Watch Def Leppard Perform With Foo Fighters and Miley Cyrus
Def Leppard members Joe Elliott, Phil Collen and Rick Savage performed with Miley Cyrus and Foo Fighters at the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert in Los Angeles Tuesday night.
The band opened its two-song set with "Rock of Ages," performing with Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters guitarists Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett, plus Weezer drummer Pat Wilson.
"I came here in 1983 to see this band play this guitar on this song we're about to play," Smear said from the stage, adding that Collen had loaned him the guitar he was about to use - the same one Collen played in 1983. The group was then joined by Cyrus for a cover of Def Leppard's "Photograph."
"Love you, Taylor Hawkins," Cyrus said before leaving the stage. "That was for you." You can see footage of the performance below.
In April, a month after Hawkins' death, Elliott honored the late Foo Fighters drummer during an episode of his weekly radio show. "What a life force that man was," the Def Leppard singer declared of Hawkins. "An incredible drummer. One of the greatest modern drummers there's ever been. What a lovely, humble, sweet guy he was as well."
Elliott found parallels between the Foo Fighters’ loss and the tragedy Def Leppard endured decades earlier. "I still can't believe it myself actually. Of course, most of you will know that I've been through this myself with Steve Clark 30 years ago. So I know how the guys feel," he explained, referencing the Def Leppard guitarist who died in 1991. "All we can hope for is that [the Foo Fighters] take a bit of time to let themselves grieve. Circle the wagons, and just wait it out and then decide what they wanna do."
Collen also paid tribute to Hawkins in the days after his death, sharing his thoughts in a post to the Def Leppard Facebook page. "Just heard the tragic news about Taylor and having known him for about 30 years, this hit home pretty hard," the guitarist wrote on March 26. "Taylor was the sweetest, funniest guy, so I watched with joy and excitement as he progressed from working in a local music store to playing with Alanis Morissette and ultimately joining up with Dave and the Foos. His talent grew exponentially as did his success, but he always remained just like that kid I would see at Laguna Beach with his boogie board. He will be incredibly missed. Much love to his family and bandmates."