Foo Fighters album will feature “biggest pop star in the world”

By Scott Munro
( Classic Rock )
last updated

Foo Fighters leader Dave Grohl reports that upcoming album Concrete And Gold will feature a host of guests and “take a lot of people by surprise”

Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters

Earlier this week, Foo Fighters announced they would release their new album Concrete And Gold on September 15.

The follow-up to 2014’s Sonic Highways will feature 11 tracks, was produced by Greg Kurstin and is said to marry “some of the most insanely heavy Foo Fighters riffs ever with lush harmonic complexities.”

And in a new interview, vocalist and guitarist Dave Grohl reports that the album will feature “a bunch” of guests – including “the biggest pop star in the world.”

He tells BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac: “We’ve made the biggest sounding Foo Fighter record we’ve ever made. I’m not just saying that. I said to Greg, ‘I want to make a record that sounds like Motorhead doing Sgt. Pepper,’ and he was like, ‘OK.’

“So we recorded an 11-song record with him and honestly, I think it’s going to take a lot of people by surprise. Every band says it’s the best record they’ve ever made, but it’s definitely the hugest thing we’ve ever done.

“For six months, I’ve been trying to keep this a secret and I can’t wait for people to hear it because this is the first record I’ve ever been this proud to play for people.”

Grohl adds: “We have bunch of guests we haven’t told anybody about. Some will really surprise you.

“There’s one who is probably the biggest pop star in the world – and I’m not kidding. They sing back up on one of the heaviest songs on the record and we’re not telling anyone who it is.”

Kurstin is known for his work with artists including Adele, Pink, Beck, Ellie Goulding and Lily Allen, with Paul McCartney reporting in March that he had hooked up with the producer for what will be his 17th album.

Foo Fighters are currently on tour across Europe and will headline the Glastonbury festival tomorrow night (June 24).

The Concrete And Gold cover

The Concrete And Gold cover

Foo Fighters Concrete And Gold tracklist

  1. T-Shirt
  2. Run
  3. Make It Right
  4. The Sky Is A Neighborhood
  5. La Dee Da
  6. Dirty Water
  7. Arrows
  8. Happy Ever After (Zero Hour)
  9. Sunday Rain
  10. The Line
  11. Concrete And Gold

Foo Fighters 2017 tour dates

Jun 24: Glastonbury Festival, UK
Jun 26: Budapest Arena, Hungary
Jun 27: Prague O2 Arena, Czech Republic
Jun 29: Gdynia Open’er Festival, Poland
Jun 30: Roskilde Festival, Denmark
Jul 02: Werchter Rock Werchter, Belgium
Jul 03: Paris AccorHotels Arena, France
Jul 06: Madrid Mad Cool Festival, Spain
Jul 07: Alges NOS Alive, Portugal
Aug 19: Osaka Maishima Sports Island, Japan
Sep 10: Berlin Lollapalooza, Germany

Watch the Foo Fighters mind-warping new video, Run

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Scott Munro
Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald newspapers, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.