Dave Grohl: From Nirvana to Foo Fighters and everything in-between
A look through the career of the Nicest Man in Rock™
Only the most cold-hearted churl would’ve referred to Dave Grohl as the “grunge Ringo Starr”, but as his illustrious career has proved, his ability to transcend his origins to become a world-beating rock star is pretty much unparalleled.
Coming to prominence as Nirvana’s powerhouse drummer, he rose like a phoenix from the ashes of their demise to form and then lead Foo Fighters, who have led an incredible almost 30-year journey. Join us as we take a look at his journey...
Scroll through a pictorial journey of Dave Grohl's career, from Nirvana to Foo Fighters:
1991 - Dave Grohl with Nirvana
Nirvana's Dave Grohl, Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic in a toilet in 1991. Where else?!
September 1992 - Dave Grohl with Nirvana
Nirvana's Dave Grohl, Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic backstage at the MTV Video Awards in 1992
December 1993 - Dave Grohl with Nirvana
Nirvana perform at MTV Live and Loud in December 1993.
June 1994 - Dave Grohl at the MTV Movie Awards
Dave Grohl at Sony Studios in Culver City, California, United States in June 1994 - the year he formed Foo Fighters in the wake of Kurt Cobain's death.
November 1995 - Dave Grohl
Dave Grohl performs in Brixton in November 1995.
July 1996 - Foo Fighters at the Phoenix Festival
Dave Grohl performs with the Foo Fighters at Phoenix Festival, Stratford Upon Avon, in 1996.
June 1997 - Tibetan Freedom Concert
Foo Fighters perform at Tibetan Freedom Concert in New York in 1997.
1998 - Dave Grohl in Australia
Just a photo of Dave Grohl with a dolphin on holiday in the Gold Coast, Australia in 1998.
November 1999 - Dave Grohl works as a cashier
Dave Grohl works as a cashier at Tower Records to support their album release in 1999.
October 2000 - Foo Fighters at The Bridge School Benefit
Foo Fighters perform at The Bridge School Benefit held in the Shoreline Amphitheater, California. Lovely hat!
August 2001 - Dave Grohl at V Festival
The Foo Fighters perform at V Festival in 2001.
December 2002 - Foo Fighters at MTV New Year's Eve Pajama Party
Foo Fighters perform at MTV New Year's Eve Pajama Party at the MTV Times Square studios in New York City. December 31, 2002. Nice glasses Dave!
October 2003 - Dave Grohl and his wife Jordyn Blum
Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters and wife Jordyn Blum during Spike TV Presents The 2003 GQ Men of the Year Awards.
May 2004 - Rock in Rio Lisboa
The Foo Fighters performing at the Rock in Rio Festival in Lisbon in 2004.
December 2005 - Foo Fighters at Earls Court, London
Foo Fighters performing live at Earls Court, London in December 2005.
June 2006 - The O2 Silver Clef Awards
Foo Fighters pose with Brian May at The O2 Silver Clef Awards in 2006.
July 2007 - Dave Grohl at the Britain Live Earth Concert
Dave Grohl performing with the Foo Fighters at Britain Live Earth Concert in 2007.
February 2008 - Dave Grohl at the pre-Grammy Awards
Dave Grohl performs at the pre-Grammy Awards party in 2008.
October 2009 - Dave Grohl with the Foo Fighters on VH1 Storytellers
Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters performs on VH1 Storytellers on 28th October 2009.
March 2010 - Dave Grohl at the 25th Independent Spirit Awards
Dave Grohl poses with Glenn Five, Steve 'Lips' Kudlow and Robb Reiner of Anvil.
February 2011 - Foo Fighters play Wembley Arena
The Foo Fighters perform at Wembley Arena in 2011.
January 2013 - Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters at the Sound City film premiere in Los Angeles in 2013.
October 2014 - Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways
Rami Jaffee, Nate Mendel, Taylor Hawkins, Dave Grohl, Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear attend the premiere of HBO's Foo Fighters Sonic Highway, in New York in 2014.
June 2015 - Foo Fighters play Rock Am Ring festival
Foo Fighters perform at the music festival Rock Am Ring in Mendig, Germany in 2015.
February 2016 - Grammy Awards
Dave Grohl with the Foo Fighters at the Grammy Awards in February 2016.
June 2017 - Foo Fighters play at Glastonbury Festival
Foo Fighters storm Glastonbury Festival in 2017.
October 2018 - Foo Fighters' Cal Jam 18
Dave Grohl performing with the Foo Fighters at the Cal Jam 18 Pop-Up Event at the Hollywood Palladium, LA.
November 2019 - Dave Grohl on Sesame Street
Mr Grohl appeared on the 50th anniversary episode of Sesame Street, singing a joyous, rock-tinged tune called 'Here We Go Song' with Big Bird and Elmo as various iconic backdrops from across the USA appeared on the green screen. Of course, Dave is no stranger to Jim Henson's creations as he once had a drum-off with Animal from The Muppets.
August 2019 - The Foo Fighters' tenth album
In August 2019, drummer Taylor Hawkins confirmed that the Foo's latest album would be coming in 2020, telling RockSound: "From what I've heard from our fearless leader Dave Grohl, he has a lot of demos that he's worked on and I think we'll start, once this tour is over. I think not too soon after that we'll start the process of putting the songs together as a band."
The band's tenth studio album 'Medicine at Midnight' was later released in 2021, after being pushed back due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
May 2020 - Foo Fighters' tenth studio album gets postponed
In May 2020, Dave Grohl announced that the Foo Fighters' tenth studio album was being put on hold for the time being, due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Speaking about the album to Q Magazine, Dave said: "We've kind of shelved it for now to figure out exactly when it's going to happen."
February 2021 - Foo Fighters tenth album 'Medicine at Midnight' is released
In February 2021, the Foo Fighters finally released their tenth studio album 'Medicine at Midnight'. After the release of the album was postponed from 2020, the band amped up the excitement with the release of three singles - 'Shame Shame', in November 2020, 'No Son of Mine', on New Year's Day 2021 and 'Waiting on a War' in January 2021.
The album flew to the Number 1 spot on the UK Albums Chart.
May 2021 - Dave appears in a documentary with his mum
Dave appeared in From Cradle To Stage, a documentary he made with his mum about the mothers of famous rock stars. The series on Amazon Prime saw Imagine Dragons' Dan Reynolds, Pharrell Williams, Miranda Lambert, Brandi Carlisle, Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello and Rush's Geddy Lee all interviewed.
May 2021 - Foo Fighters are inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
In their first year of eligibility, 25 years after the release of their debut album 'Foo Fighters', the band were officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in May 2021.
June 2021 - 26 years of Foo Fighters
Sadly, the Foo Fighters had to cancel their 25th anniversary tour dates back in 2020 for obvious reasons. The band didn't let that keep them down, however, rescheduling the dates to 2021 and celebrating '26 years of rock'.
October 2021 - Release of 'The Storyteller'
2021 was a busy year for Dave Grohl as he also wrote a book, 'The Storyteller' where he shares stories from a 'life lived loud'. It was released on 5th October.
February 2022 - Foo Fighters' Studio 666 premiere
Dave attended the premiere for Foo Fighters' horror/comedy Studio 666. The film was based on a story written by Dave Grohl, and was directed by BJ McDonnell (pictured).
The grisly horror comedy follows the Foo Fighters as they move into an Encino mansion to record their 10th album.
March 2022 - Death of Taylor Hawkins
Dave long-time bandmate and close friend Taylor Hawkins tragically passed away at the age of 50 in March 2023. In a statement issued to their social media channels, Foo Fighters said: 'The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins. His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever. Our hearts go out to his wife, children and family, and we ask that their privacy be treated with the utmost respect in this unimaginably difficult time.'
June 2022 - Dave pays tribute to Taylor at Glastonbury
Dave appeared as a special guest during Sir Paul McCartney's headline slot at Glastonbury 2023 in his first live appearance since Taylor's death. At the end of the performance, Grohl pointed to his right hand, which was emblazoned with Taylor Hawkins' initial 'T'.
June 2023 - Foo Fighters release 'But Here We Are'
The Foos released their 11th album 'But Here We Are' in June 2023, which was dedicated to Taylor and also Dave's mum, Virginia Hanlon Grohl, who had sadly passed away in August 2022. The album reached Number 1 in the UK charts.
June 2023 - The Foos perform a surprise set at Glastonbury
Foo Fighters performed a surprise set on The Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury under their pseudonym The Churnups. Glastonbury unveiled its full 3,000-strong line-up a month before the event, listing a mystery band called The Churnups - who turned out to be the Foos. Following 'The Pretender', Dave said: "Hi! You guys knew it was us this whole f---ing time! Well it's nice to see your face again, it's been a long time."
September 2023 - Dave guests on new album by his former hardcore punk band Scream
44 years after their formation in Washington DC in 1979, Scream unleashed their sixth album 'DC Special' on Friday 10th November 2023 - with Dave signed up as one of the guest performers on the first record in 30 years by his former hardcore punk band.
October 2023 - Paying tribute to 'hometown hero' Taylor Hawkins at Foo Fighters gig
At the Foo Fighters' headline performance at Ohana Festival in October 2023, Dave paid an emotional tribute to his late bandmate, Taylor Hawkins. Ohana Festival is held annually at Dana Point in Southern California just seven miles down the road from Laguna Beach where Taylor Hawkins was raised after moving with his family from Texas aged four. "He is, indeed, the hometown hero of this show," he declared, adding: "It's a trip. I came down here with him every once in a while (and) hung out at the house he grew up in. It was weird because I never really understood Taylor Hawkins until I f---ing came to Laguna. And then I was like 'Oh, yeah, OK, I get it. That's who you are!'"
March 2024 - Dave has the time of his life at final U2 Sphere gig
Video footage of Dave having a truly beautiful day at U2's final gig at the $2.3 billion Sphere venue in Las Vegas went viral in March 2024, as a wholesome 32-second clip of Grohl fanboying during penultimate song 'Beautiful Day' racked up millions of views on social media. Truly lost in the moment, Dave sings every word to the track as he gleefully dances and fist pumps.
How old is Dave Grohl?
Born in Warren, Ohio, on 14th January, 1969, Dave Grohl is 55-years-old. And looking pretty good for it, too.
What guitar does he play?
So enamoured is he of the Gibson Trini Lopez signature guitar, Dave Grohl worked closely with the celebrated guitar manufacturer to create his own signature model, the DG-335.
Is he left-handed?
No, but Kurt Cobain was.
Dave Grohl and Nirvana
Following in the footsteps of Aaron Burckhard, Dale Crover, Dave Foster and Chad Channing, Dave Grohl was Nirvana’s fifth drummer. Well, seventh if you also include the session contributions of Screaming Trees’ Mark Pickeral and Mudhoney’s Dan Peters. Or even eighth if you take into account the brief touring tenure of The Melvins’ Dale Crover.
Dave Grohl joined just in time for the ‘Nevermind’ sessions, and his drumming brought a muscularity to the band’s sound that hadn’t been there before. His drumming is central to ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, which became a global rock anthem.
Nirvana were arguably the biggest rock band of the early 90s, and their status was confirmed with the release of 1993’s ‘In Utero’. Sadly, the band came to a tragic end in April 1994, when singer-guitarist Kurt Cobain passed away.
Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters
Recording the whole of their eponymous debut pretty much on his own, Dave Grohl soon evolved Foo Fighters into a fully-fledged band. One of the biggest acts on the planet, they’ve achieved this status thanks to hook-laden heavy rock that’s infused with pop smarts and an infectious sense of energy and enthusiasm.
To date, they have released 11 studio 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).
The Foo Fighters were then officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in May 2021 - the band's first year of eligibility, 25 years after the release of their self-titled debut album ‘Foo Fighters’.
2023 then saw the release of their 11th studio album, 'But Here We Are' - their first release since the tragic passing of Foo's drummer Taylor Hawkins. In the lead-up to the album's release on 2nd June, the band announced that the record was to be dedicated to their late drummer Taylor, as well as Dave's mum, Virginia Hanlon Grohl.
The band then performed a slot on the Glastonbury Festival 2023 line-up under the pseudonym of The Churnups - but most fans saw through that.
Read our facts about Foo Fighters article
Are Foo Fighters on tour?
Although the Foo Fighters were set to head on tour in 2022, the band sadly cancelled all shows due to the tragic passing of drummer Taylor Hawkins. Foo Fighters released a statement reading: 'It is with great sadness that Foo Fighters confirm the cancellation of all upcoming tour dates in light of the staggering loss of our brother Taylor Hawkins.
'We’re sorry for and share in the disappointment that we won’t be seeing one another as planned. Instead, let’s take this time to grieve, to heal, to pull our loved ones close, and to appreciate all the music and memories we’ve made together. With Love, Foo Fighters.'
In January 2023, the band released a statement confirming that they would continue, and that they would be seeing their fans “soon”, and know they’re “going to be a different band going forward.” They concluded their message saying Hawkins “will be there in spirit with all of us every night."
The band then performed at various festivals in 2023, as well as confirming their UK tour in 2024, which begins in June 2024.
Foo Fighters latest album
The Foos released their 11th album, 'But Here We Are', on 2nd June 2023 - their first record without drummer Taylor, to whom the record is dedicated to along with Dave's mum, Virginia Hanlon Grohl.
Dave Grohl and Queens Of The Stone Age
Dave Grohl has played in various bands since he was young, and even played drums on Queen Of The Stone Age’s third album, ‘Songs For The Deaf’, in 2002. He had so much fun that Foo Fighters were put on hold while he went on tour with them.
He also made a few drumming contributions to their fifth album, ‘…Like Clockwork’ (2013)’
Dave Grohl and Nandi Bushell
Hailing from Ipswich, multi-talented music prodigy Nandi Bushell has been wowing the internet for years now with her enthusiastic, energetic and expert renditions of rock classics, predominately on drums, but also on bass and guitar.
But she was brought to an even bigger platform after performing ‘Everlong’, challenging Dave to a drum battle. Of course, he accepted - and after Nandi won round one, Dave blew everyone out of the water when he wrote Nandi her very own theme song!
Their back-and-forth culminated in an incredible moment where Nandi actually performed 'Everlong' on stage with the Foos in Los Angeles... Wow. The pair are now in regular contact.
Has Dave Grohl directed a documentary?
He sure has. In 2021, he directed 'What Drives Us', a feature-length documentary on van touring. It was released on 30th April on the Coda Collection via Amazon Prime.
Dave Grohl book
2021 was a busy year for Dave Grohl as he also wrote a book, 'The Storyteller' where he shares stories from a 'life lived loud'. It was released on 5th October.
You can hear Foo Fighters' biggest hits on the Absolute Radio playlist.
Now read:
11 fun facts about Foo Fighters
Dave Grohl compares new Foo Fighters album to David Bowie's 'Let's Dance'
Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl writes song about 'superhero' Nandi Bushell