Dave Grohl is remembering late engineer/producer and noise-rock pioneer Steve Albini.
During the rock band’s concert in Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday (May 9), the Foo Fighters frontman dedicated the group’s hit song “My Hero” to Albini, who died earlier in the week at age 61.
“Tonight, I’d like to dedicate this song to a friend we lost the other day, who I’ve known for a long, long time. And he left us much too soon,” Grohl told the crowd. “He’s touched all of your lives, I’m sure. Talking about Steve Albini. For those of you who know, you know. For those of you who don’t know, just remember that name: Steve Albini. So let’s sing this one for him.”
Grohl first worked with the Chicago-based engineer/producer when recording Nirvana‘s 1993 album, In Utero. The pair reunited in 2014 for Grohl’s HBO series Sonic Highways. During the episode, the Foo Fighters recorded the song “Something From Nothing” at Albini’s Electric Audio Recordings studio in Chicago.
Last year, Grohl, Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic and Albini also sat down for an interview on the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast to discuss the making of In Utero.
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Following his death from a sudden heart attack, numerous artists paid tribute to Albini, including the Pixies, PJ Harvey, Failure, the Breeders, Urge Overkill, Jarvis Cocker, Superchunk and Butch Vig.
In addition to In Utero, Albini — who fronted the bands Shellac and Big Black — also worked on the Pixies’ beloved 1988 album, Surfer Rosa, along with projects by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Mogwai, Flogging Molly, the Breeders, Newsom, the Stooges, and many others.
His band, Shellac, was gearing up to release its first album in a decade, To All Trains, and had booked a series of shows in England in June, followed by a run of U.S. dates in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles in July.
Watch Foo Fighters’ tribute to Albini here.