Dave Grohl and the gang have never needed much encouragement to raid rock ’n’ roll’s record collection…
There are Foo Fighters gigs, and then there are Foo Fighters gigs where Dave Grohl suddenly decides the setlist can get stuffed and it’s time for some rock ’n’ roll karaoke. 🎸😂
For decades, Foo Fighters have treated cover songs as part of the fun. Queen, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, Van Halen, The Rolling Stones — if it has a monster riff and can make 50,000 people lose their collective minds, there’s a decent chance the Foos have had a crack at it.
And during the Taylor Hawkins years especially, covers became a brilliant opportunity for the drummer to step out from behind the kit, grab the microphone and remind everyone that he was one hell of a frontman too.
So crank the speakers, annoy the neighbours and prepare for some glorious rock ’n’ roll thievery.
Here are 11 cover songs that became recurring favourites during Foo Fighters live shows.
Note: live-performance databases can differ depending on whether medleys, snippets and partial performances are counted, so the precise totals can vary. This list focuses on covers that became genuine recurring parts of Foo Fighters’ live history rather than one-off jams.
11. 🎸 ‘School’s Out’ — Alice Cooper
Original artist: Alice Cooper
There are songs built for arenas.
Then there’s ‘School’s Out’.
Alice Cooper’s immortal 1972 anthem already comes equipped with everything a Foo Fighters gig needs: a huge chorus, a dirty riff and lyrics practically designed to be screamed by thousands of slightly drunk people.
The Foos have worked the track into their live sets and medleys on numerous occasions, particularly during that wonderful period when Dave Grohl seemed determined to squeeze half the history of classic rock into the middle of a Foo Fighters concert.
In 2015, for example, ‘School’s Out’ appeared during the band’s set at Fenway Park, while snippets also turned up elsewhere during medleys. (Foo Fighters Live)
It’s ridiculous.
It’s enormous.
And it suits Foo Fighters perfectly.
Riff Report verdict: School bell? Nah. That’s the sound of 40,000 people opening another beer. 🍺🤘
10. ⚡ ‘Let There Be Rock’ — AC/DC
Original artist: AC/DC
If Dave Grohl has a spiritual religion, we’re reasonably certain its commandments include:
THOU SHALT PLAY LOUD GUITARS.
So naturally AC/DC were always going to feature.
‘Let There Be Rock’ became one of the Foos’ favourite ways of paying tribute to one of the greatest rock bands ever to plug a Gibson into a Marshall and cause structural damage.
And Foo Fighters don’t exactly approach it delicately.
They attack it.
The song appeared during Foo Fighters shows including Rock am Ring in 2015 and the infamous Gothenburg concert where Grohl broke his leg after falling from the stage — and then returned to finish the bloody gig. (Foo Fighters Live)
Because apparently normal human rules don’t apply to Dave Grohl.
AC/DC plus Foo Fighters?
Riffs on riffs on riffs, mun.
9. 🎤 ‘Stay With Me’ — Faces
Original artist: Faces
Few songs scream sweaty 1970s rock club quite like Faces’ ‘Stay With Me’.
Rod Stewart snarling.
Ronnie Wood riffing.
Drums battering away.
Absolute filth.
Naturally Foo Fighters loved it.
The Foos have regularly dipped into the Faces classic during live performances, including during their 2015 touring period, when ‘Stay With Me’ appeared alongside other covers during several shows. (Foo Fighters Live)
And it makes complete sense.
Foo Fighters have always carried some of that old-fashioned philosophy into the modern arena era:
Turn up. Plug in. Play loudly. Worry about tomorrow later.
Proper job.
8. 😈 ‘I’m the One’ — Van Halen
Original artist: Van Halen
Dave Grohl loves Van Halen.
Taylor Hawkins loved Van Halen.
Pretty much everyone who has ever picked up a guitar after 1978 owes Eddie Van Halen at least a pint.
So Van Halen songs have regularly sneaked into Foo Fighters performances.
One particular favourite has been ‘I’m the One’, sometimes performed as part of those increasingly chaotic classic-rock medleys where the band would jump between songs faster than someone skipping tracks on Spotify.
A snippet appeared during Rock am Ring in 2015 and again at Gothenburg that same year. (Foo Fighters Live)
Foo Fighters also joined Taylor Hawkins’ covers outfit Chevy Metal for performances containing several Van Halen numbers, including ‘I’m the One’, ‘Panama’, ‘Everybody Wants Some!!’ and ‘Show Your Love’. (NME)
Basically, if Eddie wrote the riff, there was always a chance the Foos were going to nick it for five minutes.
Respectfully, obviously.
😂🤘
7. 👑 ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ — Queen
Original artist: Queen
DUN. DUN. DUN.
You already heard the bassline in your head, didn’t you?
Queen’s ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ is one of those songs requiring approximately three seconds before an entire stadium knows what’s happening.
Which makes it perfect Foo Fighters medley material.
The band have frequently thrown pieces of Queen songs into shows, and ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ has appeared during live medleys alongside tracks from Van Halen and Alice Cooper.
At Rock am Ring in 2015, for example, the Foos jumped through ‘I’m the One’, ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ and ‘School’s Out’ during one glorious classic-rock detour. (Foo Fighters Live)
Was it necessary?
Absolutely not.
Was it brilliant?
YESS MUN.
6. 🎸 ‘Miss You’ — The Rolling Stones
Original artist: The Rolling Stones
Foo Fighters covering disco-era Stones?
Oh yes.
Because why the hell not?
The Rolling Stones’ ‘Miss You’ has occasionally appeared in Foo Fighters sets, including their remarkable Gothenburg performance in June 2015. (Foo Fighters Live)
And Taylor Hawkins’ Chevy Metal connection pushed the Stones influence even further.
When Foo Fighters effectively hijacked a Chevy Metal appearance in California in 2015, the resulting covers bonanza included Stones favourites alongside Van Halen, Queen, AC/DC and others. (NME)
That gig must have felt like someone gave Dave Grohl access to the world’s biggest jukebox and said:
“Go on then.”
Dangerous decision.
5. 🎤 ‘Tie Your Mother Down’ — Queen
Original artist: Queen
There was always something special about Foo Fighters playing Queen.
Part of that came from Dave Grohl’s obvious admiration for the band.
But a massive part came from Taylor Hawkins.
Taylor adored Queen, and whenever he stepped out from behind the drums to channel his inner Freddie Mercury, you knew something wonderfully ridiculous was about to happen.
‘Tie Your Mother Down’ became one of those songs perfectly suited to the Foo Fighters treatment — enormous riff, enormous chorus, enormous everything.
It appeared during the Foos’ Gothenburg show in 2015 alongside ‘Miss You’, ‘Under Pressure’, ‘Stay With Me’ and ‘Let There Be Rock’. (Foo Fighters Live)
Imagine paying for one band and getting half of Planet Rock’s playlist thrown in for free.
Lush.
4. 🎶 ‘Seven Nation Army’ — The White Stripes
Original artist: The White Stripes
Technically, you barely need to play this one.
Just hit:
DAAA… DA-DA-DA-DA-DAAA… DAAA…
And the crowd does everything else.
The White Stripes created one of the great universal stadium chants with ‘Seven Nation Army’, and Foo Fighters have naturally messed around with it live.
It appeared during the band’s 2015 Fenway Park performance, tucked into a show already loaded with Foo Fighters classics and covers. (Foo Fighters Live)
By that stage, Foo Fighters concerts were essentially becoming three-hour celebrations of everything Dave Grohl thought was brilliant about rock music.
Which, frankly, is a decent business model.
🥉 3. ‘Have a Cigar’ — Pink Floyd
Original artist: Pink Floyd
Now we’re getting into serious Foo Fighters cover territory.
‘Have a Cigar’ wasn’t merely something they randomly played one evening.
Foo Fighters actually recorded it.
The band recorded versions of the Pink Floyd classic around the There Is Nothing Left to Lose era, with Taylor Hawkins taking lead vocals. One version later featured none other than Queen guitarist Brian May and appeared in connection with the Mission: Impossible 2 soundtrack. (Foo Fighters Live)
And live?
This became Taylor’s moment.
Dave would move behind the drum kit while Hawkins stepped forward to sing — effectively swapping jobs and proving just how ridiculously talented the pair were.
Foo Fighters Live documents 29 complete live performances of ‘Have a Cigar’, beginning in January 2000. (Foo Fighters Live)
Watching Taylor front Foo Fighters while Dave smashed the drums is now particularly poignant.
Two mates.
Two phenomenal musicians.
One Pink Floyd classic.
❤️🥁
🥈 2. ‘School’s Out’ / The Classic Rock Medleys
Okay, we’re bending our own rules slightly here.
But anyone who witnessed Foo Fighters during the mid-2010s knows exactly why.
At some point during certain Foo Fighters concerts, Dave Grohl seemingly decided:
“We’re a covers band now.”
😂
And off they’d go.
Queen.
Van Halen.
Alice Cooper.
The Rolling Stones.
The Cars.
AC/DC.
Whatever somebody remembered how to play.
During Foo Fighters’ surprise appearance alongside Chevy Metal in California in 2015, the musicians tore through a frankly ridiculous selection including ‘School’s Out’, ‘Panama’, ‘Under Pressure’, ‘Let There Be Rock’, ‘My Sharona’, ‘Summer of ’69’, ‘Turning Japanese’ and more. (NME)
Those moments captured something hugely important about Foo Fighters.
Despite becoming one of the biggest rock bands on Earth, they still behaved like a bunch of mates in a rehearsal room going:
“Do you know this one?”
“Sort of.”
“GOOD ENOUGH. ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!”
That spirit is rock ’n’ roll.
🥇 1. ‘Under Pressure’ — Queen & David Bowie
Original artists: Queen & David Bowie
Was it ever going to be anything else?
Few covers became more closely associated with Foo Fighters’ live shows than ‘Under Pressure’.
And again, Taylor Hawkins was absolutely central to it.
The Queen and David Bowie masterpiece gave Taylor another opportunity to step out front while Dave Grohl returned to his natural habitat behind the drum kit.
And every time it happened, the reaction was enormous.
The song appeared regularly during the Foos’ 2015 touring period, including Rock am Ring, Gothenburg and Fenway Park. (Foo Fighters Live)
There was something brilliantly circular about it.
Dave Grohl — one of the defining drummers of his generation — smashing the kit.
Taylor Hawkins — one of the defining rock drummers of his generation — standing out front singing Queen.
Foo Fighters behind them.
Thousands of people singing along.
Absolute magic.
Following Hawkins’ death in 2022, those old performances inevitably carry far more emotional weight.
But they’re also a beautiful reminder of what Taylor brought to Foo Fighters.
Not simply drumming.
Personality. Joy. Chaos. Music fandom.
He looked like a bloke who couldn’t quite believe he was getting away with singing Queen songs in front of stadiums.
And that’s exactly why fans loved him.
❤️
🤘 Foo Fighters: The World’s Biggest Pub Covers Band?
One of the reasons Foo Fighters have remained such an extraordinary live band is that their concerts have never felt completely predictable.
Yes, you’re probably getting ‘Everlong’.
Yes, you’re probably screaming ‘The Pretender’.
Yes, ‘Best of You’ will probably result in several thousand strangers singing at each other until nobody has any voice left.
But somewhere along the way, Dave Grohl might decide everyone needs some AC/DC.
Or Queen.
Or Van Halen.
Or Pink Floyd.
And suddenly the biggest rock band in the world becomes the greatest covers band playing down your local pub.
Except your local pub doesn’t have 60,000 people in it.
Or a stadium PA.
Or Dave Grohl.
Probably.
❤️ The Taylor Hawkins Factor
It’s impossible to discuss Foo Fighters covers without coming back to Taylor Hawkins.
Taylor wasn’t simply the drummer waiting patiently for Dave to finish messing around with classic-rock songs.
He was often the driving force behind them.
His love of Queen, Van Halen and the giants of 1970s and ’80s rock became part of the Foo Fighters live identity.
When Taylor moved from drums to vocals and Dave sat behind the kit, audiences got a glimpse of something special: two lifelong music fans basically living out their teenage dreams in front of tens of thousands of people.
That’s perhaps why those performances remain so loved.
They weren’t polished tribute-band recreations.
They felt spontaneous.
They felt joyful.
They felt like mates playing records they loved — only with guitars.
Very, very loud guitars.
🎸 What Foo Fighters Cover Would YOU Want to Hear?
Queen? AC/DC? Sabbath? Zeppelin? Van Halen?
Or should Dave Grohl go completely rogue and give us a three-hour Foo Fighters rendition of ‘Bat Out of Hell’?
Actually…
We’d pay good money for that. 😂
Whatever your choice, one thing is certain:
Foo Fighters have never forgotten the most important rule of rock ’n’ roll — sometimes you’ve just got to plug in, turn everything up and play the songs that made you fall in love with music in the first place.
And that, butt, is a proper job. 🤘🔥
Proudly Welsh. Proudly Loud. Zero Apologies.
🎸 The Riff Report Blog
