Elton John paid tribute to FOO FIGHTERS drummer Taylor Hawkins during his performance in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday night (March 26).
The legendary artist, who just turned 75, addressed Hawkins’s passing just before playing the song “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”, telling the crowd (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I got up this morning to see that Taylor Hawkins from the FOO FIGHTERS had passed away, and I was so shocked because he played on my ‘Lockdown Sessions’ album and he was one of the nicest people you could ever meet and one of the greatest drummers and a true musician who loved all sorts of music and loved life. And it seems so sad that at 50 years of age we’ve lost someone who had that much passion. And it makes me so downhearted for his family — his three children and his wife and his other relatives — and, of course, the FOO FIGHTERS who’ve lost a dearest loved one that can never, ever be replaced. But his music will live on. But I can tell you he was a great, great one. So this song is for him and his family and his wife and his children.”
Hawkins died in his hotel room in Bogota, Colombia on Friday (March 25). It was reported by local authorities that an ambulance was sent to the hotel after a man had reported having chest pains.
Earlier on Saturday, the Colombian attorney general’s office announced that Hawkins had opioids, marijuana and other drugs in his system before he died. A toxicology report showed traces of 10 substances in his body, including anti-depressants, the office said. The statement added that the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences “will conduct the necessary medical studies to ascertain the cause of death” and that it “will continue the investigation and will report the results obtained within the framework thereof in a timely manner.”
The FOO FIGHTERS were scheduled to perform Friday at the Picnic Stereo festival in Bogota but their performance has been canceled.