When Dave Grohl was drumming in Nirvana, he spent a lot of his downtime on tour and between records writing his own songs. He even released a cassette called ‘Pocketwatch’ in 1992 under the pseudonym ‘Late!,’ but was often too self-conscious to share the songs with Kurt Cobain. After Cobain died in 1994, Grohl was inundated with offers to join other bands like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, but he decided to instead record and release his own songs under the name Foo Fighters – a World War II term for unidentified flying objects. His self-titled 1995 debut was so well-received, he assembled a band including Nirvana live guitarist Pat Smear and Sunny Day Real Estate bassist Nate Mendel that has since gone on to become one of the world’s biggest arena rock bands – far more melodic and accessible than Nirvana but still rooted in the same classic rock and punk influences.
- Selected Discography: ‘Foo Fighters’ (1995), ‘The Colour and the Shape’ (1997), ‘Wasting Light’ (2011)
- Further Reading: 10 Best Foo Fighters Songs, 10 Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Foo Fighters, You Think You Know Foo Fighters?
Source: Foo Fighters Complete 10th Album