According to People, May and Hawkins first crossed paths while the latter was still playing drums for singer Alanis Morrisette, his gig before joining Foo Fighters in 1997. The two hit it off, and following Hawkins’ death, May noted that while his band may have influenced the Foo Fighters’ drummer, Hawkins was a big help to his musical heroes. “Taylor has been the best publicist for Queen ever. He’s been so good for our image because he kind of regarded us as cool, whereas a lot of people at that time didn’t,” May said in an interview with SiriusXM’s Debatable. At the time of Hawkins’ death, May was gearing up for a re-issue of his 1998 solo album “Another World,” a record which features the late drummer’s playing on the track “Cyborg.”
May talked about how close he felt to Hawkins, who had even visited May in the studio. He went on to reveal that he had spoken to Hawkins shortly before Hawkins’ death. “I talked to him just a week ago from when we lost him, talking about stuff, talking about Dave (Grohl), talking about what it’s like and Taylor’s joys and frustrations and whatever … Taylor was like family to us, he really was.”
May said, “It’s just impossible to imagine talking about Taylor in the past tense. I can’t do it yet,” adding, “I feel like he’s still with us. And one of the greatest drummers ever, of course, but also the most amazingly energetic, beautiful guy you could imagine.”
