![14 January 1969: David Eric Grohl is born in Warren, Ohio - the son of a teacher and a news writer.]()
14 January 1969: David Eric Grohl is born in Warren, Ohio - the son of a teacher and a news writer.
![1981: A 12-year-old Grohl gives himself a Black Flag tattoo with a needle and pen ink, and starts learning the guitar. He only manages three black stripes before the pain gets too much, but the three-striped tattoo will last for decades.]()
1981: A 12-year-old Grohl gives himself a Black Flag tattoo with a needle and pen ink, and starts learning the guitar. He only manages three black stripes before the pain gets too much, but the three-striped tattoo will last for decades.
![1982: Grohl's parents take him to see Chicago post-punk band Naked Raygun:]()
1982: Grohl's parents take him to see Chicago post-punk band Naked Raygun: "I loved the intimacy of it. That's where my perspective on rock comes from."
![1983: Grohl is given a copy of Rush's 2112, and is inspired to take up the drums. He can't afford a real set though, so he arranges pillows on his bed and beats along to songs with marching sticks he stole from a friend.]()
1983: Grohl is given a copy of Rush's 2112, and is inspired to take up the drums. He can't afford a real set though, so he arranges pillows on his bed and beats along to songs with marching sticks he stole from a friend.
![1985: While playing guitar for a band called Freak Baby, Grohl decides to switch to drums.]()
1985: While playing guitar for a band called Freak Baby, Grohl decides to switch to drums.
![1986: At the age of 17, having finally bought his own drum kit, Grohl auditions for his favourite local band, Scream. He secures the position by telling the band he's 20 years old. Grohl drops out of high school to tour with Scream.]()
1986: At the age of 17, having finally bought his own drum kit, Grohl auditions for his favourite local band, Scream. He secures the position by telling the band he's 20 years old. Grohl drops out of high school to tour with Scream.
![1990: Scream unexpectedly disband when bass player Ben Pape leaves to join The Four Horsemen. While staying at Hotel Tropicana, Grohl's friend and Melvins member Buzz Osbourne tell him a band called Nirvana are looking for a drummer. Grohl goes to the record store, buys Nirvana's debut album Bleach and plays it ten times.]()
1990: Scream unexpectedly disband when bass player Ben Pape leaves to join The Four Horsemen. While staying at Hotel Tropicana, Grohl's friend and Melvins member Buzz Osbourne tell him a band called Nirvana are looking for a drummer. Grohl goes to the record store, buys Nirvana's debut album Bleach and plays it ten times.
![September 1990: Grohl flies to Seattle, expecting to be confronted with]()
September 1990: Grohl flies to Seattle, expecting to be confronted with "dirty fuckin' biker children," but instead finds himself auditioning for "the sweetest people in the world", Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic. He nails the audition, and moves in with Novoselic as the newest member of Nirvana.
![1991: Nirvana begin receiving major label attention, and sign with DCG Records. Later that year, they release their second album, Nevermind, which catapults them to worldwide fame. The attention is bittersweet for Grohl, who begins excusing himself from interviews to have a panic attack.]()
1991: Nirvana begin receiving major label attention, and sign with DCG Records. Later that year, they release their second album, Nevermind, which catapults them to worldwide fame. The attention is bittersweet for Grohl, who begins excusing himself from interviews to have a panic attack.
![1992: Not wishing to compete with Cobain, but struggling with his status as another in a long line of drummers, Grohl releases his own cassette album, Pocketwatch, under the pseudonym Late!]()
1992: Not wishing to compete with Cobain, but struggling with his status as another in a long line of drummers, Grohl releases his own cassette album, Pocketwatch, under the pseudonym Late!
![1993: Nirvana release their third album, In Utero, which enters the US charts at No.1 and gains the band further critical acclaim and landing status as one of the best and darkest albums ever made.]()
1993: Nirvana release their third album, In Utero, which enters the US charts at No.1 and gains the band further critical acclaim and landing status as one of the best and darkest albums ever made.
![1994: Nirvana come to a sudden and tragic halt as lead singer Kurt Cobain commits suicide. Grohl shies away from music for a while:]()
1994: Nirvana come to a sudden and tragic halt as lead singer Kurt Cobain commits suicide. Grohl shies away from music for a while: "If you have someone that's close to you, a family member of someone that you love, and they disappear or pass away... Imagine walking into their bedroom full of things every day. That's exactly how playing music felt to me."
![October 1994: Grohl enters the studio once again, and records a 15-song demo, on which he plays every instrument and sings every vocal. He releases the demo tape anonymously under the name Foo Fighters, but the secret doesn't stay that way for long. Grohl recruits Nate Mendel, William Goldsmith and Pat Smear to join his Foo Fighters project.]()
October 1994: Grohl enters the studio once again, and records a 15-song demo, on which he plays every instrument and sings every vocal. He releases the demo tape anonymously under the name Foo Fighters, but the secret doesn't stay that way for long. Grohl recruits Nate Mendel, William Goldsmith and Pat Smear to join his Foo Fighters project.
![1995: Foo Fighters' first official album, also called Foo Fighters, is released, and comprises songs from the demo Grohl recorded by himself.]()
1995: Foo Fighters' first official album, also called Foo Fighters, is released, and comprises songs from the demo Grohl recorded by himself.
![1997: Foo Fighters release their second album, The Colour And The Shape, which goes on to be certified Platinum in the United States. Five more hugely successful albums follow, but this one has a special place in fans' hearts more than most.]()
1997: Foo Fighters release their second album, The Colour And The Shape, which goes on to be certified Platinum in the United States. Five more hugely successful albums follow, but this one has a special place in fans' hearts more than most.
![2002: On a brief hiatus from Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl provides the drums for Queens Of The Stone Age's third studio album Songs For The Deaf, after receiving a phone call from long-time friend Josh Homme. It was one of the most perfect and Earth-shaking collaborations ever.]()
2002: On a brief hiatus from Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl provides the drums for Queens Of The Stone Age's third studio album Songs For The Deaf, after receiving a phone call from long-time friend Josh Homme. It was one of the most perfect and Earth-shaking collaborations ever.
![2009: With over a decade of huge success, the band release a Greatest Hits album, and Grohl records an album with Josh Homme and John Paul Jones as rock super group Them Crooked Vultures.]()
2009: With over a decade of huge success, the band release a Greatest Hits album, and Grohl records an album with Josh Homme and John Paul Jones as rock super group Them Crooked Vultures.
![2013: Grohl directs and produces his first documentary film, Sound City, about the history of the Los Angeles recording studio in which Nirvana recorded Nevermind, also paying tribute to the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Trent Reznor and more. The accompanying original soundtrack was also pretty amazing.]()
2013: Grohl directs and produces his first documentary film, Sound City, about the history of the Los Angeles recording studio in which Nirvana recorded Nevermind, also paying tribute to the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Trent Reznor and more. The accompanying original soundtrack was also pretty amazing.
![2014: 20 years after the death of Kurt Cobain, Nirvana are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame - famously making peace with Cobain's widow Courtney Love.]()
2014: 20 years after the death of Kurt Cobain, Nirvana are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame - famously making peace with Cobain's widow Courtney Love.
![November 2014: Foo Fighters will release their eighth studio album, Sonic Highways, with each song recorded in a different US city.]()
November 2014: Foo Fighters will release their eighth studio album, Sonic Highways, with each song recorded in a different US city.
![2015: Grohl manages to break his leg during a gig in Sweden, but continues to play on. What comes of this is mass onstage crowd interaction and an awesome rock throne.]()
2015: Grohl manages to break his leg during a gig in Sweden, but continues to play on. What comes of this is mass onstage crowd interaction and an awesome rock throne.