Inside Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins’ long battle with drug abuse
Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins had been open about his long-standing battle with drug abuse prior to his death.
The 50-year-old was playing on the South American leg of the band’s world tour when his sudden death was announced on Saturday.
Local police in Colombia said the father-of-two’s shocking passing may have been drug-related.
Bogota police said: “The cause of death has yet to be established.
“According to those close to him, the death could be related to the consumption of drugs.”
The rockstar has been open about his struggles with drug addiction in the past.
In 2001, Hawkins wound up in a coma for around a week following a heroin overdose in London.
In recently unearthed comments from an interview with Kerrang! in 2021, Hawkins shared details of the harrowing experience.
He told the publication: “Everyone has their own path and I took it too far.
"I was partying in London one night, and I mistakenly did something and it changed everything.
"I believed the bull***t myth of live hard and fast, die young.
"I’m not here to preach about not doing drugs, because I loved doing drugs, but I just got out of control for a while and it almost got me.
"I was heading down a road that was going to lead to even worse paths. Whether someone’s sober, or they like a glass of wine with dinner, or they want a bottle of Jägermeister before they go on stage, or they like to smoke doobies all day long, everyone has their own path, and I took it too far.
"I’m glad it got knocked on the head at that point. I wouldn’t take anything away that I’ve done or been through either, because it’s all part of the trip and the journey. I’m trying to be as candid as I can be."
In the same interview, the musician later revealed how his passion for mountain biking had helped him to stop his drug issues from spiralling.
In an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock three years ago, he admitted that there were times in his life when “partying just got a little too heavy”.
Recalling the heroin overdose that led to his coma, he said: “I’m not an A.A. dude … I don’t really discuss how I live my life in that regard.
"I have my system that works for me. There was a year where the partying just got a little too heavy. And thank God, on some level this guy gave me the wrong line or the wrong thing one night, and I woke up going, ‘What the f**k happened?’ That was a real changing point for me.”
The band announced that they would not be performing at Estéreo Picnic festival following Hawkins’ death.
On Saturday, a tweet from the band’s official Twitter account said: “The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins.
“His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever.
“Our hearts go out to his wife, children and family, and we ask that their privacy be treated with the utmost respect in this unimaginably difficult time.”
