Dave Grohl talks to Gigwise about upcoming UK dates
Andrew Trendell

19:43 12th November 2014

More about:

Foo Fighters have announced details of 2015 UK dates - and revealed that they've asked Royal Blood and Iggy Pop to support them. Full dates and ticket details are below. 

Ahead of tonight's huge UK show announcement, Gigwise sat down with frontman Dave Grohl to talk about the Glastonbury rumours, what to expect from their massive summer gigs and asking a certain Brighton, chart-topping two-piece to support them. 

When quizzed about Glasto and Emily Eavis wanting them to play, Grohl replied: "She hasn't called me yet. The Foo Fighters haven't been there since 1998, and that's a fun festival."

And then, on to what to expect from their two nights at Wembley Stadium...

"At this point, we have a lot of songs," said Grohl. "We have a lot of die-hard fans and we have a lot of new fans - so we like to try and appease everyone. When you play a gig like that, I'm not going to turn my back to the audience and play some kind of challenging B-side shit. I'm going to try and turn around and get 60,000 people to sing along to the chorus like Freddie Mercury at Live Aid. That's to me, a fucking stadium show.

"We've got into this bad habit of playing until they tell us to stop. We even bypass the encore - it's like 'don't even walk off stage because you're going to waste fucking three minutes'."

When asked if his liking of Royal Blood had pushed him to ask them to support, Grohl replied: "Yes. Absolutely. It's funny. That's something we got really exciting about when doing those smaller gigs.

"We came back, I don't know why but I was on Youtube and I saw this little side-bar thing that said 'Royal Blood at Glastonbury' and it was fucking great! I was so happy to see people with fucking instruments going bananas, and then I found out that they've got the No.1 record, I was like 'oh, there's hope!'."

Foo Fighters will play:
25 May – Sunderland, UK – Sunderland Stadium of Light
27 May – Manchester, UK – Emirates Old Trafford
19 June – London, UK – Wembley Stadium*
20 June – London, UK – Wembley Stadium*
23 June – Edinburgh, UK – BT Murrayfield Stadium**

* With Iggy Pop & Royal Blood
** With Royal Blood

 

Tickets on sale now. For tickets and more information, visit here.

  • 15. 'Walking After You': The eternally underrated penultimate track from The Colour And The Shape, 'Walking After You' demonstrates the more lucid dreaming, tender and romantic side of Grohl that is too often overshadowed by his harder rocking moments.

  • 14. 'Breakout': A fittingly schizophrenic wonder between a radio-ready superhit and a fierce, howling little rocker. That screamy bit at the end? Massive.

  • 13. 'All My Life': A bona fide solid gold, modern rock classic, and perfect set opener.

  • 12. 'White Limo': WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITE LIMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

  • 11. 'Something From Nothing': With a fitting nod and tribute to Dio's 'Holy Diver', the first offering from the Foos new album Sonic Highways was recorded in Chicago and produced by none other than In Utero's Steve Albini, painting a vivid picture of 'a city on fire' that leans on grunge and even funk before the crescendo of Grohl's trademark howl. Starting as a slow-building, brooding number before quickly blossoming into a dose of searing, stadium-filling, classic Foos, 'Something From Nothing' makes for a pretty perfect album opener and appetizer for all that follows.

  • 10. 'The Pretender': All of the Foos working as one to form an unstoppable tsunami of sound, proving that they're far more than the sum of their parts - like some angry Megazord.

  • 9. 'Big Me': There's something almost Beatles-esque about the sheer charming simplicity about early Foos, and here it is summed up in one sweet bubble of innocent melody.

  • 8. 'Times Like These': Partly for that hella-cool sinking bassline bit at the beginning, but mainly for the universal, life-affirming celebration that erupts when they air it live.

  • 7. 'Learn To Fly': Not only did it give us the band at their cross-dressing, fancy dress best, but one of the ultimate feel-good guitar anthems.

  • 6. 'Monkey Wrench': The moment when the world stopped seeing the Foos as 'that scrawny lad from Nirvana's other band' as the hard-shredding, globe conquering, force of nature they always threatened to be.

  • 5. 'This Is A Call': Crashing in to the top 10 as the Foos' first major single, and world's scorching but weird introduction and template for all of the greatness that would follow - still sounding as huge and fresh today as it did 1995. Proof alone that there's life after death, and a testament to Grohl's perseverance.

  • 4. 'Best Of You': You know when Prince covers your track that you've done something right, and in this case it's larger than life sense of sheer abandon.

  • 3. 'My Hero': One of many almighty peaks on The Colour And The Shape and a towering tribute to all of the selfless heroes who make the ordinary extraordinary in every day life.

  • 2. 'Stacked Actors': Shhhh, we know it was only released as a single in Australia, but tenuous as it seems, it deserves its place so highly in this list. A QOTSA-esque intro, a sultry stoned groove and a scathing attack on the shallow transparency of Hollywood culture, this is the sound of a band rocking on their own terms, a million miles away from the hollow rock star realm that dominates the airwaves.

  • 1. 'Everlong': The highlight of any Foos gig, and arguably their entire career. 'Everlong' works whether stripped back to a solo performance or as an all guns blazing onslaught. Why? Due to its sheer timeless class. A true anthem for living in the now that will last forever.

More about:


Photo: Splash