THE Isle of Wight's Mark King, bassist and lead singer of Level 42, has paid tribute to Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, whose death was announced yesterday.

The pair worked together on Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders' album Get the Money, on the track Queen of the Clowns.

Hawkins also covered Level 42's Something About You.

Hawkins had asked BBC 6 music presenter Shaun Keaveny to put him in touch with him, King explained on BBC Breakfast this morning.

"Boom, straight away the phone goes," Mark reminisced.

He described his enthusiasm, deep knowledge of music, and his joy: "He sucked you in with his enthusiasm, he was a real force of nature."

He said of Taylor's death: "It must be such a terrible shock to his family so condolences and love to those guys."

Here's the music video for Queen of the Clowns:

Mark told the County Press today: "Taylor wasn't just a fantastic drummer, he was a force of nature! There wasn't one time that I didn't speak to him and come away feeling better about everything. He will be sorely missed by his legions of fans around the world. RIP mate. Mx."

Level 42 posted on Facebook: "Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins dies at 50. Mark King had delivered his signature slap and vocals to “Queen of the Clowns” in 2019. RIP Taylor Hawkins."

Hawkins had played with the Foos at the Isle of Wight Festival twice, in 2006 and 2011.

Then CP reporter Gavin Foster was lucky enough to get an interview with Hawkins in 2006.

Isle of Wight County Press:

Few of the big stars give interviews to the local press, which astonished Hawkins.

He told Gavin: “The trouble with a lot of people is that when they have sudden success, they think they have made it. But success to me is about longevity. And to achieve longevity, you have to keep in touch with your fans.

“That to me is so important. Look, This is a job to me and while I love my work, I take it seriously. I love nothing more than to get out there and perform but of course giving interviews is also part of the process. Besides, this is the only phone interview I’m doing today."

He finished the interview with: “Our message to the IW is thank you for having us. It means as much for us to be there as hopefully it means to you to see us. We are going to give all we can to make it a kick-ass show.”

Read the interview in full on the County Press archive

Festival boss John Giddings: "The news is tragic, he was a larger than life character, more than a drummer and he co wrote some of their biggest hits. Very sad and a great loss to music."

Watch the Foos on the Island in 2006:

Watch the Foos on the Island in 2011: