Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins’ death: New details revealed as Dave Grohl makes emotional return to US

The Foo Fighters frontman made an emotional return to LA as unsettling details emerged into the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins. SEE PHOTOS

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and his bandmates have made an emotional return to the US following the shocking death of drummer Taylor Hawkins while on tour in Colombia on Friday.

Frontman Grohl appeared visibly emotional on Sunday local time after landing in Los Angeles where he embraced a man believed to be the band’s manager, John Silva, reports the New York Post.

Grohl was pictured at LAX with bandmates, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, Nate Mendel and Rami Jaffee, as well as jazz singer Samantha Sidley, who was touring with the band.

An emotional Dave Grohl back in LA from Bogota, Colombia one day after the sudden death of drummer Taylor Hawkins. Picture: AB / BACKGRID

Dave Grohl seen hugging a man believed to be manager John Silva. Picture: AB / BACKGRID

Dave Grohl, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett Rami Jaffee as well as Samantha Sidley and the Foo Fighters’ crew arrived back in LA from Bogota, Colombia one day after the sudden death of drummer Taylor Hawkins. Picture: AB / BACKGRID

In his recent memoir, The Storyteller, Grohl referred to Hawkins as his “best friend and partner in crime”, someone who brightened up rooms with a bubbly presence and a constant “toothy grin”.

The 50-year-old drummer was found dead on Friday in a hotel room at the Four Seasons Casa Medina in Bogota.

There has been no official cause released of his death, although the band said in a statement Friday that his death was a “tragic and untimely loss”.

Foo Fighters fans place candles outside Casa Medina Hotel where the band's drummer Taylor Hawkins was found dead on March 26 in Bogota, Colombia. Picture: Getty Images

Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins during the Foo Fighters gig in Geelong earlier this month. Picture: Brett Schewitz / Frontier Touring

Taylor Hawkins, Dave Grohl and Nate Mendel of the Foo Fighters are pictured in New York last November. Picture: AFP

Prosecutors in Colombia released a statement over the weekend saying toxicological tests on urine from Hawkins’ body preliminarily found 10 psychoactive substances and medicines, including marijuana, opioids, tricyclic antidepressants and benzodiazepines.

It was also reported that the drummer’s heart weighed “at least 600 grams”, double the average of 300 to 350 grams. Hawkins reportedly suffered a “cardiovascular collapse” after bingeing on a cocktail of drugs including heroin, marijuana, and opioids.

FOOTAGE OF HAWKINS’ FINAL GIG EMERGES

As shockwaves continue from Hawkins’ tragic death, video has emerged of his last concert with the band just six days before he died.

In the footage, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl calls Hawkins to the stage from behind his drums, to show off a pair of bright orange striped tights and to invite him to sing.

The banter between the two drew roars from the thousands who were at the concert on day three of the Lollapalooza festival in Argentina.

“There’s one more person we can’t forget ladies and gentlemen,” Grohl said to the crowd.

“Taylor, do you love it?” Grohl asked him, with Hawkins responding, “I f***ing love playing big f---ing huge stadiums”.

When Hawkins walked to the front of the stage he and Grohl embraced, before Hawkins yelled:

“I f---ng love Dave Grohl man. I’d be delivering f---ing pizzas if it wasn’t for Dave Grohl. I’d be managing the drum department at a guitar centre if it wasn’t for Dave Grohl.”

Foo Fighters have released a social media statement paying tribute to Hawkins.

“The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins,” the Twitter statement said.

“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.”

‘10 DRUGS IN SYSTEM’: SHOCK DETAILS OF DEATH

Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins had “10 different types of drugs in his system” when he collapsed and died in his hotel room at the age of 50, according to Colombian officials.

Colombia’s Prosecutor’s Office released a statement saying toxicological tests on urine from Hawkins’ body preliminarily found 10 psychoactive substances and medicines, including marijuana, opioids, tricyclic antidepressants and benzodiazepines. It did not provide a cause of death and investigations are continuing.

In a disturbing development, Colombian journalist Luis Carlos Velez claimed police who entered Hawkins’ room at the luxury Casa Medina Hotel told prosecutors that they saw a “cocaine-like powder” and hallucinogens in the room along with several opened alcoholic beverages.

Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins of the band the Foo Fighters. Picture: Rene Johnston/Toronto Star via Getty Images

Colombian publication Semana reported that the size of Hawkins’ heart – at more than 600 grams, about twice the weight of a typical adult male’s heart – played a part in his death.

The statement about the toxicological tests came after health chiefs issued a statement appearing to signal that Hawkins may have suffered a heart attack. The Secretariat of Health said the musician had sparked a medical emergency after suffering “chest pains” at the luxury Casa Medina hotel after suffering “chest pains”.

Hawkins, a father of three, was on a tour of South America with the Foo Fighters and the band was due to appear at the Grammys in April.

No drugs were mentioned in the statement about the medical emergency from health chiefs, despite the fact police had alluded to Hawkins’ death possibly being drug-related earlier.

The statement read: “The city’s Emergency Regulation Centre received an alert about a patient with chest pain in a hotel located in the north of the city”.

A picture taken on March 18, of Foo Fighters' drummer Taylor Hawkins on stage at the Lollapalooza 2022 music festival in Santiago. Picture: Javier Torres / AFP

The statement said that an ambulance had been sent and that a health professional attempted revival techniques but the patient was pronounced dead.

“The District Secretariat of Health regrets the death of this talented and world-famous drummer and sends a message of condolences to his family, bandmates and fans.”

Earlier, the Metropolitan Police of Bogota speculated that drugs may have been involved.

“The cause of death has yet to be established,” the statement, carried in a number of Colombian newspapers, read.

“According to those close to him, the death could be related to the consumption of drugs.”

Members of a Technical Investigation Team removed the drummer’s body from his room while heartbroken Foo Fighters fans started a candlelight vigil outside the hotel.

Candles and flowers placed outside the Casa Medina Hotel where the Foo Fighter’s drummer Taylor Hawkins was found dead on March 26 in Bogota, Colombia. Picture: Guillermo Legaria/Getty Images

Hawkins, who had three teenage children with wife Alison, spoke openly about his history with drugs and revealed he almost died in 2001 from a heroin overdose in London and spent two weeks in a coma.

He said years later that he wasn’t an addict but had been partying too much.

The American band, fronted by Dave Grohl, confirmed the tragic news on their social media channels.

Hawkins had been in Australia recently, where he performed with the band in Geelong in front of 30,000 people earlier this month. The band helped launch a new music initiative called Always Live, a Victorian government-backed program created by the late music industry boss Michael Gudinski.

Originally published as Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins’ death: New details revealed as Dave Grohl makes emotional return to US