Eddie Vedder says Taylor Hawkins “put out something very amazing and very special”.
The Pearl Jam frontman paid tribute to the late Foo Fighters drummer – who tragically died in March at the age of 50 – as the band kicked off their ‘Gigaton’ tour of North America this week, and he referenced the fellow bandmate Matt Cameron’s link to the ‘Best of You, Musician.
Speaking ahead of performing ‘Quick Escape’ at Viejas Arena in San Diego, California this week, Eddie said: “[Taylor] released something very incredible and very special.
“We all miss him, and so, Matt, I’m sorry again for your loss. But this just gives us another chance to say how much we appreciate you, too.
After performing at a tribute concert to the late Soundgarden legend Chris Cornell in 2019, Taylor and Matt formed the Nighttimate Boogie Association together the following year.
They also teamed up with Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro on a cover of the classic Queen track “Keep Yourself Alive” at Eddie’s Ohana Festival in October 2021.
Meanwhile, Queen guitarist Brian May previously admitted he felt “so frustrated” by his friend’s death, and “feels bad” for the musician to have lost his life at a relatively young age.
He said: “Taylor wasn’t even from my generation. I see him as a boy – the same way I saw George Michael as a boy – to lose them is wrong.
“It makes you so frustrated. It makes you feel like you want to negotiate with death.
“It makes you feel like if you watch it enough, if you talk about it enough, if you analyze it enough, maybe you can bring it back, but of course that’s just not how everything works.”
Taylor was a huge Queen fan, and Brian admitted that he was “Queen’s best publicist ever”.
He added: “He’s been so good for our image! Where he sort of thought of us as cool – which a lot of people didn’t back then…
“We instantly bonded because Taylor and Pat Smear were the most knowledgeable Queen fans, they knew more about us than we did. We were just shocked to find out how they felt about us.