Dave Grohl in his own words

14 January 2024, 08:00 | Updated: 23 January 2024, 12:16

We celebrate the Foo Fighters frontman's birthday with some of his wisest words.

By Radio X

@RadioX

1. "Foo Fighters were formed 27 years ago to represent the healing power of music and a continuation of life. Without Taylor, we never would have become the band that we were-and without Taylor, we know that we're going to be a different band going forward. And we know that when we see you again, he'll be there in spirit with all of us every night."

   Foo Fighters pledge to continue touring, January 2023.

   

2. "When he first joined the band, we were like in love with each other. The first time we had a beer together, we were like, we’re gonna be best friends for life. And it’s true, we’re like this."

   On the late great Taylor Hawkins, to Radio X, June 2018.

   

3. "You know I have no idea what I'm doing, right? I didn't take lessons for this. I don't know how to read music. I didn't take lessons to play guitar or drums. I dropped out of high school. What do I know?"

   To Rolling Stone, 2014.

   

4. "It's YOUR VOICE. Cherish it. Respect it. Nurture it. Challenge it. Stretch it and scream until it's f**king gone. Because everyone is blessed with at least that, and who knows how long it will last."

   Keynote Speech at SXSW, 2013.

   

5. "Maybe people just don’t understand that there is an alternative to what you would imagine a rock star to be. You don’t have to have a needle hanging out of your arm, you don’t have to f**king lock down a festival backstage."

   To The Guardian, 2014.

   

6. "I never liked being told what to do. It’s one of the reasons I dropped out of school. Give me something to assemble, I won’t look at the directions, I’ll try to figure it out by myself. It’s why I love Ikea furniture.”

   To The Telegraph, 2011.

   

7. "I'd like to imagine I won't end up in Hell, but I think I've done too much acid and listened to too much death metal to sit on a cloud next to God with angels floating above my head.”

   To Maxim, 2007.

   

8. "I don't think of Kurt as 'Kurt Cobain from Nirvana'. I think of him as 'Kurt'. It's something that comes back all the time. Almost every day."

   To the BBC, 2011.

   

9. “When I think about kids watching a TV show like American Idol or The Voice , then they think, ‘Oh, okay, that’s how you become a musician, you stand in line for eight f**king hours with 800 people at a convention centre and then you sing your heart out for someone and then they tell you it’s not f**king good enough.’ Can you imagine?" (

   To Sky Magazine, 2003.

   

10. “We’re not robots. What chokes me up is when I see people singing lyrics back to me with the same emotion. So if you hear me kind of giggling in the middle of a song, it’s because I’m trying not to just f**king totally break down in front of everybody like a fool."

    To Rolling Stone, 2018.

    

11. "We think we suck and we try really hard to make good records and we practice. We don't feel like the biggest, best band in the world. We just feel like the same five dorks that were touring in a van, that hasn't changed."

    To Billboard, 2012.

    

12. “For years I couldn't even listen to any music, let alone a Nirvana song. When Kurt died, every time the radio came on, it broke my heart. I don't put Nirvana records on, no. Although they are always on somewhere. I get in the car, they're on. I go into a shop, they're on. For me, it's so personal."

    To GQ, 2018.

    

13. “It’s one thing when you have a hero, but it's another when a hero becomes your friend."

    At the memorial service to Lemmy, 2016.