The Foo Fighters had a very busy weekend at the Reading and Leeds festivals in England on Friday (Aug. 23) and Saturday (Aug. 24), packed with special guests, touching tributes and their latest, greatest Rickroll. The flurry of activity kicked off on Friday, when Dave Grohl’s 13 year-old daughter, Violet, hopped on stage to rock out with dad on “My Hero.”
“This has been a special trip for me because on this trip we have a new Foo Fighter in the band with us,” Grohl told the audience at the show. “Let me tell you something—she is the best fucking singer I know… Ladies and gentlemen, the best singer in the Grohl family: Miss Violet Grohl right now, right here.” Father and daughter then blended vocals on the track from 1997’s The Colour and Shape, coming together on the rousing chorus. Grohl threw his arm around Violet for a mid-song breakdown where he gushed about staying up all night watching horror movies and making sure the newest star in the family makes it to stage on time. (Stick around until the 7:20 mark to see the pair scream it out together.)
The next night at the Reading Festival Grohl paid homage to late Prodigy singer Keith Flint, telling the audience he wanted to sing the Foos’ 2017 track “Run” “for Keith from The Prodigy.” He also recalled playing Reading with the pioneering rock-edged EDM act in 2009. “That was the craziest shit I’ve ever seen,” he said.
“I wanna sing this one for Keith from The Prodigy” – Dave Grohl of the @foofighters dedicates their @OfficialRandL performance of ‘Run’ to the legendary frontman. #RIPKeithFlint 😢 (1 of 3) pic.twitter.com/6qCzQQrUap
— ill Will (@officialillwill) 25 августа 2019 г.
And while that was a somewhat sobering moment, Grohl also had a trick up his sleeve to make his latest Reading appearance one for the ages. “Some of you may know that the Reading Festival holds a very special place … This is the first big festival I ever played in my life when I was 22 in 1991. It was a long time ago,” Grohl told the crowd after the band ripped through a cover of AC/DC’s “Let There Be Rock.”
“I thought tonight we’ll do something special for you that pays tribute to a song that brings us way back in time,” he said. “It’s maybe the reason why I’m here tonight headlining the main stage. If you know it you can bounce around to it.” Teasing what sounded like a classic Nirvana riff, Grohl started strumming like a maniac as Rick Astley came out in a Hawaiian shirt and Rickrolled more than 60,000 with his hit 1987 classic “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
You gotta love Dave Grohl! Teasing Nirvana and then bringing out @rickastley to perform ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ at @OfficialRandL 😂😂😂 | @foofighters (1/2) pic.twitter.com/oJ8KpP8p0y
— ill Will (@officialillwill) 25 августа 2019 г.
@rickastley x @foofighters at @OfficialRandL (2/2) pic.twitter.com/KfxYMCDA4p
— ill Will (@officialillwill) 25 августа 2019 г.
As if all that wasn’t enough, Grohl spotted a fan in the audience dressed like late Queen singer Freddie Mercury at Leeds and, of course, he needed him up the stage as soon as possible. As drummer Taylor Hawkins sang “Under Pressure,” the fan in a yellow jacket worked the stage as he mimed Mercury’s vocals on the famed 1982 duet with David Bowie.
So @foofighters do this part where Taylor somgs under pressure whilst Dave Grohl Drums, but as they started Taylor notices a guy actually dressed as Freddie Mercury and it provided comedy GOLD pic.twitter.com/Jq7RfRRBNU
— Daisy Worthington (@DaisyD_W) 24 августа 2019 г.
Watch the videos below.
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