100 Fun Facts About Foo Fighters

The band's name was borrowed from a term used by Allied pilots in World War II. What did it describe?

Grohl hoped the name would make listeners assume the record was made by a full band rather than one guy; he later called it 'the stupidest' band name in the world.

Grohl recorded almost all of the debut album himself in October 1994. How many days did the sessions take?

He and producer Barrett Jones would start by noon and knock out four songs a day, then hand cassette copies to friends for feedback.

Only one outside musician plays on the debut album, contributing a guitar part to "X-Static". Who was it?

Dulli happened to be watching Grohl record and got roped in; every other note and vocal on the album is Grohl.

The debut album was released through Capitol on Grohl's own imprint. What was the label called?

The UFO theme runs through the whole package: the cover shot by Grohl's then-wife Jennifer Youngblood shows a Buck Rogers ray gun.

Bassist Nate Mendel and the band's first drummer both came from which recently disbanded Seattle group?

Grohl left the pair a note at one of their last shows; both were invited to join during Halloween week in 1994.

Which former Nirvana touring guitarist joined the original four-piece lineup in 1994?

He left in 1997 citing burnout, came back as a touring member in 2005 and was a full member again by 2010.

Where did the Foo Fighters play their first public show, on February 23, 1995?

The Jambalaya Club gig came five months before the album; shows in Portland and Seattle followed the next week.

The video for "Big Me" parodied the ads for which product, with the band hawking 'Footos'?

The video won Best Group Video at the 1996 VMAs, and fans pelted the band with the candy at shows for years afterward.

Who produced The Colour and the Shape (1997) and returned for Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace?

He spent days in a hotel room with Grohl stripping the songs to their basics before the band ever hit the studio.

Which drummer quit after Grohl re-recorded most of The Colour and the Shape's drum tracks himself?

Grohl had hoped he would still play the tour, but the drummer left; Grohl later re-recorded the parts at Grandmaster Recorders in Hollywood.

Whose touring drummer was Taylor Hawkins when Grohl phoned him for a recommendation and he volunteered?

He had drummed on the Jagged Little Pill tour from 1995 to 1997 and joined the Foos in time for the second album's release.

Who directed the surreal, dream-hopping music video for "Everlong"?

Grohl directed the video for "Monkey Wrench" from the same album, an apartment farce that loops back on itself.

"Everlong" was inspired by Grohl's romance with Louise Post, singer of which band?

Grohl said it was about being so connected to someone that when you sing along together you harmonize perfectly.

Grohl's solo acoustic 'Everlong' took off after an impromptu 1998 performance on whose radio show?

The acoustic take closes the 2006 live album Skin and Bones and appears on the 2009 Greatest Hits.

Foo Fighters' 1997 replacement guitarist Franz Stahl was Grohl's old bandmate from which D.C. hardcore band?

Grohl joined at 17, replacing drummer Kent Stax; the group broke up mid-tour in 1990 when its bassist left.

Which single became the band's first to reach the Billboard Hot 100?

It peaked at number 19 in 1999 and set a record with 13 weeks at number one on Canadian rock radio.

In the video for the band's 1999 airliner single, which comedy duo play cabin cleaners smuggling sleeping powder?

The video won the Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video in 2001; the in-flight elevator music is a Moog cover of "Everlong".

Grohl named his home studio in Alexandria, Virginia 'Studio 606'. What did 606 turn out to be?

He said for years it was 'just one of those numbers that's everywhere' before telling the real story in a 2020 Instagram post about a 1985 lecture from his dad.

Chris Shiflett joined after There Is Nothing Left to Lose from which California punk band?

He also played in the cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes and has released country music as a solo artist.

A 'key man clause' let the band leave Capitol Records when which executive was forced out?

He had been a friend of Grohl since his Geffen days with Nirvana; the band jumped to RCA, which later bought the Capitol catalogue.

Which band's Songs for the Deaf did Dave Grohl help finish before the Foos re-recorded One by One?

The scrapped first version, nicknamed the Million Dollar Demos, has never been officially released in full.

In Your Honor (2005) had an unusual format for a Foo Fighters record. What was it?

Grohl called the two halves 'the bottle and the hangover'; guests included Norah Jones, Josh Homme and John Paul Jones.

Norah Jones duets with Grohl on which bossa nova track from In Your Honor?

Grohl's guitar tech Joe Beebe played lead on it because he was the only person in the crew with jazz chops.

Which Foo Fighters song did Prince cover during his rain-soaked halftime show at Super Bowl XLI in 2007?

Hawkins was surprised, since Prince had earlier objected to the Foos covering his own "Darling Nikki".

Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones joined the band at Wembley in 2008. Which band were they from?

Grohl played drums on "Rock and Roll" while Hawkins sang, then yelled that it was the greatest day of his whole life.

Where was Wasting Light (2011) recorded?

A control room was built inside a tent in the backyard, with two cameras and a TV linking it to the room where the band played.

Wasting Light was produced by the man who had also produced Nirvana's Nevermind. Who?

He had already produced the two new tracks on the band's 2009 Greatest Hits, which is how the reunion started.

What technical rule did the band impose on the recording of Wasting Light?

Grohl complained that Pro Tools drums 'sound like a machine'; the album stayed on tape all the way to post-mastering.

Which former Nirvana bassist appears as a guest on Wasting Light?

Bob Mould, Fee Waybill and Jessy Greene also guest; the album became the band's first to debut at number one on the Billboard 200.

The video for "Walk" is an homage to which 1993 film?

Grohl said the 'having a trial' verse came from watching his daughter Violet learn to walk; the video won Best Rock Video at the 2011 VMAs.

Which network aired the Foo Fighters' Sonic Highways series, about recording eight songs in eight cities?

Grohl directed it himself; the vinyl came in nine covers, one per city plus a 'Forever' building shaped like an infinity symbol.

The Foo Fighters were the final musical guests on whose last late-night show, in May 2015?

The host called them 'my favorite band, playing my favorite song' after the tune had helped him through heart surgery in 2000; the band postponed a tour to be there.

In which city did Grohl break his leg falling off stage in June 2015, finishing the show from a chair?

He needed six metal pins, then toured on a moving throne he says he designed himself while on painkillers, rebranding the run the Broken Leg Tour.

In which country did 1,000 musicians play one Foo Fighters song at once in Cesena in 2015?

The Rockin' 1000 video went viral, and the band duly turned up to play the town that November.

Which pop producer, known for Adele's 'Hello', made Foo Fighters' Concrete and Gold (2017)?

He had never produced a heavy rock record and Grohl had never worked with a pop songwriter; they went on to make the next two albums together too.

Which rock legend guests on drums on the Concrete and Gold track "Sunday Rain"?

The album was cut at EastWest Studios in Hollywood, where the band kept bumping into other artists working down the hall.

Grohl said "probably the biggest pop star in the world" sang backing vocals on Concrete and Gold. Who was it?

He turns up on "Make It Right"; Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men sings on the title track after a chance meeting with Grohl in the parking lot.

For Record Store Day 2021 the band released Hail Satin under a punning alias, covering which group?

The record has four of the brothers' hits plus Andy Gibb's "Shadow Dancing", backed with live Medicine at Midnight tracks.

In Studio 666 (2022), what happens to Grohl while the band records in a haunted mansion?

It was shot in the same Encino house where the band had recorded Medicine at Midnight; John Carpenter co-composed the opening credits.

Taylor Hawkins died on March 25, 2022 in a hotel in which city?

The festival stage where the band was due to play that night was turned into a candlelight vigil.

At the Wembley tribute concert for Taylor Hawkins, his 16-year-old son Shane played drums on which song?

Josh Freese handled drums for most of both tribute shows and was announced as the band's new drummer the following May.

Who played all the drums on But Here We Are (2023), the first album after Hawkins's death?

It was his first drumming credit on new Foo Fighters material since "Cold Day in the Sun" in 2006; the album is dedicated to Hawkins and Grohl's mother Virginia.

After Josh Freese was let go in 2025, which former Nine Inch Nails touring drummer joined the band?

He debuted at the Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo in September 2025; a live EP from those shows soon appeared on Bandcamp.

Where was Dave Grohl born?

His family moved to Virginia when he was a child, and he taught himself drums by listening to Rush and punk records.

Grohl drums in a supergroup with Josh Homme and John Paul Jones. What is it called?

Their debut single "New Fang" won the 2011 Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance.

Grohl's 2013 documentary debut was about which recording studio, where Nevermind was made?

The Van Nuys studio shut its music operations in 2011; Grohl bought its famous Neve console for his own studio.

A future Foo Fighters guitarist co-founded which LA punk band with Darby Crash in 1976?

Their original drummer 'Dottie Danger' was Belinda Carlisle, later of the Go-Go's; the guitarist mostly borrowed instruments because he didn't own one.

Which Queen song did Grohl and Hawkins play with the band at its 2001 Rock Hall induction?

Hawkins drummed alongside Roger Taylor; Brian May later added guitar to the Foos' cover of Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar".

Keyboardist Rami Jaffee, later a full member, spent 15 years in which band first?

He first toured with the Foos on the 2006 acoustic run and was credited as an official member on the Saint Cecilia EP.

After Nirvana ended, Grohl nearly took a job as drummer for which established band?

He did play one stint with them, including a Saturday Night Live appearance, before deciding to do 'what no one expected me to do'.

In 1992, while still in Nirvana, Grohl released a cassette of demos under the alias Late!. What was it called?

One of its songs, "Marigold", ended up as a Nirvana B-side and resurfaced on the Foos' 2006 acoustic tour.

What is the title of Grohl's 2021 memoir?

Its subtitle is Tales of Life and Music; the same year the band picked up the first-ever MTV Global Icon award.

Which single topped Billboard's Modern Rock chart for a then-record 19 weeks in 2007?

It led Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, which won Best Rock Album and Best Hard Rock Performance at the 2008 Grammys.

What portmanteau name was given to the Foo Fighters' 2005 co-headlining run with Weezer?

That autumn tour ran through September and October 2005, the same year the band headlined Reading and Leeds.

Which Motörhead frontman sang a Probot song with the band at Hyde Park in 2006?

Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen also surprised the crowd that night, easing into 'Tie Your Mother Down' with part of 'We Will Rock You'.

Whose 2004 presidential run did Grohl back after Bush rallies used 'Times Like These'?

Grohl reasoned there was no way to stop a president playing his songs, so he went and played the song for the rival campaign instead.

Under what alias did the Foo Fighters play three small UK club shows in September 2014?

At the first, in Brighton, Grohl invited the singer of a Foo Fighters tribute band on stage to sing.

How many Grammy Awards did the Foo Fighters win at the 54th ceremony in 2012 for Wasting Light?

They lost only Album of the Year, which went to Adele; the record had been cut entirely to analog tape in Grohl's garage.

What was the name of the EP of Studio 666 songs that Grohl released in March 2022?

The horror comedy was filmed in the same mansion where the band had recorded Medicine at Midnight.

Which honour did the band receive first at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards?

The following month they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.

Which future Wednesday star co-starred with the band in the 2022 horror comedy Studio 666?

Will Forte, Whitney Cummings and Jeff Garlin also appear; the film opened to mixed reviews and a weak first week at the box office.

In January 2021 the band performed at which national event?

It came a few weeks before Medicine at Midnight finally arrived, after the pandemic had pushed the album out of 2020.

On a 2015 episode of The Muppets, Grohl faced which character in a drum-off?

Grohl's own drum hero is John Bonham, whose three-rings symbol he has tattooed on his right shoulder.

In the 2017 video for 'Run', the band members appear as what?

Hawkins suggested the idea after grumbling about looking older in promo shoots; the closing dance routine nods to Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'.

In June 2023 the band made a surprise appearance at which English festival?

It was their first time there since headlining in 2017, and came three weeks after But Here We Are was released.

How did the band greet Westboro Baptist Church picketers outside a 2015 Kansas City show?

In 2011 they had met the same protesters with a parody song, performed in the faux-trucker outfits from their Hot Buns promo video.

The Wasting Light single 'Walk' appeared in which 2011 Marvel film?

Another album track, 'Miss the Misery', turned up in the robot-boxing film Real Steel the same year.

A ten-year-old fan Grohl pulled on stage in 2018 played songs by which band on his guitar?

Grohl sang a verse and the chorus of 'Enter Sandman' along with him, then let the boy keep the guitar.

What twist ends the performance video for 'All My Life'?

Grohl directed it as a straight performance clip to show what the band was like live, a break from its comedy videos; it was Shiflett's first official video appearance.

'Friend of a Friend' was written about Grohl sharing an apartment in 1990 with whom?

Grohl calls it his first composition, written in 1990; it had already appeared on his pseudonymous 1992 demo cassette before the acoustic disc revived it.

Grohl's Hanukkah Sessions, begun in 2020 with his producer, released what each night?

The series returned in 2021 and 2022; the pair had already made two Foo Fighters albums together by the time it began.

The band re-recorded 'Walking After You' as a single for which 1998 TV-to-film soundtrack?

The album version was a solo recording Grohl made in D.C. during a holiday break, described by him as a sappy song about getting dumped.

Which Canadian producer remixed 'Rope' and played it with the band at the 2012 Grammys?

The remix picked up its own Grammy nomination for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical.

The free 2015 EP Saint Cecilia was recorded at a hotel of that name in which city?

Saint Cecilia is the patron saint of music, and the EP dropped the day after her November 22 feast day, dedicated to victims of the Paris attacks.

Which band tried to poach Hawkins in 2000 before Roger Taylor talked him out of leaving?

The drummer he would have replaced there later filled Hawkins's own seat in the Foo Fighters for two years.

What is on the cover of There Is Nothing Left to Lose?

Early pressings of the disc came with a temporary tattoo of the same design.

At which 2002 festival did the band play what Grohl feared could be its final show?

Rehearsals had erupted into fights, especially between Grohl and Hawkins, but enjoying the set convinced them to stay together and redo the album.

The band played 'Resolve' and 'Miracle' on the Election Day episodes of which TV drama?

Much of In Your Honor grew out of Grohl's weeks on a real 2004 presidential campaign trail, so a fictional election was a fitting stage.

Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace won which prize at the 2008 Brit Awards?

It also entered the UK chart at number one, selling 135,685 copies in its first week.

The Colour and the Shape was named for a tour manager's remark on which thrift-store buy?

The band found the phrase arbitrary and hilarious; the British spelling of 'colour' is a tribute to the album's producer.

At which Seattle studio did Grohl record the debut album on his own in October 1994?

Each song took about 45 minutes, and they were recorded in the order that became the album's track listing.

Who premiered two songs from Grohl's 1994 demo tape on his Self-Pollution radio broadcast?

Grohl had pressed just 100 cassettes to hand to friends; the tape spread through the industry and brought the label offers.

In which city was Taylor Hawkins born in 1972?

His family moved to Laguna Beach, California, when he was four, and he graduated from Laguna Beach High School in 1990.

A 2016 spoof video 'replaced' Grohl as singer with which former boy-band member?

The clip had Grohl leaving to pursue electronic music and ended with the line: 'For the millionth time, we're not breaking up.'

In Your Honor debuted at number two in both the US and UK behind which 2005 album?

Its 310,500 first-week US sales were still the band's strongest opening ever.

The band's first major tour, in spring 1995, was opening for which punk bassist?

Grohl pulled double duty each night, also drumming in the headliner's backing band.

Grohl compared the upbeat sound of Medicine at Midnight to which David Bowie album?

Hawkins called it their most pop-oriented record, and it even uses a drum loop, a rarity for the band.

Which Medicine at Midnight single won Best Rock Song at the 2022 Grammys?

The awards came on April 3, 2022, nine days after Hawkins's death, making them his posthumous wins.

The cover of Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace fuses a WWII torpedo with what object?

The sleeve pairs weapons with peaceful objects throughout, echoing the album's themes of life and mortality.

Alison Mosshart, who sings on 'The Sky Is a Neighborhood', fronts which band?

Smooth-jazz saxophonist Dave Koz also turns up on 'La Dee Da', a song about the friend who introduced Grohl to underground music.

Which fingerstyle guitarist guests on 'Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners'?

Grohl wrote it after meeting a trapped miner who had asked for an iPod loaded with In Your Honor; he said she shredded it ten times better than he could.

Which CHiPs actor delivered the band's invitations to its 2013 Mexico City comeback shows?

The two December shows ended the break the band had announced after touring Wasting Light.

But Here We Are beat which ex-Oasis songwriter's band to UK number one in 2023?

It was the band's sixth UK chart-topper; in the US it entered at number eight.

Which artist famed for Black Flag's imagery drew the One by One album artwork?

Grohl called him a hero whose images had stuck with him his whole life; the heart motif on the sleeve was Grohl's own idea.

Before its 2005 single release, 'DOA' debuted in what unusual form?

Like the album's lead single before it, 'DOA' went on to top Billboard's Modern Rock chart.

Which Wasting Light song had two-minute lyrics, after Mendel asked for something silly?

It still took home the 2012 Grammy for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance.

The lead single from Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace had what working title?

Grohl fleshed it out during a ten-day break in April 2007 because he felt the record still needed another uptempo song.

Which song was the only survivor from One by One's scrapped million-dollar first sessions?

Queen's Brian May guests on it; the rest was redone in a twelve-day blitz at Grohl's Virginia basement studio.

'Enough Space' was inspired by which 1993 Emir Kusturica film, a Grohl favourite?

Grohl also built it to open set lists, with a tempo matching the jumping of European crowds at the start of a show.

Which Olympic swimmer wore the band's tattoo on the cover of a 2001 Australian reissue?

The two-disc edition added a VCD of four videos and the bonus track 'Fraternity'.