Taylor Hawkins wasn't just the drummer of the Foo Fighters.
He was also one of the biggest Queen fans in the world.
In the weeks after the untimely death of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins on March 25th,
the music world has been in a state of shock.
Hawkins was just 50 years old when he died at a hotel in Bogotá, Colombia while he and
his bandmates were in the midst of a string of shows in South America.
His death prompted a series of tributes from fans and fellow musicians on social media
as well as at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, which were held just over a week after his
death.
The awards ceremony was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, and featured an extended tribute to
the late drummer, whose band took home three Grammys that evening.
Singer Billie Eilish also performed her song "Happier Than Ever" while wearing a shirt
with Hawkins' picture on it.
Many who knew Hawkins have publicly grappled with trying to process his death.
That's included a member of one of the late drummer's all-time favorite bands: Queen guitarist
Brian May.
Brian May was born July 19th, 1947, in Hampton, Middlesex, England.
From an early age, May demonstrated high intelligence.
When he was a teenager he and his father built his first guitar from scratch.
The two Mays used whatever they could to build a guitar that became known as the Red Special.
That guitar became synonymous with May and it — along with May's fondness for using
a six-pence coin instead of a traditional guitar pick — became major hallmarks of
May's guitar tone, which in turn made up a huge portion of Queen's sound.
In 1965, May went to college planning to study astrophysics, but he was sidetracked by his
burgeoning music career.
He continued chipping away at his PhD and eventually completed it in 2007.
May, along with drummer Roger Taylor, bassist John Deacon, and the late vocalist Freddie
Mercury teamed up to write some of the biggest songs in rock music history including "Bohemian
Rhapsody," "Killer Queen," and "Another One Bites The Dust."
Those are songs everybody loves, but Taylor Hawkins was nothing less than a Queen superfan.
His fandom was well-known, with the drummer having shared his admiration for the band
in several interviews.
"I wanted to be Roger Taylor and I wanted to be in Queen, you know.
I wanted to play stadiums when I was 10 years old, there's no question."
Hawkins and Foo Fighters played Queen covers during their live shows from time to time,
even doing so at Hawkins' final performance in Argentina, when Hawkins stepped out from
behind the drums to handle vocal duties on the Queen classic "Somebody To Love."
In 2019, Queen's Roger Taylor sat in on drums to play the hit song "Under Pressure" at DirecTV's
Super Saturday Night event, with Hawkins once again taking on vocal duties for the cover.
Prior to all of that, in 2001, Hawkins also had the thrill of a lifetime when he and Dave
Grohl got the opportunity to induct Queen into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Hawkins said at the ceremony,
"Queen were my first concert and every concert since has been a bit of a letdown.
Two of the best hours of my life."
According to People, May and Hawkins first crossed paths while the latter was still playing
drums for singer Alanis Morrisette, his gig before joining Foo Fighters in 1997.
The two hit it off, and following Hawkins' death, May paid tribute to Hawkins' enthusiasm
for Queen.
May said in an interview with SiriusXM's "Debatable,"
"Taylor has been the best publicist for Queen ever.
He's been so good for our image because he kind of regarded us as cool, whereas a lot
of people at that time didn't."
At the time of Hawkins' death, May was gearing up for a re-issue of his 1998 solo album "Another
World," a record which features the late drummer's playing on the track "Cyborg."
May also talked about how close he felt to Hawkins, saying,
"Taylor was like family to us, he really was.
[...] It's just impossible to imagine talking about Taylor in the past tense.
I can't do it yet.
I feel like he's still with us.
And one of the greatest drummers ever, of course, but also the most amazingly energetic,
beautiful guy you could imagine."
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