(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)
Mon 9 February 2026 19:00, UK
One of the most thrilling yet intimidating things about culture is that we never know what’s coming next. Somewhere, in an unassuming rehearsal room in an ordinary city, a band could be working on a song that will go on to become one of the most influential pieces of music ever made.
That song could live forever as a timeless hit, joining the ranks of the big leagues whose influence never seems to fade. In 100 more years, the song that’s currently being written could inspire another new band and so on, and so on. But all the while, Dave Grohl would predict that one artist will endure and still be there, inspiring acts forevermore.
Surely that’s the ultimate goal. When an artist releases music, the highest aim is lasting, undeniable timelessness. Having a hit is one thing. Winning awards or making money from it is another. But creating music that stays, year after year, is the dream most artists aspire to.
That dream makes artists immortal. It’s been decades since Elvis Presley died, but his songs live on, and so does he. The same story goes for all of music’s biggest losses, as the many tragedies of the 1960s are all familiar ghosts, and their music stays on repeat.
Even more than that, those lost seem to stick around as teachers still present in studios worldwide. Take Jim Morrison, for example. The man, who died at 27, barely got to live a life. But decades later, his legacy is living a long one, and will live longer than any of the rest of us as his music, words, and general stage presence continue being passed down through their influence, still inspiring newer and newer bands who take it and carry it forward.
(Credits: Raph Pour-Hashemi)
Dave Grohl himself is already pretty much guaranteed a legacy like that. His old bandmate, Kurt Cobain, was another tragic loss who became immortal through his art, so with Grohl’s contributions to Nirvana, he’s already reserved a spot in the ranks. With Foo Fighters, too, his impact across rock music is sure to live on long after the musician himself is gone.
But in his eyes, there is one band who exemplifies the immortality of music better than anyone, who represents the ultimate shining goal of creating timeless art – and it has to be The Beatles.
To even think about The Beatles’ career is mind-boggling. Never before had there been an obsession like that, and likely never will there be again, as the whole world was whipped into a frenzy by these four boys and their position at the front of the new world of rock and roll.
However, it was fewer than ten years. It is insanity to consider that the huge impact the band had, and continues to have, was crafted in less than a decade, as the members weren’t even in their 30s yet when they split. They made all that music, and all that history, in such a short space of time, but here we are, still talking about it.
It’s now impossible to imagine a future where the band aren’t present in culture in some way, and in Grohl’s eyes, that time will never come, as he said, “From one generation to the next, The Beatles will remain the most important rock band of all time.”
Part of that simply comes down to the songs, are surely a track like ‘Hey Jude’ will now live forever in the collective cultural consciousness. But also, it comes down to their experimentation and the way so many of their movements provided the basis for the future, as Grohl explained, “The Beatles are the foundation of everything we do,” putting the entire modern rock and roll world essentially on their shoulders.
For him at least, everything comes down to them, and it always will, as he said, “If it weren’t for The Beatles, I would not be a musician,” lining himself up as one of the figures that passes their impact down.
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