Every rock and roll star experiences stage fear from time to time. Even though they have performed in front of millions of people worldwide, there are always those important performances. They feel they must nail them, or everything will crumble around them. Dave Grohl, a resilient performer on stage, admits one run of Foo Fighters gigs terrified him when initially approached.
By the time Dave Grohl transitioned to the stadium-rock circuit, he had already been a two-time rock & roll superstar. After being regarded as the mild-mannered drummer who pounded the skins with Nirvana, Grohl became a star leader. He recorded the first Foo Fighters album at home.
While Grohl did not envision it as a large band, he began to receive interest from various major companies, confident they had discovered the logical next step from where Nirvana had gone. As he formed a band and played post-concert, he recalls feeling anxious every time he played, anticipating greater things together. He saw the potential for greatness simmering within them, a fire fueled by their unwavering bond.
Although the band began to disband in the late 1990s due to lineup changes, Grohl kept the engine running in the studio. He produced song after song with the same vast span of creativity. After experimenting with electric and acoustic music on In Your Honor, Grohl’s combination of the two on Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace resulted in one of his biggest calls.
In the documentary Back and Forth, Grohl recalls receiving a call from his management discussing a future line of concerts in the UK. He said, “I get a call from [manager] Silva, and he just says, ‘You guys want to play Wembley Stadium”? I responded, “Yeah, but how big is that place?”
While Grohl believed that the band was not large enough to fill the stadiums that Queen had dominated decades before. The crowd was eager to see them succeed. Selling out dates was shocking, but the fear of messing it up gripped Grohl’s heart.
Compared to the various club gigs and modest stadium tours they had undergone, Grohl remembered being stressed out of his mind. He recalled, “I remember for months I would go to bed, and the last thing I would think was, ‘Oh my god, we gotta play fucking Wembley Stadium’. When I’d wake up, I’d get up and think, ‘Fuck, we’re playing Wembley.'”
Despite a few setbacks, including Chris Shiflett getting hot sauce in his eye an hour before showtime. The band delivered a historic performance at the stadium. Later, they invited fellow rock legends Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones to join them onstage. Together, they tore through a version of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Rock and Roll.’
While the ensemble may have been hesitant to take the stage, the audience was more enthusiastic than ever. After surviving the most difficult challenges that any band has faced, the Wembley performances appeared to be a celebration. The band marked their survival after more than a decade in the industry.
