Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins dies aged 50

Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters has died at 50, his bandmates said

Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters has died at 50, his bandmates said

Drummer Taylor Hawkins of the multi-Grammy award-winning rock group the Foo Fighters has died, his bandmates said in a statement Friday. He was 50.

"The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins," the band said in a statement on Twitter. 

The statement did not say the cause of Hawkins' death, news of which emerged the same day the band was due to play at the Festival Estereo Picnic in Bogota, Colombia. 

Taylor had played with the Foo Fighters -- one of the US' most influential and critically-lauded alternative rock bands -- since 1997, when he was taken on by lead singer and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl.

The Foo Fighters celebrated their 25th anniversary last year, and had most recently produced "Studio 666," a rock-and-roll horror movie.

Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello praised his "unstoppable rock power."

"Our deepest condolences to his family, his bandmates, his team, his friends and everyone that was ever touched by the music he created with @foofighters @Alanis and so many others." 

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