Foo Fighters biography
Consistently pumping out massive rock albums and crowd-pleasing hits since 1994, The Foo Fighters remain at the top of their game. Combining heavy guitars with catchy melodies, the Foos have maintained total rock credibility despite huge chart success.
In the beginning
Their name is a reference to unidentified aerial objects and UFOs that were reported by World War II pilots, collectively known as foo fighters.
Dave Grohl, the former
Nirvana drummer who's often referred to as the nicest man in rock, set up the band as a one-man project following the death of Kurt Cobain in 1994, and recorded the
self-titled first album by playing every instrument on every track (except one) by himself. He had written many of the songs while still playing with Nirvana, but never put them forward at the time.
Realising that he would actually need a band if he wanted to play live, Grohl recruited bassist Nate Mendel, drummer William Goldsmith and guitarist Pat Smear for a series of performances which established the Foos as a force to be reckoned with.
Mainstream breakthrough
Next came the release of the second album,
The Colour and The Shape in 1997, which included breakthrough hits including '
Monkey Wrench,' '
Everlong' and '
My Hero,' all of which remain live show staples. It was during this time though that Smear and Goldsmith left, to be replaced by Taylor Hawkins and, briefly, Franz Stahl, before the 1999 record
There is Nothing Left to Lose.After touring with that album, which included huge hits '
Learn to Fly,' '
Breakout' and 'a href="/artists/Foo-Fighters/song/224/Next-year">Next Year,' Chris Shiflett also joined the band as the third guitarist.
One By One was the first album released by the band in the 21st Century, and although Dave Grohl has said that it is actually his least favourite because he felt it was too rushed, it was handed a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 2004, and also gave the Foos their first UK number one album. '
Times Like These' and '
All My Life' were two of the big singles from the record.
When he learnt that George W. Bush was using 'Times Like These' as part of his presidential campaign, Grohl decided to lend his public support to John Kerry's rival bid in 2004, despite usually staying away from politics.
The album which Grohl has said he hope is the one for which the band are most remembered came in 2005.
In Your Honour was split between two CDs, one featuring acoustic material and the other with heavier songs, including '
Best of You' and '
DOA.'
2006 saw the Foos playing a huge show in London's Hyde Park, as well as the
Isle of Wight Festival - they also went on to play the V festival in 2007.
Winner of the Best International Album at the BRIT Awards 2008,
Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace was the Grammy-winning 6th album from the Foo Fighters, with singles '
The Pretender' and '
Long Road to Ruin' propelling the record to massive sales and critical acclaim.
Break and solo projects
An extended break saw band mates pursuing various other projects, including Grohl himself teaming up with Josh Homme and John Paul Jones to create
Them Crooked Vultures, and the trio performed for Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall in 2010. A Foo Fighters
Greatest Hits compilation, with some new material, was also released in 2009.
The Foos were eventually back recording again in the lead up to their 2011 release
Wasting Light, which saw Pat Smear returning to the line-up. The album was allegedly recorded in Dave Grohl's garage using only analogue equipment - and during the production a career-retrospective documentary was also filmed.