The world became a darker place when Taylor Hawkins, the much-loved and fantastically talented drummer of the world-renowned rock band Foo Fighters, died last Friday, 25 March, aged 50 whilst on tour in Colombia. 

When I woke up at 4.30am this time last week to a Sky News alert that only read ‘Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins…’ in the preview, it didn’t even cross my mind that the rest of the headline might have read ‘has died’. With the release of their tenth studio album, Medicine at Midnight, last year and their first feature length film, Studio 666, only six weeks ago, the band have been doing well and there was no reason to believe anything this devastating was round the corner. When I opened the article and learned that Hawkins had died, I was in complete shock. The news hit me really hard, as it has done for millions across the globe, and I really have never felt such profound sadness about the death of a musician. 

Tributes to Hawkins have been pouring in over the past week, from Paul McCartney and Roger Taylor to Mick Jagger and Slash, and whilst I obviously didn’t know him personally, having read the tributes and stories about him he just seemed like an incredible human being. Machine Gun Kelly also paid a touching tribute to Hawkins on the Howard Stern show this week, recalling how they had hung out in South America just two days before his death after their shows had been cancelled.

The Foo Fighters have unsurprisingly cancelled all upcoming tour dates and it will no doubt take the band a long time to heal. I’m sure Dave, who has already experienced losing a band mate once before, will be finding it particularly hard to process. It was heartbreaking to watch Taylor pay tribute to Dave at his last ever show days before in Argentina – after all this time he was still so grateful to be playing on stage with his best friend.

Taylor Hawkins was the perfect drummer for the Foo Fighters – joining in 1997 he played with the band for 25 years, always giving it his all and looking like he was having the best time. Despite the expectations many drummers might have felt playing drums for one of the most acclaimed rock drummers of the last 30 years, Hawkins never let this phase him and he and Dave clearly had an incredibly strong bond.

In my eyes Hawkins was a true modern-day rockstar – he had the look, the talent, and most importantly the passion. I had visions of the Foo Fighters being our generation’s Rolling Stones, releasing music and touring for many years to come. Instead, the band has been torn apart and no one knows what the future now looks like for the Foo Fighters. One thing we do know is that the world has lost a legend in Taylor Hawkins, a husband, father and musician who will be missed and remembered for decades to come.