Though they’re sure as shit not breaking up anytime soon, Foo Fighters have been having a little fun with us over the past few hours, amidst a fury of break up rumours and comments indicating an indefinite hiatus following a massive world tour in support of their latest album Sonic Highways.
The whole thing’s all a bit complicated, but basically while the band put their breakup rumours to bed like Taylor Hawkins in the Everlong video with today’s huge troll, a newly published interview with Hawkins himself from January reveals that the Fooies are actually currently on a break.
“We’re on ihateus right now, we’re on an indefinite ihateus,” he said. And right now, it’s unclear whether his comments were part of a long con to stoke the initial breakup rumours or if he was actually being legit.
Either way, the news has made us all feel a little nostalgic. So while we wait to find out whether or not Foo Fighters are actually on “ihateus”, we’ve decided to take a trip down rock ‘n’ roll memory lane by reminiscing about all the times Dave Grohl & co defied expectations over their double decade-spanning career.
The Time They Turned An Album Into A Television Series, Featuring A Heap Of Music Legends
Not content with just recording an album the old fashioned way, for their 2014 record Sonic Highways the band recorded each of the record’s eight songs in a different city in America. That release was accompanied by an excellent HBO series which followed them around the country as they recorded with legends like Bowie producer Tony Visconti, Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielson and Gary Clark Jr.
Watch: Sonic Highways Trailer
https://youtu.be/q0TrqXHoL10
The Time Dave Grohl Toured With A Broken Leg On A Throne
Last year Dave Grohl broke his leg while in the middle of a world tour. While they had to cancel a headline slot at Glastonbury, they didn’t cancel the world tour. Instead, while Grohl’s leg recovered, he performed sitting down. But it wasn’t just any ol’ chair that he perched on. He sat on a rock ‘n’ roll throne that may be one of the greatest things to ever grace a rock show.
Seeing @foofighters frontman Dave Grohl at #TheGRAMMYs and thinking about his epic concert from the throne in August pic.twitter.com/M3FTF7DVXx
— Xcel Energy Center (@XcelEnergyCtr) February 16, 2016
The Time They Played A Show In A Small Italian Town After A 1,000 Person Tribute
Dave Grohl is one of the hardest live performers out there today but he does have a tendency to well-up. He did it when Florence + The Machine covered Times Like These while filling in for them at Glastonbury and he also did it when a small Italian town gathered together 1,000 people to play Learn To Fly so they could convince the band to play there. Never one to let a good deed go unnoticed, a clearly emotional Grohl vowed to play in the town and followed through. “It’s hard to put into words how humbled that made me feel,” he said at the time.
Watch: Foo Fighters Rockin1000
The Time Grohl Blasted Bands For Only Playing Two Hour Sets
Foo Fighters play some of the longest sets in the biz with many shows exceeding 25 songs. It’s a valiant effort for a band in their 40s and what’s even better is they think every band should be doing the same thing. “All of those new bands that play those little two-hour concerts, you don’t want that shit,” Grohl told a crowd last year in Calgary. But then again, maybe they wouldn’t need time off if they didn’t go so hard night after night.
Watch: Dave Grohl Criticise Short Shows In Calgary
The Time They Rick-Rolled The Westboro Baptist Church
The Westboro Baptist Church douche canoes spend most of their time spreading hateful messages like “God Hates Fags” and “Obama = Antichrist”. The Foos aren’t having any of this hate speech and last year decided to respond to the church’s dribble by giving them a good rickroll. Members of the church were picketing a Kansas City Foo Fighters concert when the boys rolled through town blaring Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up out of an open-top car. Amazing.
Watch: Foo Fighters Rick Roll Westboro Baptist Church
All The Times They Played Surprise Shows
The Foos are capable of selling-out arenas all around the world and they have spent most of their time doing just that but occasionally they like to mix it up a bit and surprise people. Last year when they were in Australia on tour, part of the band took to the 2015 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour on the Gold Coast to casually play a show as Chevy Metal. In 2014, they took to small Chicago venue Cubby Bear, the place Grohl saw his first gig in 1983, to knock out a few tunes and live stream it to the world. The same year they also crammed 600 fans into a venue in Brighton, England playing under the pseudonym The Holy Shits. You just never know when they’re going to pop up.
Watch: Foo Fighters – Learn To Fly (Live at Brighton Concorde)
The Time Dave Grohl Laid The Smackdown On Reality TV Talent Shows
Not one to be a known giver of fucks, the Foos frontman has been outspoken in his criticism of talent shows like Idol and The Voice, which he believes are shattering the dreams of aspiring young musicians and ruining the music industry. Stick it to the man, Dave!
The Time They Were So Loud You Could Hear Them Four Miles Away
If you’ve ever been to a Foos gig, you’ll know that your ears ring for days after. It’s extremely loud and back in 2012 we learnt that it’s so loud that even people who aren’t at the gig can hear it. During a festival set at Tennent’s Vital festival in the UK the band received complaints from residents who lived four miles away. One complaint said they “heard every ooh and ah and beat of the drum,” while another said her “windows shook”.
The Time They Became Best Buds With Deadmau5
Over their career, the band has collaborated with everyone from Stevie Nicks to Puff Daddy but perhaps their strangest was Deadmau5. The Canadian producer remixed their track Rope from Wasting Light and then they took to the stage with the most popular mouse in EDM at the Grammys. It was odd to say the least but it was also a reminder that they can pull off almost anything.
Watch: The Foo Fighters And Deadmau5 At The 2012 Grammys
https://youtu.be/gzx3S_JkTHU
The Time They Recorded A Song For The Beaconsfield Miners
Back in 2006 a mine in Tasmania collapsed leaving one dead and two trapped. The pair were there for almost two weeks before they were rescued and at one point requested that an MP3 player with Foo Fighters be sent down to them. When Grohl heard of the request he said that once they were out he would grab a beer with them. True to his word, he met with the two men in 2006 in Sydney and followed it up with a song Ballad Of The Beaconsfield Miners which featured on their 2007 record Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace.
Listen: Foo Fighters – Ballad Of The Beaconsfield Miners
And Finally…The Time They Fooled Us All Into Thinking They Were Breaking Up
Amid rumours that they were on the cusp of breaking up this month, Dave Grohl & co pulled off the mack daddy of all trolls on their fans. After teasing a big band announcement, Team Foo unfurled a fake documentary video, mocking reports that Dave Grohl had had enough and was going solo. The hilarious clip features Grohl exploring his solo career aspirations, as the rest of the band attempt to move on and “make Foo Fighters great again” with a new frontman: Nick Lachey.
Foo Fighters – Official Band Announcement
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We have no doubt that Foo Fighters will live to troll again. But until then, I guess we’ll just have to hang onto these awesome memories.
