Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert (Concert) on Sep 3, 2022

Taylor Hawkins was the drummer of the rock band Foo Fighters, also counting ex-Nirvana Dave Grohl and Pat Smear as band members. Paul McCartney played with those guys on many occasions, for instance collaborating on the track “Sunday Rain“, the first Foo Fighters track featuring Taylor Hawkins on vocals, in 2017.

When Taylor Hawkins died in March 2022, Paul McCartney posted the following message:

Taylor’s sudden death came as a shock to me and the people who knew and loved him. Not only was he a GREAT drummer but his personality was big and shiny and will be sorely missed by all who were lucky to live and work alongside him.

I was asked by the Foo Fighters to play on one of their tracks. It turned out that they wanted me to play drums! – on one of Taylor’s songs. This request came from a group with TWO amazing drummers! It was an incredible session and cemented my relationship with Taylor and the guys. Later they asked if I would induct them into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame. I sang with them on ‘Get Back’. Taylor provided a powerhouse drum part. I’ll never forget that night. All of which made it much more of a desperately sad shock to hear he had died. So thanks Taylor for sharing some glorious minutes with me. You were a true Rock and Roll hero and will always remain in my heart.

God bless his family and band – Love Paul
From Paul McCartney on Facebook, March 30, 2022

In September 2022, the remaining members of the Foo Fighters organized two tribute concerts, to remember Taylor Hawkins. The first of those concerts was held on September 3 in London.

From Foo Fighters:

Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear and Rami Jaffee will come together with the Hawkins family to celebrate the life, music and love of their husband, father, brother and bandmate with The Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts.

As one of the most respected and beloved figures in modern music, Taylor’s monolithic talent and magnetic personality endeared him to millions of fans, peers, friends and fellow musical legends the world over. Millions mourned his untimely passing on March 25, with passionate and sincere tributes coming from fans as well as musicians Taylor idolized. The Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts will unite several of those artists, the Hawkins family and of course his Foo Fighters brothers in celebration of Taylor’s memory and his legacy as a global rock icon—his bandmates and his inspirations playing the songs that he fell in love with, and the ones he brought to life.

The all-star rock and roll shows will take place September 3 at London’s Wembley Stadium and September 27 at The Kia Forum in Los Angeles.

The lineups for each show will be announced shortly. […]

Taylor Hawkins joined Foo Fighters in 1997, first appearing with the band on the tour supporting sophomore album The Colour & The Shape. He made his recorded debut with Foo Fighters with 1999’s There Is Nothing Left To Lose, playing on every subsequent FF album, including One By One, In Your Honor (the first FF album to feature him assuming lead vocal duties on his song “Cold Day In The Sun”), Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, Wasting Light, Sonic Highways, Concrete & Gold (also featuring him as lead singer on “Sunday Rain”) and Medicine at Midnight. As a member of Foo Fighters, Taylor was a 15-time GRAMMY Award winner and member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He lived and loved music to an insatiable degree, with Foo Fighters as well as his numerous solo and side projects and collaborations.

The line-up and schedule were published before the concert, but Paul McCartney was unannounced and appeared as a special guest. The day before the concert, Paul and the Foo Fighters were heard rehearsing The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” outside Wembley Stadium, spoiling the surprise.

On the day of the concert, Paul played two songs. The first track was “Oh! Darling“, a track from The Beatles’ “Abbey Road” album he had never played live before. He was joined by Chrissie Hynde, from The Pretenders, for this rendition. The second track was “Helter Skelter“.

Dave Grohl: Pulling this whole thing together over the last three months, we’ve met some really amazing people. People that I’ve never met before. One of them, I got to stand on stage with tonight and play the bass – Miss Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders, who I happen to think is the baddest motherfucker in the world. She brought a friend with her tonight, so would everybody please welcome Miss Chrissie Hynde and our good friend, Mr Paul McCartney.

Paul McCartney: God bless Taylor. Me and Chrissie are gonna do a song here that I haven’t done since we recorded it 100 years ago. I’ve never done it as a duet, but we’re gonna do it tonight for the first time for you.

[Waiting for drummer Omar Hakim to join them]

Paul McCartney: We could do it without a drummer. I don’t know, I guess he’s at the pub.

[Chrissie Hynde left the stage after “Oh! Darling” was finished]

Paul McCartney: Dave rang me up one day and he said, ‘Taylor’s written this song called ‘Summer Rain’,’ and he said, ‘We’d like you to drum on it,’” the star shared. “There’s this group who’ve got two of the best drummers in the world and they want me to drum on it? So I did. It’s quite a memory.

[Paul McCartney and Foo Fighters started playing “Helter Skelter”]

In November 2023, RollingStone published an interview with Geddy Lee from rock band Rush. Rush participated in the Taylor Hawkins tribute and Geddy Lee had the opportunity to meet with Paul McCartney during the rehearsals.

So Paul McCartney came up to you and congratulated you and said you should get back on the road?

Dave [Grohl] was so sweet. He comes up to us at rehearsal and he goes, “Paul McCartney’s up next to rehearse, and he’s outside, and he said to me, ‘Dave, I’ve never met anyone from Rush before.’”

And I said, “I’ve never met him! Bring him in, please.” And he came in. He’s just a very lovely man. A very positive person.

Did you get the sense that he knew your music?

No, but I got the sense he knew who we were and had heard about us. He had never listened to us. So at the show, he was there. He watched the set. I think he was really curious because people probably had mentioned us to him.

But after the show, he was incredible. He was so warm and embracing and positive. He came and sat and drank with us. We all got plastered together. And he was very emphatic, talking about, “You know what Ringo always says: ‘It’s what we do.’” And I said, “Talk to Al, because he’s the stubborn one.” And so he was lecturing Al about how great it is to tour. “You have to do it, man. You have to get back out there, man.” And Alex said something like, “I’ll do it, if you’ll be our manager.” “I’ll manage you, mate!” It was really fun, really funny, but he had a point. That’s the way he looks at life. He’s ageless because he really, truly believes he was born to do this. That’s what you do. And you just do it. You don’t question it. And I think we all sometimes forget that.
Geddy Lee – From Geddy Lee Wants to Tour with Alex Lifeson: ‘I Keep Working on Him’ (rollingstone.com), November 19, 2023