Dave Grohl has recalled the moment a chance meeting with a hitchhiker helped him move on after Kurt Cobain’s death.
Nirvana frontman Cobain took his own life in 1994 aged 27 at the height of his band’s fame, prompting shock and grief among fans of the pioneering grunge outfit.
Drummer Grohl went on to find international success with his own band Foo Fighters, in which he both plays guitar and sings.
Appearing on The Graham Norton Show, he recalled his emotional response to losing Cobain.
He said: “The three and half years I was in the band was a lifetime.
“So much changed in that time, not just in music but in the world.
“It was a beautiful time, a renaissance, and an emotional awaking when people felt it was OK to be themselves.
“It was amazing.
“When Kurt died and it all ended I didn’t know what to do with my life.
“I couldn’t listen to music anymore because it hurt too much so I tried to escape and went to Ireland to soul search.
“I was trying to figure out my life when I picked up a hitchhiker who was wearing a Kurt Cobain t-shirt and I thought, ‘Even in this remote place I can’t outrun life’.
THIS WEEK! Join @foofighters's Dave Grohl, @kad_c, @SophieEB, @gdavies, @JackSavoretti & @nilerodgers! This Friday at 10:35 on @BBCOne #TheGNShow pic.twitter.com/M01ddHq3oy
— Graham Norton Show (@TheGNShow) September 29, 2021
“So I went home and started over with the Foo Fighters.
“I needed to survive and get on with life.”
Grohl is preparing the publish his memoir The Storyteller on October 5 in which he shares tales from his time in Nirvana as well as anecdotes about David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Sir Paul McCartney.
It will also detail his childhood in Washington DC and how he left home at 18 in hope of seeing the world.
The Graham Norton Show airs on BBC One on Friday at 10.45pm and is also available on BBC iPlayer.