QueenrockerBrian Mayis mourning the loss ofFoo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, a lifelong Queen fan who May said was “like family” to him.The guitarist, 74, told SiriusXM’sDebatablethat he’s still struggling to fully wrap his head around losing Hawkins, who died at age 50 on March 25.“He’s so much in my mind at the moment. It’s just impossible to imagine talking about Taylor in the past tense. I can’t do it yet,” he said. “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.“Hawkins has been a self-proclaimed Queen superfan since seeing the “Bohemian Rhapsody” rockers at his first-ever first concert, and has said that the band inspired his desire to be a rock star.Brian May and Taylor Hawkins in 2006.Jonathan Hordle/ShutterstockMay first met Hawkins when the late star was drumming forAlanis Morissette, and they “instantly bonded.““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,” May said.In 1998, May recruited Hawkins to play drums on “Cyborg,” a track that appeared on his solo albumAnother World, which he is reissuing this month.“Taylor was very close to us, and he’s been in my studio a few times and in my life, I talked to him often,” he said. “I talked to him just a week ago from when we lost him, talking about stuff, talking about Dave, talking about what it’s like and Taylor’s joys and frustrations and whatever… Taylor was like family to us, he really was.“Taylor Hawkins.GettyMay continued: “I’m finding it hard to get through. And Taylor of course wasn’t even my generation. I think of him as a boy… It’s hard to compute. It makes you feel frustrated, it makes you feel like you want to negotiate with death. You know what I’m saying? You feel like if you looked at it enough and you talk about it enough and you analyze it enough, maybe you could bring him back.“It was Hawkins and his bandmate Dave Grohl who induced Queen into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, and Hawkins said at the time that his first Queen show was “two of the best hours” of his life.“I wanted to be Roger Taylor and I wanted to be in Queen and I wanted to play stadiums when I was 10 years old,” he later told Anderson Cooper on60 Minutes.During recent Foo Fighters concerts, Grohl would take over on drums while Hawkins took the microphone to sing a cover of Queen’s “Somebody to Love.“Hawkins died in Bogotá, Colombia after complaining of chest pains, and an investigation into his cause of death is ongoing.
QueenrockerBrian Mayis mourning the loss ofFoo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, a lifelong Queen fan who May said was “like family” to him.
The guitarist, 74, told SiriusXM’sDebatablethat he’s still struggling to fully wrap his head around losing Hawkins, who died at age 50 on March 25.
“He’s so much in my mind at the moment. It’s just impossible to imagine talking about Taylor in the past tense. I can’t do it yet,” he said. “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.”
Hawkins has been a self-proclaimed Queen superfan since seeing the “Bohemian Rhapsody” rockers at his first-ever first concert, and has said that the band inspired his desire to be a rock star.
Brian May and Taylor Hawkins in 2006.Jonathan Hordle/Shutterstock
May first met Hawkins when the late star was drumming forAlanis Morissette, and they “instantly bonded.”
“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,” May said.
In 1998, May recruited Hawkins to play drums on “Cyborg,” a track that appeared on his solo albumAnother World, which he is reissuing this month.
“Taylor was very close to us, and he’s been in my studio a few times and in my life, I talked to him often,” he said. “I talked to him just a week ago from when we lost him, talking about stuff, talking about Dave, talking about what it’s like and Taylor’s joys and frustrations and whatever… Taylor was like family to us, he really was.”
Taylor Hawkins.Getty
May continued: “I’m finding it hard to get through. And Taylor of course wasn’t even my generation. I think of him as a boy… It’s hard to compute. It makes you feel frustrated, it makes you feel like you want to negotiate with death. You know what I’m saying? You feel like if you looked at it enough and you talk about it enough and you analyze it enough, maybe you could bring him back.”
It was Hawkins and his bandmate Dave Grohl who induced Queen into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, and Hawkins said at the time that his first Queen show was “two of the best hours” of his life.
“I wanted to be Roger Taylor and I wanted to be in Queen and I wanted to play stadiums when I was 10 years old,” he later told Anderson Cooper on60 Minutes.
During recent Foo Fighters concerts, Grohl would take over on drums while Hawkins took the microphone to sing a cover of Queen’s “Somebody to Love.”
Hawkins died in Bogotá, Colombia after complaining of chest pains, and an investigation into his cause of death is ongoing.
source: people.com
