Foo Fighters fool Glastonbury festivalgoers with surprise appearance

Call them Fool Fighters.

Billed as The ChurnUps at the Glastonbury Festival on Friday, Foo Fighters took the Pyramid Stage for a surprise appearance that marked the band’s first appearance at the English extravaganza since 2017.

It was also the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band’s first full show in the UK since the death of their beloved drummer, Taylor Hawkins, in 2022.

Although there were rumors that the ChurnUps were actually the Foos, it wasn’t confirmed until a tweet about an hour before their set.

“You guys knew it was us the whole time, didn’t you?” said Foo frontman Dave Grohl. “It’s nice to see your faces again.”

And then Foo Fighters launched into an hourlong set that included hits such as “All My Life,” “Learn to Fly,” “The Pretender” and “Best Of You” as well as short covers of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” and the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage.”

“We’ve only got one hour so we gotta make sure we fit in all the songs we can,” said Grohl. 

The set included a slow, stripped-down version of “My Hero” that many felt was a tribute to Hawkins, who actually received an official dedication on “Everlong.”

But he wasn’t the only dearly departed loved one whom Foo Fighters honored at Glastonbury.

Grohl brought out his 17-year-old daughter Violet to duet on “Where Are You Now” in tribute to the rocker’s mother, Virginia, who also died last year.

After releasing “But Here We Are” — their first new studio album since Hawkins’ death — on June 2, Foo Fighters are roaring back to life, with more festival dates to come this summer. And they are also employing a new drummer, Josh Freese, on the road.