Dedicate OBE Award To Taylor Hawkins, Roger Taylor: Great Drummer, My Son's Mentor

Roger Taylor with Chad Smith and Taylor Hawkins (Instagram @rogertaylorofficial)

JAKARTA - On March 30, Queen drummer Roger Taylor was awarded the OBE — Officer of the Order of the British Empire. Roger is on the list of the 2020 New Year's Awards, which honors a range of well-known personalities from the arts and sports world.

The legendary musician was honored by the Prince of Wales during the coronation ceremony held at Windsor Castle. At that moment, the drummer dedicated it to his late friend and fellow drummer Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters.

"My whole family and his entire family were very close. He was, [as] my wife called him, the sunshine in human form. He was the most incredible man, and I can't believe that I won't be seeing him again," Roger said in a statement. statement, quoted from Blabbermouth, Sunday.

Roger also praised Taylor as an "inspirational mentor" to his son, Rufus Taylor, who was drummer for The Darkness.

"He's done so much to help my son, a great drummer, and he's really mentored him," Roger said. "We will miss him very much."

Hawkins died at a hotel in Bogota, Colombia on March 25. Local officials said an ambulance was sent to the hotel after a man reported chest pain. The 50-year-old drummer did not respond to resuscitation attempts and was pronounced dead, the city's health department said.

On March 26, the Colombian attorney general's office announced that Hawkins' system contained opioids, marijuana and other drugs. A toxicology report showed traces of 10 substances in his body, including antidepressants, the office said.

The statement added that the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Science "will carry out a medical study to ascertain the cause of death" and that "will continue the investigation and will report the results obtained within that framework in a timely manner."

The Foo Fighters announced Hawkins' death on their Instagram account. "The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and premature loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins," the announcement read. "His passion for music and infectious laughter will live with us all forever. Our hearts go out to his wife, children and family, and we ask that their privacy be treated with the utmost respect at this unimaginably difficult time."