‘You saved my life’: US rock star Josh Homme reveals touching moment from Glasgow gig

Rock god Josh Homme has opened up about the personal hardship and sacrifices he has made, and a moment on stage that will stick with him forever.

Josh Homme of the band Queens Of The Stone Age performs at the Kia Forum. (Photo by Harmony Gerber/Getty Images)

There is a bittersweet price to pay for being one of the most popular rock road warriors in the world.

And for rock god Josh Homme – who loves his job, by the way – it will be the 35 days he is apart from his three children while Queens of the Stone Age (QOTSA) tour Japan, then Australia and New Zealand next month.

The band’s recent record In Times New Roman was a raw and personal exploration of one of the toughest chapters in his life.

In recent years, he split with Australian rocker wife Brody Dalle and engaged in a long and public custody battle over their teen daughter and two sons who now reside with him.

He lost several close friends including former QOTSA member Mark Lanegan, Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, celebrity chef and television presenter Anthony Bourdain and actor Rio Hackford.

Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme. Picture: Andreas Neumann.

The album’s release was pushed back to June last year as Homme was treated for an unspecified cancer.

So with those life reality checks still front of mind, the 50-year-old musician wishes he could bring his brood with him to Australia. But school comes first.

“I would love to because they’ve got people down there, but it’s so long so unfortunately I’m not taking anybody,” he said.

“This is actually going to be difficult for me, it’s like 35 days (away from them).”

The band returned to touring last year in support of their eighth record, with one of their first big gigs at the famous Glastonbury festival – on the same time slot as Homme’s mate Elton John who was headlining the final night.

No one was expecting the huge crowd which greeted QOTSA set on the smaller stage nor that a video of the circle pit mosh inspired by their explosive performance would go viral.

“I saw Elton before (backstage), and he was like, ‘Good luck playing to three people,’ which I thought was really funny,” Homme says.

“When we walked out, it was tonnes of people, but it wasn’t what I expected, no one had said anything. It lit a fire under all of us.”

American rock band Queens of the Stone Age. Picture: Supplied

Homme’s reason for living as a musician isn’t that he ever wanted QOTSA to be the biggest band in the world but rather to be “someone’s favourite band.”

The band has endured for 28 years because they are a lot of people’s favourite band. Their sexy, danceable rock songs, and the collective power of the band on any stage, have forged the kind of bond with fans that lasts a lifetime.

He sees the same faces in the front rows every time they hit a town; he knows these people.

But a moment during a show in Glasgow in November shocked him to his core.

After spotting a young boy hollering from his perch on his father’s shoulders, Homme asked the crowd to part to allow the pair make their way to the front of the stage. The father, his face contorted with the passion of moment, yelled to the rocker: “I love you. You saved my life.” Homme answered: “You saved mine too.”

“You should have seen his face; I don’t think I’ll ever forget it,” Homme said.

“My truth is that’s all I’ve ever wanted, to be part of somebody’s big moment. We’re so blessed because the band is bigger than ever, and that’s a strange thing because that’s not what I was looking for. So that (moment) was such a big deal to me; it’s the coolest part of all of this for us.”

Queens of the Stone Age featuring Josh Homme. Picture: Andreas Neumann

Homme knows he has the songs in his armoury guaranteed to unleash the moshpit beast and whip those brave fans in the front rows into a dancing frenzy.

There’s No One Knows, My God Is The Sun, Little Sister, Burn The Witch and Sick, Sick, Sick to do the job.

But the setlist now, incorporating the In Times New Roman songs, hits differently. The ragged, intense feelings he is exorcising in tracks like Emotion Sickness (“Baby don’t care for me / Had to let her go) are tough to hide, even when the spotlight is dimmed. You can hear it in his voice.

“There are certain songs that are just hard to do because they just remind me of something that’s not there anymore,” he said.

“And, you know, that’s the nature of wanting. It’s not here, but boy, do I want it bad.

“So I’ve dealt with that where I’m like, holy shit, I need to like take one quick breath and then we’ll go at it.”

Queens of the Stone Age open their Australian tour in Perth on February 10 and then head to The Drive, Adelaide on February 13, Mona Lawns, Hobart on February 16, Torquay Common, Victoria on February 18, Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne, on February 19, Hordern Pavilion, Sydney on February 21 and 22, Broadwater Parklands, Gold Coast on February 24 and Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane on February 25 and 26.

Originally published as ‘You saved my life’: US rock star Josh Homme reveals touching moment from Glasgow gig