The first of two planned tributes to the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins took place in London yesterday, and it was a star-studded celebration of the musician's life.
The six-hour-long event saw every from Paul McCartney to Mark Ronson to Liam Gallagher, Rush's Geddy Lee, The Police's Stewart Copeland and AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson take part, along with Hawkins' Foo Fighters bandmates.
Foo Fighters played emotional versions of their songs 'Times Like These', 'The Best of You' and more:
Throughout the afternoon and evening, there were numerous performances in honour of Hawkins, including Dave Grohl's 16-year-old daughter Violet, who sang Jeff Buckley's 'Grace' and 'Last Goodbye' after revealing that Hawkins had introduced her to the tragic musician's music.
"He was a musicologist, he knew more about music than anyone I’ve ever met in my life," she explained. "He constantly turned me onto albums I’d never heard before. One of them was Jeff Buckley’s ‘Grace’, which is a classic album."
Watch below:
Liam Gallagher, who was friend with Hawkins, opened the concert with two Oasis songs, backed by Foo Fighters - 'Live Forever' and 'Rock 'n' Roll Star':
Paul McCartney also performed, returning the favour to Grohl - who made his first live appearance since Hawkins' death during McCartney's Glastonbury set in June.
The Beatles legend played 'Oh Darling' live for the first time ever, joined by Grohl and Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde:
Young drummer Nandi Bushell, who took part in the online 'Drum Battle' with Grohl throughout lockdowns, also made an appearance:
Queen's Brian May played 'Love of My Life' acoustically, eliciting a huge crowd singalong:
Perhaps most emotionally, however, Hawkins' 16-year-old son Shane sat in for his dad on Foo Fighters' song 'My Hero', which didn't leave a dry eye in the house:
Comedian Dave Chappelle also turned up to share his memories of Hawkins:
The second tribute concert will take place in Los Angeles on September 27th.
