Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins reveals in a new interview that he nearly left the band to join Guns n’ Roses around the turn of the century — and that he has Queen drummer Roger Taylor to thank for sticking with the Foos.
Hawkins tells Classic Rock magazine that it happened while Foo Fighters were promoting his first album with them, There Is Nothing Left to Lose. He’d recently joined the band and Dave Grohl had played drums on about half the album, so Hawkins didn’t feel as secure about his position in the band as he later would.
That’s when he got a call from Guns n’ Roses management, saying that Axl Rose was putting together his new version of the band (without any of the other original members) and was looking for a drummer. According to Hawkins, who was in England at the time, he called Roger Taylor and asked him what he should do.
Taylor told him how he’d in the mid-’70s, before Queen really got big, he’d been approached by ex-Mott the Hoople singer Ian Hunter and guitarist Mick Ronson about joining them in a new band. He decided not to do it because his belief in Queen was so strong. And then he said, “I see you and Dave onstage and there’s something you can’t buy there. There’s something between you guys that might not be there with Axl Rose.” Hawkins decided to stay put and is obviously happy that he did.
He adds, “For all our trials and tribulations, Dave is like a brother. When we walk out onstage, every time we nod and look at each other and go, ‘Alright, here we go.’ We’re getting in the ring together.”
