Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl’s emotional Aussie tribute

Rock legend Dave Grohl has revealed what he really thinks about Australia during a touching moment at a Foo Fighters show.

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl left fans feeling emotional during a touching moment at the band’s recent show in Sydney.

The 54-year-old welcomed the crowd of more than 75,000 to the gig at Accor Stadium on Saturday night and was clearly enamoured when acknowledging it was the biggest show the Foo Fighters had ever played in Australia.

The rocker said he was blissfully happy to be back on our shores and revealed some of his true feelings about the land down under in a heartwarming tribute.

“Welcome to the Foo Fighters rock n’ roll show, that’s what we’re here to do,” he smiled.

“Everybody knows this, and I’m not just saying it because we’re here. Australia is one of our favourite f**king places in the entire world.

“It is. It’s like a home away from home. We’ve been coming here for almost 28 years.

“And I will say this, Australia more than anywhere else in the rest of the world, has a new generation of rock people that are coming out to the shows. I’m glad you’re here.”

The Foo Fighters have been touring around Australia. Picture: David Geraghty

The frontman was accompanied by Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, Rami Jaffee and Josh Freese, who joined the band in May 2023.

It was Foo Fighters’ first time in Australia since their one-night-only Geelong concert in March 2022.

Just two weeks later, drummer Taylor Hawkins – who had been with the band since 1997 – would be found dead in a Bogota, Colombia, hotel room. He was just 50 years old.

The father-of-three’s cause of death was reported to be due to a ‘cardiovascular collapse’, with local newspapers stating that his heart weighed double the normal amount when he died.

In the midst of the excitement that was bouncing around that stadium, there was an underlying sting of sadness in the face of Taylor’s absence.

“We’d like to dedicate this song to our dear friend Taylor Hawkins,” Grohl announced, stating that the band’s song Aurora (1999) was the late drummer’s favourite Foo Fighters tune.

Drummer Taylor Hawkins sadly died last year. Picture: Larry Busacca/Getty Images

“This was his favourite Foo Fighters song, and it was the first one we wrote together. So whenever we play it, I like to dedicate it to him.

“Let’s hear it for Taylor.”

During Grohl’s touching tribute, the frontman also revealed the relationship Hawkins’ had with Australia, leaving the crowd feeling more emotional than ever.

“I think this [Australia] was one of his favourite places in the world too. I know it was,” he smiled.

“When he and I used to come down here – look out!”

Grohl and Hawkins famously got up to a few shenanigans while touring down under, including one incident in which the pair almost got arrested before performing at the Big Day Out music festival in 2000.

Hawkins had been in the band since 1997. Picture: Rene Johnston/Toronto Star via Getty Images

In his autobiography The Storyteller, Grohl recalled how he and Hawkins “rented scooters so we could buzz around town during the day, beach to beach, for the three days before our massive show at the Gold Coast Parklands”.

Grohl kicked off the band’s set by riding the scooter on stage, and afterwards, he and Hawkins headed for their hotel – only to run into a police drink driving checkpoint along the way.

While Hawkins was waved past, the frontman, having knocked back “a few tins of malted beverages and a few shots of whiskey” before getting on the scooter, was found to be over the limit.

“All of those years getting away with doing the most jackass sh*t you could possibly imagine and never getting caught, and here I was being arrested in Australia for drunk driving on a f**king moped,” Grohl joked of the incident.

Dave spoke about his love for Australia during the recent Sydney show. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

He was handcuffed, interviewed by police and put in a cell before he was rescued by his tour manager a few hours later – while Hawkins got off scot-free.

The rockers have since released nine more albums, with their latest But Here We Are debuting in June 2023.

The Foos Fighters have been on a world tour since May 2023, following two heartfelt tribute shows for Taylor Hawkins in both London and Los Angeles in September 2022.

The band has been performing shows across the USA, as well as concerts in Japan, Brazil, Germany and Abu Dhabi, before coming down under on November 26.

They have had sellout shows in Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne and Sydney so far.

They will play their final Australian show in Brisbane on Tuesday, before heading over to New Zealand in late January for shows in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington.

Originally published as Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl’s emotional Aussie tribute