“There goes my hero, watch him as he goes. There goes my hero he’s ordinary” Dave Grohl
When I was injured back in 2007 all hope seemed lost to me. I was looking at a life in a wheelchair and mourning the loss of a really good friend, Rodney Wilson, who had died saving my life back on the war torn streets of Iraq. The year after the incident was really hard for me, and I found myself depressed and in a dark hole, which I could never seemed to get out of no matter what I did. People said that I needed to get over what had happened to me and just move on. Well, that was easier said than done my friend. It was someone who came to visit me who was disabled himself, and had been for a few years, who said that it is not about getting over the injury its more about accepting what has happened to you so you can draw a line under it and start a new chapter; almost like being reborn again.
For me that happened exactly one year from my injury on June 7th 2008 while I was at Wembley Stadium watching one of my all-time heroes Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters rock it out in front of a sell out crowd of over a hundred thousand people. I was in my wheelchair along with some friends enjoying myself when the song ‘My Hero’ came on and it was like a switch had just been flicked in my head. This song spoke to me and it seemed as if the lyrics were written about my good friend Rodney Wilson. With what felt like a mammoth effort, I hauled myself out of my wheelchair and grabbed onto the barrier and just cried my eyes out. It was in that moment I realised I had to live for two people, and focus on the things I can do rather than the stuff I can’t do. From then on music played a large part in keeping me motivated, and anytime I felt down I would play that song by the Foo Fighters and I would suddenly feel uplifted and life would not look so glum.
Running up to the Invictus Games 2014 it was said that the Foo Fighters would be headlining at the closing ceremony. I could not wait and I hoped that the competitors would be near the front of the 26,000 crowd. However, before the games had even kicked off all of the Invictus Games competitors, along with friends and family, were invited to the US Ambassadors house for a BBQ Party.
As we walked into Winfield House we were filtered into the garden, which is beautiful and huge – the second biggest in London – and were greeted by a huge stage, which left us wondered if maybe there would be some live music. No one would say a thing and Secret Service Agents were on hand to stop anybody going backstage. Rumours were flying around everywhere with the best one being that Boris Johnson would parachute in to land in the garden with only his Union flag coloured pants on. A little part of me did wish that was true. However, reality was better than my dreams as it turned out that the Foo Fighters were going to give us a private, intimate gig. Being that social media seems prevalent in every part of our lives, it seemed appropriate that the secret had broken over Social Media, when pictures of Dave Grohl & some competitors he had met were posted on Twitter! Fast forward an hour or so and the US Ambassador was up on stage giving his speech in front of the few thousand people who had flocked to the front to hear him. As his speech came to a close he introduced his Boss – President of the United States, Barak Obama – who had videoed a special message for the competitors, saying: “…your courage on the battlefield, your grit and your resilience and, when you take to the playing field, your unconquerable souls, inspire us today.”
Up next was HRH Prince Harry, who went down very well with the females gathered (no surprise there then!) and towards the end of his speech a silhouetted figure strumming a guitar strolled on to the stage. It took no more than a second for the penny to drop and the crowd to go wild as everyone realised that it was Dave Grohl with the opening chords of Times Like These. Halfway through the song the rest of his band came on and as the rest of the instruments kicked in the base from the speakers nearly rearranged my vital organs, it was so loud and you could feel it go through your body; it was incredible. It was at that point that you saw a mass exodus of elderly people trying to get out of the crowd while saying in the most quintessential English accent, “Oh no, this is far too loud for me.” I wasn’t bothered as it just made more room at the front for every young person there! The set lasted a few hours and I was so close to the front. The entire evening was epic and I will never forget moments like that. I really thought nothing could top that evening…!
Six days later, while the Closing Ceremony was gathering momentum, I was asked by the PR department of H4H if I would be happy to do an interview with the BBC, and of course I agreed. We went back stage and then we kind of went back stage again where I was in a posh area that looked like it was reserved for celebrities, but I sat there just going through what I was going to say to the BBC. The young girl who was escorting us was talking about the Foo Fighters and I looked at her quizzically and she just said the interview is about how much of a big fan of the Foo Fighters I am. I was happy with that and then we were moved to this trailer that was kitted out with a leather sofa and a beer fridge and mirrors everywhere. I remember thinking to myself the BBC really have gone up in the world, but I just sat there waiting for the camera crew to come in and set up. It wasn’t long until some rather big lad came in and went through the do’s and don’ts and then said you can have your picture taken with them. I kind of looked at the minders with a look that said, ‘Why do they want my picture?’ They quickly butted in saying its just portfolio shots for the website.
That seemed believable so I just sat there none the wiser until I saw this person come into the trailer out of my periphery vision and I swear I had seen him somewhere before and it was in that split second that I realised it was, in fact, Dave Grohl and the rest of the Foo Fighters. At that moment you couldn’t tell me apart from a cheshire cat as I was wearing an ear-to-ear smile! I hugged them all and we just got talking and having a laugh. Beers were flowing and stories were coming out about Prince Harry and Taylor Hawkins that I promised not to repeat and we were having a great time. The only thing I will say is that Dave Grohl wanted to look at my medals so I took one out and put it on and he said, “Wow that must be a hit with the ladies then” and I replied, “Well this is the only thing I need to dangle to get the ladies.” That earned me a few high fives from the band. We had a few photos and chatted some more and had a laugh like we had been friends all our lives. I didn’t need to tell them about my story as behind the scenes Liam from Good Relations had been trying for weeks to get a meet and greet with the band for me as they knew how special and how much of a big fan I was. I just didn’t want to leave, but I knew they had to play their set. Even as I write this now I can feel a smile crossing my lips and it felt like only yesterday that I was meeting one of my heroes.
Well it didn’t stop there as later that night the Foo Fighters were playing live to 26,000 people and half way through their set the all important song came on for me ‘My Hero’ and to my complete amazement Dave Grohl shouted out, ‘This one is for you, Frenchie we love you man’ ARRRRRGH!!! I could not contain myself any longer, I was screaming and shouting so much I nearly fell over, I felt so euphoric and I will never, ever forget that moment. I went back to the team hotel buzzing and I hardly got a wink of sleep that night.
People say you should never meet your heroes because you will probably be disappointed, well I say that’s rubbish because I met mine and even though I don’t know him personally, I know he is one of the nicest men in Rock & Roll and his music has got me through some tough times in my life. Without it I would not be as far along in my recovery as I am today.
The power of music to help someone heal should never be underestimated, so if you’re struggling, hold on, one day soon you may just find your own ‘My Hero’ that will help get you through some tough times, leaving you stronger and more resilient than ever.
RIP Taylor Hawkins arguably the best drummer in Rock & Roll. You will be sorely missed.
Until next time folks…