[Source: CNN]

The Foo Fighters will continue as a band following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins last year, although it will be a “different” group, they have said.

In a statement posted on Instagram at the weekend, the rock band called 2022 “the most difficult and tragic year” that they had known.

They said they were thankful for “the people that we love and cherish most, and for the loved ones who are no longer with us.”

“(We) were formed 27 years ago to represent the healing power of music and a continuation of life,” the band wrote, adding that fans had built “a worldwide community, a devoted support system that has helped us all get through the darkest of times together.”

Hawkins died last March, aged 50, in Colombia while on tour. At the time, the Foo Fighters tweeted “his musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever.”

In this latest post, they paid tribute to their former drummer, saying: “Without Taylor, we never would have become the band that we were – and without Taylor, we know that we’re going to be a different band going forward.”

“He’ll be there in spirit with all of us every night,” they added.

Hawkins played drums for Alanis Morissette before joining the Foo Fighters in 1997 – three years after frontman Dave Grohl founded the group.

In September – six months after his passing – the Foo Fighters played at London’s Wembley Stadium as part of a star-studded celebratory event honoring Hawkins. Paul McCartney, Liam Gallagher and Brian May were among the biggest names in music to appear at the concert.

When it came to the band’s performance, Hawkins’ son Oliver Shane Hawkins, who was 16, joined them, picking up the drumsticks for a rendition of their song “My Hero.”

The Foo Fighters held a second tribute in Los Angeles later that month.