“He was one of the nicest people you could have ever met”: Elton John dedicates Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me to Taylor Hawkins

The Taylor Hawkins tributes have been flooding in from the music world and beyond since the Foo Fighters drummer's devastating passing, and over the weekend Elton John shared his love for the musician onstage, with a performance of Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me.

During a show at Des Moines' Wells Fargo Arena, Elton paused to tell fans how Taylor had played on his 2021 Lockdown Sessions album, and "was one of the nicest people you could ever meet and one of the greatest drummers, and a true musician who loved all sorts of music and loved life". The pop legend then dedicated his classic single Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me to Taylor, as well as "his family and his wife and his children".

Elton's full tribute reads as follows (via Blabbermouth): "I got up this morning to see that Taylor Hawkins from the Foo Fighters had passed away, and I was so shocked because he played on my Lockdown Sessions album and he was one of the nicest people you could ever meet and one of the greatest drummers, and a true musician who loved all sorts of music and loved life.

"And it seems so sad that at 50 years of age we've lost someone who had that much passion. And it makes me so downhearted for his family – his three children and his wife and his other relatives – and, of course, the Foo Fighters who've lost a dearest loved one that can never, ever be replaced.

"But his music will live on. But I can tell you he was a great, great one. So this song is for him and his family and his wife and his children."

Watch it below:

In a statement announcing his death, Foo Fighters posted: "The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins. His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever. 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."

Read this: Taylor Hawkins: More than “just the drummer”