Dave Grohl revealed that Kurt Cobain’s death inspired him to found the Foo Fighters, in an appearance on The Graham Norton Show on Friday.
The former Nirvana drummer, 52, admitted he bolted from the USA after his friend was found dead in his home in 1994 following an apparent suicide at the age of 27.
He soon headed to Ireland in a bid to ‘soul search’ but was reminded of the vocal powerhouse on a stranger’s T-shirt.
‘When Kurt Cobain died, I didn’t know what to do with my life’: Former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl revealed his friend’s death inspired him to found the Foo Fighters, during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show on Friday
‘When Kurt died, and it all ended I didn’t know what to do with my life,’ the Grammy winner said of the band’s dismantling.
‘I couldn’t listen to music anymore because it hurt too much so I tried to escape and went to Ireland to soul search.
‘I was trying to figure out my life when I picked up a hitchhiker who was wearing a Kurt Cobain t-shirt and I thought, “Even in this remote place I can’t outrun life.”
‘So I went home and started over with the Foo Fighters. I needed to survive and get on with life,’ the Everlong hitmaker told an amazed Graham.
Icon: Kurt was found dead in his home two decades ago after an apparent suicide (pictured in 1993)
It comes as the Virginia-born star gears up to share some of his early memories and life stories in a new autobiographical book – The Storyteller – which is slated to drop in October.
The memoir is said to be a celebration of music as the legendary rocker looks back on old childhood experiences, including some of his craziest and most touching moments
All while, he’ll be taking inspiration from his musical heroes that laid out the template of what a life in music would look like.
In a preview to the memoir, Dave released an 11-plus minute audio clip introduction to the book on YouTube, and posted the text to that except on Instagram, which showcases him looking back to the beginnings of his days as a music junkie.
Tragic: The former Nirvana bandmember, 52, admitted he bolted from the USA in 1994 and headed to Ireland in a bid to ‘soul search’ but was reminded of Kurt on the front of a stranger’s T-shirt (pictured in 1987, left, with Kurt, centre, and Krist Novoselic, right)
‘There is a common thread that runs throughout everything that I do: storytelling,’ he said in a statement.
‘Whether in song, documentary film, or on the page, I have always felt compelled to share moments from my life. This inclination is a huge part of what excites me creatively but also as a human being.’
The Storyteller was inspired, in part, by the Instagram account – @DavesTrueStories – that Dave launched in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to the Foo Fighters touring schedule.
Not only did the the social media page offer him a space for his creative energy, but it also gave him a chance to recollect on the roads and paths he had taken over the decades, write them down for the first time, and then share them with the world for all to see.
Life stories: Included in one of the posts on @DavesTrueStories showed Dave as a youngster leaning up against a car with his mother grabbing their luggage
‘I soon found that the reward I felt every time I posted a story was the same as the feeling I get when playing a song to an audience, so I kept on writing,’ Grohl said, as reported by Rolling Stone.
‘The response from readers was a soul-filling as any applause in an arena. So, I took stock of all the experiences I’ve had in my life-incredible, difficult, funny, and emotional — and decided it was time to finally put them into words.’
Along with childhood memories and experiences, there will also be stories of life and times lived out in Nirvana and Foo Fighters, as well as musings from likes of David Bowie, Joan Jett, Iggy Pop, AC/DC, and Paul McCartney, among many others.
Star-studded: Also on the latest instalment of the BBC chat show was Paralympic athlete Kadeena Cox (left) and singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor (right)
Funny: Comedian Greg Davies, on the topic of his new series The Cleaner, admitted, ‘The original cult German TV show was brilliant, and I thought I would steal it all wholesale, but it didn’t translate so I had to re-write a lot of it’
Show-stopping: Jack Savoretti and Nile Rodgers spectacularly performed Who’s Hurting Who live in the studio
Also on the latest instalment of the BBC chat show was Paralympic athlete Kadeena Cox, singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor, comedian Greg Davies, along with musicians Jack Savoretti and Nile Rodgers.
Kadeena, talking about changing from track to cycling, told Graham, ‘It was by accident – I had a stroke and was diagnosed with MS and after that I had really bad balance and every time I’d try to run I would fall over.
‘Sitting on a bike was much easier and a year later I was world champion!’
Gearing up to release her memoir Spinning Plates, Sophie said, ‘The initial idea was to write a series of essays but everything just tumbled out of me.
‘I have this weird sense that my 17-year-old-self and I are high-fiving each other. I’ve gone back to that girl and given her a voice and it feels great.’
Greg, on the topic of his new series The Cleaner, admitted, ‘The original cult German TV show was brilliant, and I thought I would steal it all wholesale, but it didn’t translate so I had to re-write a lot of it.’
Asked about all the famous faces that appeared in the show, he joked, ‘I was amazed at the people we got. No one was as surprised as me when the likes of Helena Bonham Carter said yes.’
Dave Grohl’s The Storyteller is slated to drop, via Dey Street Books, an imprint of the William Morrow Group at HarperCollins, on October 5.
Coming soon: The book will be a celebration of music, which includes Dave’s rise to the top of the rock world (pictured in 2018)