There’s a reason why Dave Grohl is known, however naively, as “the nicest man in rock.” A reason why millions have bought his Foo Fighters CDs and DVDs, his concert and festival tickets; why generations have bought into his story, his dream, his self-fulfilling prophecies. Dave’s a giver. He may not have the savant glamour of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, but Kurt was a taker. Kurt dwelled in darkness, on the wrong side of the moon. Dave is a sun worshipper, a lover, not a loner, a bringer of light.
Learning to Fly is his story, and therefore the true story of the Foo Fighters—like it’s never been told before. From Grohl’s days as the new kid in Nirvana – to becoming the Grunge Ringo of the Foo Fighters, to where he is now: one of the biggest, most popular male rock stars in the world.
None of this happened by accident. Internationally acclaimed rock writer Mick Wall tells us how and why in a style that pulses with rock’s own rhythms, talking to friends, former bandmates, producers, record company executives, and those closest to Grohl and the Foos.
As John Lennon – Grohl’s hero – once said of the Beatles, ‘You don’t become the biggest band in the world by being a nice guy’. And, despite what the mainstream media likes us to think, neither did the Foo Fighters. This explosive biography – the first, full, no-holds-barred literary account – explains why.