Dave Grohl recalls the "horrible" thing he told David Bowie after watching him live

23 April 2026, 11:07

The Foo Fighters frontman revealed the awkward studio encounter he had with the Heroes icon after watching him perform.

Dave Grohl has recalled the awkward conversation he had with David Bowie after watching perform.

The Foo Fighters frontman appeared on the Dish podcast this week where he described the cringe-worthy moment where he was so dazzled after watching the Heroes legend that his praise awkwardly sounded like an insult.

“I had just seen him perform at a, like [Phoenix Festival in 1996] – or something like that," said the Learn To Fly rocker.

"It was like [The] Prodigy [and] David Bowie and we happened to be on the bill. I was standing in the photo pit and he was right there, he was right above me singing. It was otherworldly. I mean, it was like a religious experience. I was just like, ‘He's an angel, this is amazing’.”

However, Grohl was so mesmerized by the performance after the now-defunct Stratford-Upon-Avon festival, that when he met him in the studio, he unwittingly told the icon that he sounded "imperfect".

"I told him when I met him in the studio, I said, ‘I just saw you, like, it was such a trip to see you in human form right there, right in front of me’ and he says, ‘What did you think? What did you feel?’ And I'm like, ‘Oh f***.’

“So, the first thing to come out of my mouth, like an idiot, I said, ‘Well, the first thing I noticed was all of your imperfections’."

He added: "I backpedalled so fast. I don't know how I got out of that one. But I was like, what did I just [say?] I would never say that to anybody. Isn't that horrible?”

Read more:

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Meanwhile, Foo Fighters are set to appear on the fifth episode of SNL UK.

Dave Grohl and co will be the next band to perform on the British version of the hit US comedy sketch show, which will return after a hiatus on Saturday 25th April.

The episode will also see Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan in the role of co-host, taking part in skits alongside the cast.

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The live performance takes place the day after the band's brand new album, Your Favorite Toy, is released on Friday (24th April, which includes the title track, Caught In The Echo and Of All People as its singles.

Watch the lyric video for the album's lead single below:

Foo Fighters - Your Favorite Toy (Lyric Video)

Foo Fighters' Your Favorite Toy follows their previous albums Foo Fighters (1995), The Colour and the Shape (1997), There Is Nothing Left To Lose (1999), One by One (2002), In Your Honor (2005), Echoes Silence, Patience & Grace (2007), Wasting Light (2011), Sonic Highways (2014), Concrete and Gold (2017), Medicine at Midnight (2021) and But Here We Are (2023).

See its artwork and and tracklist below and pre-order it here.

See the tracklisting for Your Favorite Toy below:

• Caught In The Echo
• Of All People
• Window
• Your Favorite Toy
• If You Only Knew
• Spit Shine
• Unconditional
• Child Actor
• Amen
• Caveman
• Asking For A Friend

Dave Grohl has been inspired by daughter Violet's debut album

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• Dave Grohl had "absolutely nothing to do" with daughter Violet's record deal & "amazing" album