This period of self-isolation has proven to be an opportunity to engage in reflection for Foo Fighters rocker Dave Grohl.
In a recent conversation with Entertainment Weekly, Grohl has mused on the many highlights that have peppered his illustrious career, from performing the Live Earth Benefit in 2006 to jamming with Led Zeppelin legends Jimmy Page and
The interview saw Grohl detail how he managed to worm his way into jamming with the Zeppelin legends.
“It all started at the Live Earth benefit that we played in, I think, 2006 or 2007,” he explains.
“It was in multiple cities around the world, but we were invited to play at the London gig, which was at Wembley Stadium, and the list of performers was bananas.”
The ever-humble Grohl revelled in his surprise that Foo Fighters received such a priority billing on the event.
“It was Madonna and The Beastie Boys and Genesis and Metallica and the Pussycat Dolls; there were so many artists. And we just assumed that we would be at the bottom of the bill because I imagined like at most festivals that the lineup was based on popularity.
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“But when we arrived and saw the schedule it had us going on after everyone and just before Madonna.
Grohl divulged that the prospect of being billed so high with anxiety-inducing, but manager John Silva pulled through with some encouraging (and ambitious) words of wisdom.
“I was terrified,” he shared. “I remember before going on, my manager John Silva pulled me aside and said, ‘I just need for you to do one thing for me. I just need for you to be better than Metallica.’
“I said, ‘That’s not going to happen.”
Though Fooeys had an action plan, they decided that they would pull out all the stops and emulate the iconic Queen Live Aid performance, by pummeling through their best-known hits.
“But we decided since we only had 20 minutes on stage that we would do what Queen did at Live Aid, which was to basically play five of our most recognizable songs that everyone could sing along to.
“And as we walked onstage the sun was just going down so the lights had just started coming up and we basically did an abbreviated version of a greatest-hits set – so it was ‘My Hero,’ and it was ‘Everlong,’ and it was, oh fuck, I don’t know, ‘Learn to Fly’? Just the big singles.
“And in the middle of the set, I jokingly announced to the audience that we would be back to play Wembley multiple nights. I was kidding! Because at that point, we had never even headlined a stadium.”
Turns out Grohl’s stage banter was less a throwaway comment and more a manifestation. A year later The Fooeys were set to headline Wembley.
“So about a year later when my manager asked if we wanted to; of course we had to pull out all the stops,” he explained .
“So we designed this stage in the round – I mean literally drew a picture of the stage on a fuckin’ napkin, it’s so Spinal Tap but it’s true, it was just a crude drawing that ended up becoming the blueprint of that show.”
The band were asked if they wanted to celebrate the occasion with some special guests. This is where Led Zeppelin comes in.
“Being a Led Zeppelin freak – you know, I’ve got Led Zeppelin tattoos – I thought ‘Well, we’ve gotta call John Paul Jones.’
Earlier that year, Foo Fighters performed their soaring anthem ‘The Pretender’ with Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones at The Grammy’s. So Grohl bit the bullet and called “the band that changed it all for me.”
“I got on the phone with Jimmy Page and he basically said ‘Well what do you want to do?’ And I was terrified to answer. I felt like I was in a waking dream.
“But I had to say something, so I said ‘How about ‘Rock and Roll’?’ so he said, ‘Yeah, what else?’ I said ‘How about ‘Ramble On’?’ he said, ‘Great, see you at rehearsals.’ I mean it was that easy, I couldn’t believe it.
He continued, “Just being eight feet away from Jimmy Page as he played this classic song and shredded these classic leads is just so hard to explain. It’s almost as if I had fallen into a Led Zeppelin movie or something, it didn’t even feel real
Check Out Foo Fighters performing ‘Rock And Roll’ Live At Wembley Stadium with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones:
