Legendary musician Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters gave a heartfelt speech in honor of Taylor Hawkins, the Foo Fighters’ longtime drummer, who unfortunately passed away in March of this year.

According to articles from Loudwire and The Daily Mail, Grohl addressed the massive crowd at Hawkins’ tribute concert in London’s Wembley Stadium this morning, stating: “Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we’ve gathered here to celebrate the life, the music and the love of our dear friend, our bandmate, our brother Taylor Hawkins. For those of you who knew him personally, you know that no one else could make you smile or laugh or dance or sing like he could. And for those of you that admired him from afar, I’m sure you’ve all felt the same thing,” Grohl continued: “So tonight we’ve gathered with family and his closest friends, his musical heroes and greatest inspirations to bring you a gigantic fucking night for a gigantic fucking person. So sing and dance and laugh and cry and fucking scream and make some fucking noise so he can hear us right now. Cause you know what, it’s going to be a long fucking night, right? Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you fucking ready?”

After the stirring speech, the first guest musician Liam Gallagher, a longtime friend of the late Hawkins, joined the Foo Fighters on stage and played the hit songs “Rock N Roll Star,” and “Live Forever,” with Grohl serving as the drummer.

Later in the concert, during a rendition of “Times Like These,” Grohl briefly burst into tears, without a doubt deeply moved by the tragic loss of Hawkins and the outburst of support from fans and musicians alike during the tribute concert.

Photo Credit: Boston Lynn Schulz