Justin Hawkins felt “petrified” to perform at Taylor Hawkins memorial concert
The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins has revealed that he was “petrified” about performing at the tribute concerts for the late Taylor Hawkins.
Hawkins, who bears no relation to Taylor, was part of the lineup of the 2022 tribute shows in London and Los Angeles, following the Foo Fighters‘ drummer’s death at age 50.
Now, he’s shared that performing at the colossal gigs initially seemed to be a daunting task. In a new interview with Rolling Stone UK, the frontman shared: “When Taylor died, it was devastating for us because he was Rufus (Taylor, drummer)’s godfather.
“We were on the road in Canada and it was an awful moment, so we did our best to support Rufus through that time.
“But I’d known Taylor too and we’d joked about having the same surname, and there was even a guy who claimed to be the missing family link between us.
“I got the call from Dave Grohl and I was kind of petrified in a way, because he meant so much to me and there was so much at stake. I didn’t want to f*** it up, because I am someone who famously likes to self-sabotage.”
He went on to say that he spent time preparing for the gigs and was ultimately happy with the performance. “I booked a studio, I prepared for it properly and that’s very unlike me,” he said.
“I had to get it right, and it was extremely well received, and I think that’s when people started to see me a little bit differently.
“I performed with Brian Johnson from AC/DC too and he rang me after just to chat, and I saw him at an awards do recently.
“It blows my mind to think I’m considered a national treasure, but it blows it even more to think I’m on first name terms with one of my actual heroes.”
During the concerts, Hawkins was joined by members of the late Foo Fighters drummer’s side project, The Coattail Riders, to perform a four-song set.
In the LA show – following performances from James Gang, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, and Them Crooked Vultures – Justin Hawkins and Freese returned to stage, alongside Grohl and Wolfgang Van Halen, to perform a pair of Van Halen songs.
Meanwhile in London, Hawkins cameoed during Queen’s set to deliver guest vocals on ‘Under Pressure’, and during the Foos’ set with Lars Ulrich and Brian Johnson to guest on the AC/DC hit ‘Back In Black’.
In other news, The Darkness released their latest album ‘Dreams On Toast’ on Friday (March 28).
Elsewhere, Hawkins has locked in a guest appearance on The Stylistics’ first new album in nearly two decades. He contributed to the upcoming record’s opening and title track, ‘Falling In Love With My Girl’, and other names who have collaborated on the record include The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood, ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons, KISS’ Gene Simmons and Steve Lukather of Toto.
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Laura Molloy
NME
