Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl knew that he and late drummer Taylor Hawkins would be “best friends for the rest of our lives” as soon as they met.
The 57-year-old rocker has recalled how the Foos poached Taylor – who tragically passed away aged 50 in 2022 just hours before the Learn to Fly band were due to perform in Colombia – from Alanis Morissette’s band after he forged an immediate bond with the musician.
Speaking on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Dave said: “Our first record came out around the time Alanis’ first record came out.
“So we were doing a bunch of those festivals and radio shows and things, but that was the first time I met Taylor, backstage.”
He continued: “Here comes this blond, surfer dude, like, ‘Yo, dude. I love your band. You guys are so awesome. Yadda-yadda-yadda.’
“I knew, right then, I was like, ‘Oh, we’re gonna be best friends for the rest of our lives.'”
Taylor left Morissette’s band in March 1997 and joined the Foo Fighters in the same month – just as the rockers were putting the finishing touches on their successful second album The Colour and the Shape.
Meanwhile, Dave revealed earlier this year that he has been haunted by dreams in which he is visited by Hawkins – as well as ghosts of other lost loved ones including his former Nirvana bandmate Kurt Cobain, his childhood friend Jimmy and both of his parents.
He told the Guardian newspaper: “I have had these dreams that seem like visitations. Whether it’s from my mother, or my old friend Jimmy, or Kurt, or my father. And in the dreams, I know that I’m dreaming, but those people are here. And it’s as if they’ve never left.”
Grohl described one particularly painful dream and broke down in tears as he recalled being reunited with Taylor.
He explained: “I fell asleep on a couch, like this one, in front of a television. I thought that I’d woken up, and he was sitting right next to me.
“It was so f****** real. He was happy. His hair looked great; he was tan. The first thing I said was: ‘Oh my God, we miss you so much’. He smiled.
“I said: ‘Where are you?’ And he smiled again and said: ‘Dude’.And I woke up. I was like: ‘***, I almost had it!'”