Two years ago, an onstage injury forced Foo Fighters to cancel their long-awaited Glastonbury headline show. Over three days, we joined them in London and at Worthy Farm as they return to settle the score. See all the exclusive pics right here.
“How does this one go again?”
As The National’s set wound down on the Pyramid Stage, Foo Fighters warmed up for theirs in the backstage jam room with a last minute run-through of new single ‘Run’.
“Did we miss anything?”
Grohl his bandmates give NME a sneak peek at their Glastonbury setlist.
The Calm Before The Storm
Moments before their conquest of Glastonbury gets underway, the band – including newly-promoted sixth member Rami Jaffee – pose for a shot in the backstage area.
“Traffic Was a Bitch…”
After his onstage leg-break in Sweden forced the band to cancel their 2015 appearance, this year’s festival came with an added incentive for Dave Grohl, who told NME that, “Two years ago, we didn’t realise the immensity of headlining Glastonbury. And now, I can’t wait to walk out on that stage, because I can actually walk out on that stage, y’know?”
A Glastonbury Return 19 Years In The Making
The Foos’ last visit to Worthy Farm was a rain-sodden appearance on the main stage in 1998. “I feel like we got to the party a little too early,” Grohl told NME in 2015. “There was a football match on at the same time, and there was probably only about 400 people in front of the stage.”
When Taylor Met Liam
You’d never know it from this picture, but drummer Taylor Hawkins was apparently suffering from pre-show jitters before a chance backstage encounter with Liam Gallagher put him at ease. ““Five minutes before we go onstage, Liam fuckin’ Gallagher wanders in,” Grohl told NME after the show. “He goes straight over to Taylor and starts singing a song from Taylor’s solo record. Taylor had nerves about tonight because everyone made such a big deal about this show, but he walked onstage with the biggest fucking smile…”
Pat & Dave
This year also marked Pat Smear’s first visit to Glastonbury – the former Germs and Nirvana guitarist left the band before the Foos’ last appearance in 1998, and was replaced by Grohl’s former Scream bandmate Franz Stahl. He certainly seemed to be enjoying himself.
Learning To Walk Again…
Grohl couldn’t resist dedicating the band’s 2011 single ‘Walk’ to the surgeon who operated on his broken leg. “His name’s James,” he told the crowd. “I went to him and said, I know I have a broken leg, but could you make me look older?”
A View To Remember
“I’ll tell you what, this is exactly what I fucking hoped would happen,” Grohl confessed to the crowd at one point. We’re unsure whether he was referring to spectacular vistas like this one, or the naked guy who got ‘My Hero’ dedicated to him.
What The Fu…
Now he’s just showing off: not content with winning the weekend, Grohl even managed to break Adele’s record for the most ‘fucks’ uttered in a Glastonbury headline set. FYI, future headliners – 34 is the number you need to beat in 2019.
Rocking out
“I feel loose, I feel good, and I feel like this is the fucking big one, man.” Just another night on “the best job in the world” for Dave Grohl.
Up Close And Personal
Two years later than expected, Dave Grohl finally face-to-face with Glastonbury.
The View From The Crowd
Early on, Grohl promised the audience that, “If you want, we can play all night.” As the set drew to a close, they took the frontman at his word and started chanting for “Ten more songs.”
The Grand Finale
“We never really say goodbye, we just say this…” The band take a well-deserved bow as their epic, curfew-busting set comes to a close with ‘Everlong’.
Job Done
As the band left the stage, they were applauded by celebrity onlookers such as David Beckham, Johnny Depp and Metallica’s Lars Ulrich.
