Eurovision star Sam Ryder joins Queen on stage at Taylor Hawkins memorial concert after Dave Grohl revealed he agreed to perform ‘within 20 minutes’ of being asked
The singer, a former Essex sandwich shop owner, played Queen classic Somebody To Love with the band
Ryder’s appearance at the event comes just four months after his second place in the Eurovision Song Contest
When introducing Ryder, Grohl admitted that the singer agreed to participate within 20 minutes of being called with the request.
After Ryder’s performance, guitarist May performed acoustically in memory of Hawkins and original Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury
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Sam Ryder’s dramatic rise to stardom was never more apparent on Saturday night as he took the stage with rock legends Queen at the late Taylor Hawkins’ Wembley Stadium memorial concert.
The singer, a former Essex sandwich shop owner, played Queen classic Somebody To Love with the band’s founders, Brian May and Roger Taylor, in front of 90,000 fans in the cavernous venue.
Ryder’s performance at the event, arranged by Foo Fighters singer Dave Grohl in honor of bandmate Hawkins after his sudden death in March at the age of 50, comes just four months after his second place finish in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Get involved: Sam Ryder took the stage with rock legends Queen at the late Taylor Hawkins’ memorial concert at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night
When introducing Ryder, Grohl admitted that he was initially unsure who should take the vocals on the Queen track, until Roger Taylor showed him a video of the British singer onstage.
He told the audience: “When we were talking about this next song we were going to play, we weren’t quite sure who was going to sing it with us, and I think it’s Roger [Taylor] who had this idea.
“Roger showed us a clip of someone singing along to this next song, and we called once and within 20 minutes this person told us that he was coming here tonight to sing it with us.”
Special moment: The singer performed Queen classic Somebody To Love with the band’s founders, Brian May and Roger Taylor, in front of 90,000 fans in the cavernous venue
Following Ryder’s performance, guitarist May performed acoustically in memory of Hawkins and original Queen singer Freddie Mercury, who died of AIDS in 1992.
Hawkins died suddenly in March of this year in his hotel room in Colombia while The Foo Fighters were on the South American leg of their recent world tour.
In commemoration, frontman Dave fronted the fundraiser and was joined onstage by a slew of stars, including Paul McCartney and Queen – and even Taylor’s teenage son Oliver Shane.
Never forget: Grohl and his Foo Fighters bandmates gathered onstage as they paid tribute to Taylor Hawkins on Saturday night
Tragic: Taylor died suddenly in his Columbia hotel room in March of this year, aged 50, while The Foo Fighters were on the South American leg of their recent world tour (pictured in August 2008)
But at one point during the star-studded show, Dave was overcome with emotion as he joined his bandmates pulling out The Foo Fighters’ hits.
The American singer burst into tears mid-song during Times Like These, before waking up and continuing with the set.
Other stars performing Saturday night included Liam Gallagher, Metallica, Queen, Led Zeppelin, RUSH, AC/DC, Paul McCartney and The Police.
The concert is the first of two planned tribute nights in honor of the tragic drummer, with the other taking place in Los Angeles later this month.