1997 In Review: Dave Grohl On Swinging London

NME 97

In January, several US magazines including Newsweek and Vanity Fair ran articles on how London was the epicentre of a new musical, artistic and literary culture. A number of American music and movie stars subsequently bought homes in the capital.

"I'm kind of an old fuddy-dud. I quit smoking pot eight years ago. I've never done coke, I've never done heroin or speed. I drink every three-and-a-half weeks. I've never been to the Ministry Of Sound, I couldn't even begin to imagine what it is.
  "You know how I swing when I come to London? Bangers and beans goddammit! My favourite bangers and beans were at a B&B in Shepard's Bush called The Dalmatia. That was my introduction to bangers and beans and I swear to God, on my life, that is my favourite meal in the world. I could eat it seven times a day for the rest of my life. I'm not joking everything else is shit.
  "I find it bizzare that Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and Madonna are buying property here. I hear you have Planet Hollywood. That's the embassy, that's why they're all moving over, they've got a refuge.
  "To me, Jon Bon Jovi singing about Chelsea is the same thing as Mick Jagger singing about New York. I bet you Jagger had a blast in New York City in 1975 going into Central Park with a couple of Mexican women, a bottle of wine and Keef.
  "I saw the Britpop thing coming from way off and thought the Blur vs Oasis thing was hilarious. When Patsy and Liam posed in that British flag bedspread I thought 'You'd never get an American doing that'. Most Americans are either burning the flag or it's on the front of a tank blowing up a city."