Lead singer Dave Grohl suffered an untimely injury at the band’s lastย performance in Sweden.ย
There’s bad news for Glastonbury attendees looking forward to the Foo Fighters performance at the Pyramid stage this year, the band have pulled out of the festival after their lead man, Dave Grohl sustained injuries after falling from the stage at a festival in Sweden. He wrote an open letter explaining the entire episode which ended with a special message for Kanye West, check it out:
” Hey everyoneโฆ.
Your old pal, Dave here. Been a while, eh? Itโs been one hell of a year, thatโs for sure. Looks like weโve got some serious catching up to do! Hmmm, letโs seeโฆ..where do I begin?
Drumroll, pleaseโฆ.
The funniest thing happened to me the other day in Sweden!ย
Two songs into our set at Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, I made a mad dash to the right of the stage during MONKEY WRENCH to shred some tasty licks for the kids up front. It was a beautiful night, beautiful stadium, 52,000 screaming peopleโฆ.dream gig! Wellโฆ.wait for itโฆ.I definitely shredded something (ZING!) Wound up feet first over the Edge (pun intended), dropping about 12 feet, dislocating my ankle and snapping my fibula like an old pair of take out chopsticks. Whoopsie daisy. Not good. Without realizing the extent of my injuries, I stood up to get back onstage and crumbled like a sack of Joe Theismanns (look it up, kiddies). That shit was B-R-O-K-E.ย
As I lay there on my back, I just thought, โAre you kidding me? We havenโt even gotten to the screamy bit of the song and the gig is fucking OVER?โ So, I asked for a microphone and told the audience Iโd get fixed up and come right back to finish the show ASAP. Shock? Probably. But, I couldnโt stand the thought of such a perfect night going to waste! I looked at our drummer Taylor and said, โBust out some Chevy Metal covers while they fix me up!โ So, as the band kicked in to โStay With Meโ by The Faces, the medics poured me onto a stretcher, took me off to the side, cut my favorite pants off (so bummed) and popped my ankle back into place. I asked if I could get back onstage to finish the show, but they said I needed a cast (which was 20 minutes away at the hospital) to hold my ankle in place. So I looked my EMT, Johan in the eyes and said โWell, then youโre coming up there with me right now and holding it in place until they can bring the cast here. Ready?โ He stared at me wide-eyed for a second and said, โOK, letsโ goโฆโ
I donโt know who was more scared, me or Johan. 5 minutes later, I donโt know who was having more fun, me or Johan. (I actually looked at him in between songs and said โThis is pretty fun, isnโt it?โ He smiled and nodded yes.)
Like clockwork, the cast arrived, I walked offstage for a song or two as they put it on me, and then came back to finish the gig. Letโs just say that singing our song โWalkโ with a straight face was pretty goddamned hard. โThese Daysโ was a good one, too. (Easy for you to say! Your leg has never been broken!) All in all, it was without a doubt the single most bizarre Foo Fighters show in the entire 20 years of being a band. Hands down. What seemed like a tragedy at first turned into a triumph, and we all walked away with a new sense of appreciation for what weโve gotโฆ
Straight to the hospital for x-rays, where we finally saw the extent of the damage. Thatโs when things got really real. I was told I needed surgery to fix the break. I decided to fly back to London and find a doctor that could see me ASAP. (Thanks for the recommendation, Paul!) An MRI and a few x-rays later, we set a date and prepared for the operation.
Operation went well. Had a great team and nice stay in hospital. Good curry, too! Thank you to everyone involved.
Soโฆ.here I am, recovering with 6 metal screws in my leg, thinking about a lifetime of holding up TSA lines from here to Kalamazooโฆ.damn.
Hereโs the not so witty bitโฆโฆ.My doctors have advised me to lay low for a while. The most important thing now is for me to recover from the surgery, to keep my leg elevated so as to keep swelling down and prevent any infection/complication that could do long term damage. Iโm not out of the woods yet, folksโฆ
Which means, and it kills me to say itโฆ..the doctors have told us to cancel shows. Iโm really so sorry, guys. You know I hate to do it, but Iโm afraid itโs just not physically possible for me at the moment. Weโre doing our best right now to work out a plan, so bear with us. You know weโre good for our word. But for now, I need to make sure we have YEARS of gigs ahead of usโฆ.
You have always stood by our band, and we will always stand by you. Like I say at every show, we wouldnโt be here if it werenโt for you guys. And I mean that. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. And I will do everything I can to come back and give you a night to remember for the rest of your lives AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
Until thenโฆmy sincerest apologies.
Your friend, Dave
PSโฆโฆ.Kanyeโฆ..Imma let you have this oneโฆ.. “
The band have subsequently cancelled all their gigs this month in the UK as well as Belgium. Grohl apologized to his fans on the Foo Fighter’s website and also posted an x-ray photograph of his broken leg. The accident occurred after Dave attempted a jump and landed up in the gap between the stage and barricade. The rest of the Glastonbury line-up still has enough to nullify the Foo Fighters’ absence, and the Sherp wishesย Dave Grohl a speedy recovery.
Glastonbury kicks off in less than a week, so make sure you stay hooked to this space to know more about the festival as we build up to one of the world’s finest musical showcases.
(All Images Courtesy: Foo Fighters Facebook)