The one incredible thing Foo Fighters always do backstage before a gig | UK | News

Hell raising rock legends Foo Fighters have revealed how they have ditched downing tequila before shows and instead prepare to hit the stage by playing with Lego. Frontman Dave Grohl admits his one time addiction to drink and drugs has been replaced with a craving to make structures out of the tiny plastic bricks beloved by children worldwide.

“Not very rock ‘n’ roll, is it?” admits the drummer turned frontman before revealing how he has enjoyed constructing the Eiffel Tower, the White House “and several Harry Potter castles” prior to hitting the world’s biggest stages. Grohl added: “There is something sort of meditative about the process. You can just turn your brain off and follow the instructions. It’s like Ikea furniture. I’ve built a lot of Ikea furniture in my time and you feel so proud.” Yet despite the Lego addiction the former Nirvana star admits cocktails do still start flowing an hour before show time.

He added: “Then the laughter gets a little louder, and the music gets a little louder and, just before we walk on stage, we’re having the best time of our lives, so we hit the stage with a smile.

“It sounds so ridiculous, but to me, that’s the most important part. There’s no faking it in this band. You get on stage and you have those few hours to do it – and you’ve got to do it for real.”

“I’m 57 years old, but there are still times where I feel like the little punk I was at 13. I can still connect with that side of myself where I can scream and we can thrash, and it feels good.”

Grohl revealed the band’s Lego addiction in a BBC interview to promote the bands 12^th album, Your Favourite Toy.

He has described the record as a “powder keg”, as “burning diesel”, and even a spicy “jambalaya” as the alt rockers return to their heavier sound.

The band played a series of low-key warm-up shows in the UK and Ireland earlier this year and return for two mammoth shows at Liverpool FC’s Anfield stadium this summer as they continue to rock out following the tragic death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in 2022 with new stickman Ilan Rubin.

Bass player Nate Mendal admitted: “We are a different band. Taylor was such an energetic presence, he just brought himself so much.”

After Hawkins was found dead in his hotel room, hours before a concert, Mendel admits he thought the band were finished.

“We talk about Taylor every day,” he said. “I was like, ‘Can we still do this without Taylor?’, and I’m sure everyone else felt that, too.

“But one thing that I’ve come to realise – this sounds a little hokey, but it’s true – is that Taylor is with us. His wife is on the road with us right now. We’re still very close to the Hawkins family. We talk about him every day.”

Grohl adds: “Continuing as a band was not easy. We were like best friends and brothers – so it was really complicated and felt really strange for a little while.

“When you go through any sort of trauma or loss, you have to do everything all over again. So the next day, that’s the first cup of coffee since it happened. Then it’s the first song we’ve written since it happened.

“But whenever we go through something really difficult, we go through it together, with our families and our kids and our wives. We really rally.

“And if you’re surrounded by people that you know you can really rely on, that’s the key.”