Brian May and Queen were very influential, especially for Taylor Hawkins. The Foo Fighters drummer was only 10 when he first heard Queen’s music live at his first concert. After that, no show was comparable. Hawkins’ love for Queen flowed into his own music. He brought the legendary rock band to a younger generation.
Despite May’s initial shock at how much Hawkins admired Queen, he was thrilled that Hawkins was sharing her with a whole new audience.
Brian May said he was shocked Taylor Hawkins was such a big Queen fan
May reflected on Hawkins, who died March 25, and the drummer’s love for Queen during an interview My planet rocks. He said he was shocked by it Hawkins was such a huge fan because he was cooler than Queen.
“The funny thing was that he turned out to be the biggest Queen fan in the world,” May said. “That always came as a shock to me because he seemed way cooler than us.”
May loves that Hawkins helped spread Queen’s music to a younger generation. “I think Taylor Hawkins single-handedly made Queen cool for a new generation. He knew everything about us…everything!
“It was at that point that he and (Foo Fighters guitarist) Pat Smear presented us with an award at a ceremony – I can’t even remember what it was now – but at that point it became clear very early on that they knew everything. They knew more about us than we did! It was always a great thing.”
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TIED TOGETHER: Taylor Hawkins used to ride mountain bikes to clear his head and think about songs
May said it was wonderful to work with Hawkins on Cyborg
The Queen guitarist is celebrating the reissue of his second solo album Another world. May asked Hawkins to provide drums for the track “Cyborg”.
Hawkins had only joined the Foo Fighters a year earlier in 1997 and had experience working as Drummer for Alanis Morissette for a time. For him, it was a moment when things came full circle.
“It was wonderful,” May said of their collaboration. “Not because he was the famous Taylor Hawkins or the famous Foo Fighters, because they weren’t famous then – they were just starting out and they were great in those early days. It was a fantastic kind of raw magic.
“I remember at Brixton Academy seeing the place blown up. They didn’t seem to take themselves seriously, they just broke down all the barriers and Taylor really was a kid. He just came out of playing drums for Alanis Morissette and now had the opportunity to do what he really wanted to do, which was play hard rock (music).”
“He was excited to come in and play[on ‘Cyborg’]. I was excited to have him there because my god I had never seen anyone bang the drums like that.”
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TIED TOGETHER: The Foo Fighters song Taylor Hawkins found most difficult to perform
The guitarist recalled his last phone call with Hawkins before his death
May recalled being madly in love with Hawkins whenever he saw Foo Fighters live. He watched Hawkins the whole time, just like Hawkins had when he first saw Queen.
“Now I’ve seen a lot of the world’s best drummers and (I) have been very fortunate to work with them, but Taylor was kind of a lightning bolt. I don’t know what he had in his body, but it’s extraordinary.
“Whenever I saw Foo Fighters concertsI ended up just watching Taylor the whole time because the way his body moves, the precision, the speed and the passion were extraordinary. There are some exceptional drummers and I know a lot of them, but Taylor, I think everyone will agree, was a very, very special boy. A very special golden boy.”
May also recalled his last phone call with Hawkins a week before the drummer’s death. He said they talked about making new music together.
“He’s one of those people who has retained his kind of childlike quality,” May said. “He never grew up. He was never deadened by anything. I spoke to him a week before this horrific accident and he was full of joy, just full of laughter and full of fun. (He) said: “When do we get together?! We need to make more music!”, all that stuff.”
Commenting on Hawkins’ death, May added: “I don’t like wallowing in tragedy. I don’t like staying there. But that is life. Life is full of pain and joy, and sorrow and heartache. You have to go through all this and just live with it and live it.
“And music is a great healing tool, I think more than anything else. We all heal by sharing things through music and god knows rock music is the best music for that. That’s why I do it. I don’t think there is any other music that nourishes the soul like rock music.”
Queen was always with Hawkins. Now Queen Hawkins will never be forgotten.
TIED TOGETHER: How Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohl’s drumming differed
https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/brian-may-surprised-taylor-hawkins-huge-queen-fan-single-handedly-made-queen-cool-new-generation.html/ “He single-handedly made Queen cool for a new generation”
