Foo Fighters

The Foo Fighters is a rock band formed by Dave Grohl in 1994 after the demise of his former band Nirvana. The band's original line-up was Dave Grohl (guitar/vocals), Pat Smear[?] (guitar), Nate Mendel[?] (bass guitar) and William Goldsmith[?] (drums).

The band's first single "This Is A Call" was released in June 1995 and their eponymously titled debut album was released in the same month. The band have released the following albums;

• Foo Fighters - June 1995
• The Colour And The Shape - May 1997
• There Is Nothing Left To Lose - November 1999
• One By One - October 2002

The band's current lineup is radically different from when the band was formed. In March 1997 William Goldsmith left the band and Taylor Hawkins, former drummer for Alanis Morissette, replaced him on drums. In September 1997 Pat Smear was replaced by Franz Stahl[?] who himself left the band in July 1999, to be replaced by Chris Shiflett[?].

Foo Fighters in World War II

The name foo fighter was coined by Allied aircraft pilots in World War II for mysterious aerial phenomena, such as glowing balls, seen in the skies over Germany. Originally used as a semi-derogatory reference to Japanese fighter pilots (known for erratic flying and extreme maneuvering), it became a catch phrase for fast moving, erraticly flying objects (such as UFOs). It was thought at the time that they might be some German secret weapon, but the Germans were just as mystified by the phenomenon.

The term originated in the surrealistic comic strip Smokey Stover[?]. Smokey, a firefighter, was fond of saying "Where there's foo there's fire." A Little Big Book[?] titled Smokey Stover the Foo Fighter was published in 1938.

See also foo.