The Police's Stewart Copeland Recalls How He Found Out Taylor Hawkins Died

Taylor Hawkins met one of his idols, Stewart Copeland, in 2005. They were friends for the rest of his life.

The Police drummer penned an extensive tribute to Foo Fighters' late percussionist for Rolling Stone, in which he recounted how they met, the type of relationship they shared, and how he found out about Hawkins' untimely death.

"I had just finished playing a show with the Nashville Symphony [when I found out he died]," Copeland recalled. "It was just an amazing show. Came offstage, the hotel was a block and a half away, so I was in the shower before the audience was out of the building, with endorphins pumping out of every pore. I was heading down to the bar, and just as I’m walking out of my hotel room door, I get the text. 'Oh, for f**k’s sake, you’re kidding.' I get down to the bar, which is full of a throng of happy cheerful people all saying 'Good show.'”

"The natural endorphins are still going strong, and at the same time just overwhelmed with disbelief and shock," he continued. "Like I said, Neil [Peart] saw his train coming and he had a first-class ticket. Nobody saw Taylor coming. He was just a force of life that seemed unstoppable. He was a living thing, not a thing that will ever die. So the suddenness was profound."

Hawkins died unexpectedly last Friday night (March 25) in Colombia, during the Foos South American tour. He was found unresponsive in his hotel room and was declared dead at the scene. The band has since cancelled all remaining tour dates.

Read Copeland's full tribute here.