The 50-year-old drummer with a history of drug use died in a hotel room in the north of the capital Bogota called Casa Medina.
The Bogota Metropolitan Police, in a statement broadcast by several Colombian newspapers, said: “The cause of death has not yet been determined.
“According to people close to him, the death could be related to drug use.”
Local reports said hotel staff called emergency services after Hawkins suffered chest pains but was already dead when doctors arrived. The Foo Fighters were scheduled to perform at a concert in the Colombian capital.
Hawkins, a father of two teenage children, had openly discussed his battles over drugs and overdose years before what the band called his “tragic and untimely” death.
Four years after joining the Foo Fighters, Hawkins overdosed on heroin and ended up in a coma in 2001, which he later described as the result of “taking it too far”.
Colombian music and entertainment journalist Alejandro Marin wrote on Twitter after the news of the drummer’s death circulated: “Do not start blaming the country because Taylor died in Colombia if he died of an overdose.
“Do not be so foolish.”
Shortly after the announcement of Hawkins’s death, dozens of fans, along with journalists and videographers, began to gather outside the hotel where the band was staying. Many seemed to be in complete shock with the news with some candles burning.
Ambulances and police patrols can be seen outside the accommodation. Later Friday night, Hawkins’ body was eventually transported from the hotel, placed in a medical examiner’s truck, and removed.
The band was scheduled to play at the Festival Estereo Picnic in the Colombian capital, where an announcement told viewers that the band would not be playing due to a “serious medical condition”.
Hawkins, who was married to Alison’s wife and father of two teenage children, Oliver and Annabelle, had just completed a tour of South America with the band last playing in San Isidro, Argentina, last Sunday. .
Hawkins joined the band in 1997 after the band completed their second album, The Color and the Shape.
Prior to joining Foo Fighters, Hawkins played drums for Alanis Morissette, from whom he was hired by frontman Dave Grohl – the legendary Nirvana drummer.
Grohl formed the second band Foo Fighters in 1994 in the wake of a previous tragedy, just months after Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain committed suicide.
Following Cobain’s suicide in April, Grohl stepped down and was unsure if he wanted to stay in the music industry, but created Foo Fighters in October of that year after writing a 15-track demo and signing with Capitol records.
When Hawkins boarded in 1997, the Foo Fighters moved from the alternative rock scene to mainstream success, regularly gathering arenas and stadiums.
Members of the Technical Investigation Corps (CTI) remove the lifeless body of Foo Fighters rock drummer Taylor Hawkins at the Casa Medina Hotel in Bogota, Colombia.
Taylor Hawkins was photographed with what is believed to be her last time on social media on Wednesday. Appears on a plane with band member Pat Smear (left) and Samantha Sidley (right) working for the band on Wednesday, March 23, 2022
A sheet is held as Hawkins’s body is transported to a medical examiner by forensic examiners outside the Casa Medina Hotel.
Photo: Hawkins’s body removed from hotel late Friday night and produced by medical examiner’s office
Fans gathered to take pictures of the vehicle that was sent to get Hawkins’s body
The cause of death was not immediately announced, but the band revealed that it was “devastated by the tragic and premature loss” (pictured left) in a tribute posted on their social media page. Pictured right: an announcement on stage where the Foo Fighters were due to perform on Friday told the public that the band would not be performing due to a “serious medical condition”
Fans of the band stood on the street to take a final photo as the vehicle carrying Hawkins’ body was removed.
A police van appears outside the Casa Medina Hotel, where Taylor Hawkins, drummer of the band Foo Fighters, was staying.
Police appear outside the Casa Medina Hotel hours before the Foo Fighters were to play at the Estereo Picnic festival
People react outside the Casa Medina Hotel, where Taylor Hawkins, drummer of the band Foo Fighters, was staying
Journalists and fans of the rock band Foo Fighters gather outside the Casa Medina Hotel where the lifeless body of the group’s drummer, Taylor Hawkins, was found in Bogota, Colombia, on Friday night, just hours before a show.
Some fans prayed and lit candles for the legendary drummer who died in his hotel room on Friday night
Journalists and videographers quickly gathered outside the hotel on Friday night, shortly after the announcement of the news.
An officer is standing outside the Casa Medina Hotel, where Taylor Hawkins was staying
Fans of the band were shocked as news of Taylor Hawkins’s death spread.
Fans of the band were shocked as they stood outside the hotel where Hawkins
Police rushed to the hotel in northern Bogota, where Hawkins and his teammates were staying.
Fave Fighters’ Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins present the first day of Lollapalooza Chile 2022 at the Parque Bicentenario Cerrillos on March 18, 2022 in Santiago, Chile. This is believed to be one of the last publicly known photos of him playing
Foo Fighters charismatic drummer Taylor Hawkins has died at the age of 50. Photo: Taylor on stage in October 2021
An imaginative and rock drummer, he had the seemingly awkward task of playing drums behind Foos guitarist Dave Grohl, who is one of the greatest drummers in rock history.
Hawkins filled this role in an enjoyable way, bringing his own tough, juggling style to the band’s straight rock sound without trying to imitate Grohl.
He was also a vocalist and often picked up the microphone during the band’s concerts and on B-sides, often in covers (such as a 2008 band with Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones when Grohl went behind the drum kit at Hawkins got the microphone).
In addition to the nine albums he released with Foo Fighters, Taylor also had three albums with the band Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders and an additional album with The Birds of Satan.
Hawkins had spoken candidly about his drug use in the past and had openly discussed his 2001 overdose that saw him in a coma for two weeks.
In a 2021 interview with Kerrang! Hawkins shared the painful details and described how he “headed for a path that would lead to even worse paths.”
He said in a statement: “I was having a party in London one night, and I accidentally did something and it changed everything.
“I believed in his bullshit to live hard and fast, to die young.
“I’m not here to preach that I do not take drugs, because I liked to take drugs, but I got out of control for a while and he almost took me.
“I was heading for a road that would lead to even worse paths. Whether one is sober, or likes a glass of wine with dinner, or wants a bottle of Jägermeister before going out on stage, or likes to smoke dobs all day, everyone has their own path, and I went a long way.
“I am glad he was hit in the head at that point. I would not take anything away from what I have done or gone through, because everything is part of the journey and the journey. “I try to be as honest as I can.”
In a separate interview in 2018, Hawkins told Beats 1 about the overdose: “I had a lot of parties. I was not a fanatic by myself, but I was partying. There was a year when the party became more or less heavy.
“Thank God on some level, this guy gave me the wrong line with the wrong thing one night and I woke up saying ‘What happened?’ “It was a real turning point for me.”
Hawkins said he now rides mountain biking to clear his head and, although “he was not an AA dude”, said he had developed a system that “works for [him]’.
The Foo Fighters are featured in their latest song at their biggest concert last Sunday, March 20 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Hawkins appeared in his usual position behind the drum kit at the Lollapalooza Music Festival in Buenos Aires
“In utter distrust of the news of Taylor Hawkins. Our heartfelt condolences to his family, his colleagues, his team, his friends and everyone who was ever moved by the music he created with @FooFighters, @Alanis and so many others. “This is so incredibly sad,” Nickelback wrote on Instagram. Miley Cyrus shared a black and white snapshot of the late Foo Fighters drummer
Billy Idol wrote on Twitter: “So tragic. Rest in peace Taylor ‘in a simple but moving message
Ozzy Osbourne praised Taylor Hawkins as “a great person and an amazing musician” and promised to “see him on the other side”.
Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker posted a playful photo behind the scenes with his band and the Foo Fighters as Taylor smiled at his trademark.
Hawkins tributes were immediately spilled on social media by other musicians such as Nickelback, Ozzy Osbourne and Billy Idol.
“In utter distrust of the news of Taylor Hawkins. Our heartfelt condolences to his family, his colleagues, his team, his friends and everyone who was ever moved by the music he created with @FooFighters, @Alanis and so many others. “This is so incredibly sad,” Nickelback wrote on Instagram.
Ozzy Osbourne praised Taylor Hawkins as “a great person and an amazing musician” and promised to “see him on the other side”.
“@TaylorHawkins was truly a wonderful man and an amazing musician,” Osbourne wrote in …
