Dave Grohl has shared how he “walked off stage and broke down in tears” after recently playing ‘Highway To Hell’ on stage with AC/DC.
The collab came following Foo Fighters stepping in for The Pretty Reckless and opening for the rock veterans in St. Louis on September 8 – something which the frontman described as “literally a dream come true”.
While it was meant to be “for one night only”, the Aussie rock legends went on to confirm Foo Fighters as joining them for another date, as they closed out the tour at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium last month – having rescheduled it from September 25 due to severe weather.
During their headline set that same night, singer Brian Johnson revealed that Grohl had asked to join the band for their 1979 classic ‘Highway To Hell’, and brought him out to play guitar and sing.
Now, Grohl has looked back at the moment and revealed that he “broke down in tears” after he left the stage.
“It was unbelievable playing for them,” he told New Zealand radio station The Rock, going on to share what it was like to play live with the band on the second night.
“It was so crazy because my wife was on the side of the stage as we played ‘Highway To Hell’. I walked off stage and I broke down in tears, sobbing like a baby,” he added. “I was sobbing, like wailing, and I couldn’t believe it. I was, like, ‘That is one of the most full-circle moments of my entire life,’ and I will never forget it.”
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He also went on to say that AC/DC had “the loudest stage I have ever stood on in my entire life” and felt like “the loudest band in the world”, before echoing the same comments he made when first announcing the support slot, recalling how he became enamoured with the band after watching their Let There Be Rock film as a child.
“I didn’t know that that’s how you play rock and roll. I thought rock and roll was like The Beatles and KISS and things like that. I’d never seen someone so drenched in sweat that they needed an oxygen tank. I was, like, ‘That’s what I wanna be when I grow up. I wanna be that guy.’”
The two bands have never toured together before, however Foo Fighters did bring out Johnson as a special guest in 2021 when they headlined the VAX LIVE charity gig – raising funds to help support vaccination efforts against COVID-19.
Grohl spoke about his love of the band that year too, recalling how he was introduced to the members thanks to Paul McCartney. He also shared a tribute to guitarist Malcolm Young in 2017 following his passing. “Thank you, Malcolm, for the songs, and the feel, and the cool, and the years of losing control to your rock and roll,” he wrote.
The show at the MetLife Stadium last week was the final show of AC/DC’s two-year ‘Power Up’ tour, which began in Germany in May 2024 and came in support of their 2020 album of the same name. The band have not announced what comes next, although Johnson left the possibility of another return open as he left the stage, saying: “We hope we’ll see you again.”
Foo Fighters this year released their 12th album ‘Your Favorite Toy’ before heading out on their North American ‘Take Cover’ tour – where they were joined by Queens Of The Stone Age in the US, and also included two huge shows at Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium in June.
More recently, Grohl has appeared alongside Jack Black, Foo Fighters, Bruce Springsteen and more at Tom Morello’s inaugural Power To The People festival, opened up about how he first met late drummer Taylor Hawkins, and joined Johnny Depp, Liv Tyler and more at Aerosmith’s first shows in three years.