Ringo Starr, Finneas, Billy Idol and More Mourn the Loss of Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins: 'So Tragic'

The band announced Taylor Hawkins’ death in a statement on Twitter, writing that they are “devastated by the tragic and untimely loss”

Taylor Hawkins. Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty

Musicians and celebrities are paying tribute to late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, whose death was announced Friday by the band.

The iconic rock group — consisting of Dave Grohl, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, Nate Mendel and Rami Jaffee — confirmed Hawkins' death in a statement posted to their official Twitter. He was 50.

"The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins," the message read. "His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever."

It continued, "Our hearts go out to his wife, children and family, and we ask that their privacy be treated with the utmost respect in this unimaginably difficult time."

Following the announcement, stars took to social media to pay tribute to the late musician, who was to perform with the band at the Grammy Awards next month.

Billy Idol was one of the first to honor the drummer, posting a portrait shot of Hawkins to Twitter with the caption, "So tragic. 💔 Rest in peace Taylor."

Canadian rock band Nickelback wrote a statement saying that they were in "utter disbelief" by the news. "Our deepest condolences to his family, his bandmates, his team, his friends and everyone that was ever touched by the music he created with @foofighters @Alanis and so many others. This is so incredibly sad," they added.

Fellow drummer Ringo Starr, of Beatles fame, sent his love on Twitter by sharing a black-and-white photo of Hawkins smiling. He wrote, "God bless Taylor peace and love to all his family and the band peace and love. 😎✌️🌟❤️🎶🌈☮️."

Finneas, who is scheduled to perform alongside sister Billie Eilish at Sunday's 94th Academy Awards, wrote that he was "heartbroken." He added, "What an incredible talent, who didn't also need to be so kind and generous and cool but was all those things too anyway. The world was so lucky to have his gifts for the time that it did, Rest In Peace."

Singer-songwriter Richard Marx said that he was "gutted" by Hawkins' passing. "Completely gutted," he added. "We just recorded something together a month ago. Can't even process this right now. Let's hold Taylor's wife and children close to our hearts."

Others took to social media to share their condolences. Rocker Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave) said that he loved Hawkins' "spirit and your unstoppable rock power," while stage and screen actor Josh Gad called the loss "absolutely heartbreaking."

In an Instagram post, Travis Barker shared a black-and-white image of Hawkins sitting within a music venue. In his caption, the Blink-182 drummer recalled how Hawkins would watch him at venues when he was up-and-coming, and how he gave him "so much hope and determination."

Miley Cyrus remembered Hawkins in a set of posts shared on her Instagram Story. In one, the singer, 29, shared a picture of Hawkins playing the drums, and wrote, "This is how I'll always remember you..."

She added that her show on Saturday evening would be dedicated in Hawkins' honor.

In another post, Cyrus shared The Pretenders' song "Brass In Pocket." Alongside the track, the "Adore You" singer wrote, "My favorite memory with Taylor is dancing around his drum kit while he played along to this song ...." She continued: "Playing it on repeat imagining us laughing.... Love forever."

". @TaylorHawkins was truly a great person and an amazing musician. My heart, my love and my condolences go out to his wife, his children, his family, his band and his fans," Ozzy Osbourne wrote in a Twitter statement. "See you on the other side."

"Forever missed," Guns N' Roses wrote beside a series of black and white photographs of the two bands working together on social media.

Kiss band members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley also reacted in separate statements shared on Twitter.

"Shocked and saddened to hear @taylorhawkins has passed away today.!" Simmons, 72, tweeted. "Our prayers and condolences go out to the Hawkins family, ⁦@foofighters⁩ friends and fans. Sad."

Added Stanley, 70, in his own post: "Speechless and Gutted. Taylor was a great guy, a dad and a husband. My heart goes out to them, Dave and the band. What awful news."

"GUTTED to hear of our friend and neighbor, Taylor Hawkins departure. In disbelief, like everyone else," LeAnn Rimes said. "He was one of my favorite people, always full of love… he will be deeply missed."

"Our hearts go out to his family, to the Foo's…" she continued, before adding the hashtags, "#RIPTaylorHawkins" and "#FooFighters."

Sharing a headshot of Hawkins, Rick Springfield captioned an Instagram post, "💔Rest in peace Taylor. Peace, love, and light to your family. @taylorhawkinsofficial."

Queen's Brian May shared a screenshot of news articles announcing Hawkins' death on Instagram. "No. It cannot be. Heartbroken," he wrote alongside his post. "Taylor, you were family to us. Our friend, our brother, our beloved child. Bless you. We will miss you so bad."

Wolf Van Halen, the son of the late Eddie Van Halen, meanwhile, reflected on meeting Hawkins years ago in a post he shared on Twitter.

"I'll never forget meeting Taylor on tour in San Diego in 2012. He was such a ridiculously kind man," Van Halen, 31, wrote beside a photograph of himself, his father, and Hawkins. "The dude just emanated cool."

"Him, my pops and I talked for as long as we could until we had to leave," he continued. "An incredible drummer and singer, he was a constant inspiration to me throughout my entire life. This is like a kick in the gut."

At the time of Hawkins' death, the band was on tour in South America; they played at Lollapalooza Argentina earlier this week.

They were set to perform on Friday at the Festival Estéreo Picnic in Bogota, Colombia. However, at the festival, organizers announced that there had been a medical emergency and the band, who were the headliners, would not be appearing.

Hawkins, a Fort Worth, Texas, native moved to the Southern California area when he was a child. His first big break came as he toured as a drummer for seven-time Grammy-winning artist Alanis Morissette. He officially joined Foo Fighters in 1997, replacing William Goldsmith.