Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins has died aged 50, the band has announced.
The US group – one of the most successful rock bands of the last three decades – said they were “devastated”.
“The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins,” the band tweeted.
“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.”
No cause of death was given in the band’s message.
The group are currently in Bogota, Colombia, as part of a tour that was set to head to the UK this summer with stadium shows in London, Birmingham and Manchester.
Hawkins joined the band in 1997 after previously touring with singer Alanis Morissette, one of the biggest stars of the 90s.
He phoned frontman Dave Grohl – himself a former drummer with Nirvana – when previous member William Goldsmith departed, beginning a 25-year career with the group.
The Foos were just completing second album The Colour and the Shape, which includes their most famous song Everlong.
With the hard-hitting Hawkins on board, the band transitioned from the alternative rock scene to major mainstream success.
They now regularly pack out arenas and stadiums around the world with anthemic tracks such as Times Like These and All My Life.
The drummer’s final performance was at the Lollapalooza festival in Argentina on 20 March, according to Rolling Stone, where he sang the lead on a cover of Queen’s Somebody to Love.
Tributes flood for the ‘amazing musician’
The great and the good of the rock world have paid tribute to the star.
Ozzy Osbourne tweeted that Hawkins “was truly a great person and an amazing musician”.
“My heart, my love and my condolences go out to his wife, his children, his family, his band and his fans. See you on the other side…” said the Black Sabbath singer.
Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello posted: “God bless you Taylor Hawkins. I loved your spirit and your unstoppable rock power. Rest In Peace my friend.”
Former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr also expressed his condolences for Hawkins’ family and bandmates.
He wrote: “God bless Taylor. Peace and love to all his family and the band peace and love.”
Kiss’s Gene Simmons said he was “shocked and saddened”, while the Smashing Pumpkins tweeted their “deepest sympathies to Taylor’s family, his fans, and of course his band”.
Billy Idol shared a picture of Hawkins on Twitter and wrote: “So tragic”.
US rock band Nickelback said they were in “utter disbelief” at the news of the drummer’s death, while Guns N’ Roses tweeted a selection of pictures of Hawkins with the caption “forever missed”.
Billie Eilish’s brother and collaborator, Finneas, said he was “heartbroken” and called Hawkins “an incredible talent”.
Hawkins told the Sydney Morning Herald last year that he was inspired to get into music when his mother took him to see Queen in 1982, telling her: “I’ll play that stadium one day.”
Speaking to rock publication Kerrang, he added: “After that concert, I don’t think I slept for three days.
“It changed everything and I was never the same because of it. It was the beginning of my obsession with rock’n’roll.”
Foo Fighters were due to finish their tour in Auckland the week before Christmas, with the band also having recently played themselves in their own horror movie called Studio 666.
Hawkins was born in Forth Worth in Texas and was married with three children.
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