Love Malibu Festival at King Gillette Ranch on December 02, 2018 in Malibu, California. Photo / Getty Images
Drummer Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters performs onstage during the One Love Malibu Festival at King Gillette Ranch on December 02, 2018 in Malibu, California. Photo / Getty Images
Taylor Hawkins, the longtime drummer for the rock band Foo Fighters, has died. He was 50.
Local media reported the rocker and dad-of-three was found unresponsive in a hotel room in Bogota, Colombia where the band were due to play at a festival on Friday night.
A statement on the band's Twitter account posted at 4pm today, announced they were "devastated" by his death.
"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."
According to local media, Hawkins died in a Bogota hotel room ahead of a Foo Fighters performance. The band are on tour in South America. They played a festival in San Isidro, Argentina on Sunday and had been scheduled to play at another in Bogotá, Colombia on Friday night.
One of the most successful bands of the past 30 years, the Foo Fighters are led by singer Dave Grohl who formed the band in 1994 after the dissolution of the band Nirvana. Grohl had been the drummer for Nirvana.
After Grohl, Hawkins was probably the most prominent member of the group, appearing alongside Grohl in interviews and playing prominent roles in the band's videos.
He also starred in Foo Fighters' recently released horror-comedy film, "Studio 666," in which a demonic force in a house the band is staying in seizes Grohl and makes him murderous.
Hawkins and other members of the band, Pat Smear, Rami Jaffee, Chris Shiflett, Nate Mendel, are killed off one by one. The film allowed the group, who for decades have been one of rock music's most durable acts, to have fun while acting out a long-running joke.
Here’s Dave Grohl talking about why Taylor Hawkins joined Foo Fighters in 1997.
The film's premise came out of their work on their 10th studio album at a home in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley.
Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters performs at the Innings Festival at Tempe Beach Park on February 26 this year. Photo / AP
The Foo Fighters are scheduled to tour New Zealand later this year. They are set to play Wellington Regional Stadium on December 15 and Auckland's Western Springs on December 17.
Frontier Touring communications director Maria Robinson said at this stage they had no comment to make on the status of the 2022 Foo Fighters tour of New Zealand. Robinson said out of respect to the band they had not contacted them about whether the tour would go ahead yet.
Fans of the band, as well as Taylor, flocked to the replies to show their support.
One user tweeted: "Terrible news. So sorry."
Another wrote: "We are devastated by this. Our hearts go out to his family & Foo brothers."
A third responded: "Is this real? What?"
Shit, losing Taylor Hawkins is rough man. He was integral to the Foo Fighters. Shit, this is tough. Rest easy Taylor pic.twitter.com/Etn1lsIIzc
1996 Alanis Morissette “Jagged Little Pill” Tour. One of the biggest selling Albums of the 90s. 2 years before he joined the Foo Fighters, Taylor Hawkins was her drummer pic.twitter.com/uhdnaWzH64
Born Oliver Taylor Hawkins in Fort Worth Texas in 1972, Hawkins was raised in Laguna Beach, California. He played in the small Southern California band Sylvia before landing his first major gig as a drummer for Canadian singer Sass Jordan. He then spent the mid-1990s as the touring drummer for Alanis Morissette before Grohl asked him to join the Foo Fighters.
It's the second time Grohl has experienced the death of a close bandmate. Grohl was the drummer for Nirvana when Kurt Cobain died in 1994.
Hawkins is survived by his wife Alison and their three children.
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. pic.twitter.com/2AUeqpaN94
Taylor Hawkins was a terrific drummer with a gorgeous disposition, seemed always to be having the time of his life. I didn't know him well but I know music is lessened by his passing, made duller and smaller. Requiescat. 🎈
Heart broken with the news of @taylorhawkins passing💔 One of the nicest humans you’d ever meet. God Bless and Rest In Peace. So sad for his wife and kids. Praying for you all. Your music will live on forever. #Legend
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
. @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
