FOO FIGHTERS Frontman DAVE GROHL On Breaking Leg During Gothenburg Show - "Let's Just Say Singing Our Song 'Walk' With A Straight Face Was Pretty Goddamned Hard..."

June 19, 2015, 9 years ago

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FOO FIGHTERS Frontman DAVE GROHL On Breaking Leg During Gothenburg Show - "Let's Just Say Singing Our Song 'Walk' With A Straight Face Was Pretty Goddamned Hard..."

On June 12th, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl fell off stage at Ullevi Stadium shortly into the band's set during "Monkey Wrench" and broke his leg.

Grohl remained on the ground for several minutes before being taken backstage. “Hey, ladies and gentlemen. I love you, but I think I just broke my leg. I really broke my leg,” he told the audience.

While Grohl was attended to backstage, the rest of Foo Fighters played a set of covers sung by drummer Taylor Hawkins. Ultimately, Grohl returned to the stage with his leg wrapped and finished the concert sitting in a chair. “I may not be able to walk or run but I can still play guitar and scream,” he proclaimed.

The band released the following update in the aftermath:

"Due to injuries sustained in Dave Grohl's fall from the stage during Foo Fighters' June 12th show at Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden, doctors have required the cancellation of the remainder of the band's dates in the UK and Europe. 

After undergoing surgery Monday, Dave's full recuperation time is still to be determined.

The following dates have officially been cancelled:

June 
19 - London, UK - Wembley Stadium 
20 - London, UK - Wembley Stadium 
23 - Edinburgh, UK - BT Murrayfield Stadium
25 - Werchter, Belgium - Festivalpark Werchter 
26 - Glastonbury Festival 2015

Grohl has issued the following recap of events:

"Hey everyone….

Your old pal, Dave here. Been a while, eh? It’s been one hell of a year, that’s for sure. Looks like we’ve got some serious catching up to do! Hmmm, let’s see…..where do I begin?

Drumroll, please….

The funniest thing happened to me the other day in Sweden! 

Two songs into our set at Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, I made a mad dash to the right of the stage during  'Monkey Wrench' to shred some tasty licks for the kids up front. It was a beautiful night, beautiful stadium, 52,000 screaming people….dream gig! Well….wait for it….I definitely shredded something (ZING!) Wound up feet first over the Edge (pun intended), dropping about 12 feet, dislocating my ankle and snapping my fibula like an old pair of take out chopsticks. Whoopsie daisy. Not good. Without realizing the extent of my injuries, I stood up to get back onstage and crumbled like a sack of Joe Theismanns (look it up, kiddies). That shit was B-R-O-K-E. 

As I lay there on my back, I just thought, 'Are you kidding me? We haven’t even gotten to the screamy bit of the song and the gig is fucking OVER?' So, I asked for a microphone and told the audience I’d get fixed up and come right back to finish the show ASAP. Shock? Probably. But, I couldn’t stand the thought of such a perfect night going to waste! I looked at our drummer Taylor and said, 'Bust out some Chevy Metal covers while they fix me up!' So, as the band kicked in to 'Stay With Me' by The Faces, the medics poured me onto a stretcher, took me off to the side, cut my favorite pants off (so bummed) and popped my ankle back into place. 

I asked if I could get back onstage to finish the show, but they said I needed a cast (which was 20 minutes away at the hospital) to hold my ankle in place. So I looked my EMT, Johan in the eyes and said 'Well, then you’re coming up there with me right now and holding it in place until they can bring the cast here. Ready?' He stared at me wide-eyed for a second and said, 'OK, lets’ go…' I don’t know who was more scared, me or Johan. 5 minutes later, I don’t know who was having more fun, me or Johan. (I actually looked at him in between songs and said 'This is pretty fun, isn’t it?' He smiled and nodded yes.)

Like clockwork, the cast arrived, I walked offstage for a song or two as they put it on me, and then came back to finish the gig. Let’s just say that singing our song 'Walk' with a straight face was pretty goddamned hard. 'These Days' was a good one, too. (Easy for you to say! Your leg has never been broken!) All in all, it was without a doubt the single most bizarre Foo Fighters show in the entire 20 years of being a band. Hands down. What seemed like a tragedy at first turned into a triumph, and we all walked away with a new sense of appreciation for what we’ve got…"

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Check out the video clips below featuring the actual leg-breaking incident and Grohl announcing that he would return to finish the show after a trip to the hospital. The third clip features Grohl fulfilling that promise:


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