Foo Fighters may have been forced to drop out of Glastonbury Festival's headlining slot two years ago after Dave Grohl broke his leg, but they sent that memory into the dustbin of history tonight with a rock'n'roll bonanza on the Pyramid Stage.
Making their headlining debut at the festival – they last played Glastonbury back in 1998 – Grohl led the band to the stage in a low key manner, with a dedication to Florence + the Machine, who replaced them when they dropped out.
"I'm about two years late. Traffic was a bitch. Let me tell you something, for all of you that were here in 2015, I'm sorry I missed you," he began. "But I watched the show on my laptop as I was sitting in my wheelchair with my broken leg.
"My friend Florence [+ the Machine] got to headline that year, and I'm very happy as I thought she should be headlining anyway.
"And as I was sitting in my wheelchair watching this show, all of a sudden she played a f**king Foo Fighters song, way better than we've ever played it. So I thought I'd come out here and start the show tonight, singing that song back to Florence."
He then kicked into a solo version of 'Times Like These' before the band blasted out the second half of the song, and played a solid trio capped off by 'All My Life' and 'Learn to Fly'.
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Declaring that they will "play until they kick us off the stage", Grohl was on his typical showman form, asking at one point: "Do you like rock'n'roll?"
While Grohl introduced the band, at one point bassist Nate Mendel and drummer Taylor Hawkins launched into an impromptu cover of Queen's 'Another One Bites the Dust'. And later on, they made time for a full-length cover of Queen and David Bowie's iconic 'Under Pressure', with Hawkins on lead vocals and Grohl behind the drums.
Grohl also dedicated 'Walk' and 'These Days' to his leg surgeon following his fall in 2015 – joking it was his "plastic surgeon".
Foo Fighters played a career-spanning series of hits right up to curfew, with plenty of sing-a-long moments from over the past 22 years including 'Cold Day in the Sun', 'The Pretender', 'Monkey Wrench' and 'Everlong'.
There was even a rare outing for 'Wheels' (which Grohl joked the band don't play very often because "no-one likes it").
Grohl later reflected on the anticipation for tonight's set, saying: "We got here tonight, we walked in and looked at the audience, and said 'we're gonna light that motherf**ker up tonight'."
That wasn't the only swear of the evening, by the way, as Grohl told the crowd: "We were doing an interview... and someone said, 'You know you're not supposed to swear – there's no swearing on Glastonbury'. I was like, 'What the f**k is that supposed to f**king mean?'
"And then, I guess Adele holds the record for the most 'f**ks' in a Glastonbury set. Now, I love Adele, but guess what?"
After repeatedly singing the f-word over and over again to the tune of 'Skin and Bones', Grohl added: "I think we broke her record, I think it was 33."
And there was even a bit of rock and roll interaction from the crowd – spotted by Grohl himself, who called out "look, a naked guy" just before 'My Hero' – the BBC's production team (briefly) and audiences at home noticed it too...
It's safe to say people were absolutely *loving* the Foos at Glasto:
After all, as Grohl himself said: "There ain't no party like a Foo Fighters party." And who are we to disagree?
Foo Fighters played:
- 'Times Like These'
- 'All My Life'
- 'Learn to Fly'
- 'Something from Nothing'
- 'The Pretender'
- 'Cold Day in the Sun'
- 'Congregation'
- 'Walk'
- 'These Days'
- 'My Hero'
- 'Wheels'
- 'Run'
- 'This Is a Call'
- 'Arlandia'
- 'Monkey Wrench'
- 'Best Of You'
- 'Skin and Bones'
- 'Under Pressure' (Queen and David Bowie cover)
- 'Everlong'
Glastonbury Festival concludes tomorrow with a headline set by Ed Sheeran on the Pyramid Stage.
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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
Kate (they/she) is a freelance writer, editor, digital editorial trainer and data technician who first joined Digital Spy as an overnight freelance sub-editor in January 2011, after studying a postgraduate diploma in journalism at Salford University while working part-time as a social researcher.
In July 2013, Kate joined the DS staff team as chief sub-editor and following six years as the site's managing editor, their role expanded to incorporate Hearst UK's entertainment portfolio (including Digital Spy and its sibling titles Best and Inside Soap) between late 2024 and early 2026.
Kate has worked as a writer and editor since 2006, with bylines syndicated across the Hearst network and at organisations including Metro. They started their career as a TV production runner for the BBC and contributed to various music websites, blogs and zines while based in Manchester.
During her time at DS, Kate has previously been a freelance sub-editor and chief sub-editor.
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