Foo Fighters have covered The Vaselines’ ‘Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam’ – a song famously performed by Nirvana.
READ MORE: Foo Fighters – ‘Your Favorite Toy’ review: back to brawny basics
The song was released by the cult Scottish indie band in 1988 on their ‘Dying For It’ EP and was brought to international attention when covered by Nirvana on their legendary ‘MTV Unplugged In New York’ live album in 1994, under the tweaked title ‘Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam’.
On Saturday (May 23), Dave Grohl, who played on the ‘MTV Unplugged’ version, revisited the song when he led the Foos in a rendition during their set at BottleRock Napa Valley in California.
It was the first time Foo Fighters had ever played the song live, and it came in a show that also saw ‘Aurora’ being dedicated to the late Foos drummer Taylor Hawkins and a slow version of ‘Big Me’ dedicated to Grohl’s wife Jordyn Blum.
Watch Foos’ version of ‘Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam’, as well as Nirvana’s take and The Vaselines’ original, here:
In 2012, Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic joined The Vaselines themselves to play accordion on the song at Seattle’s Bumbershoot Festival.
Foo Fighters released their 12th studio album ‘Your Favorite Toy’ last month. NME gave it three-and-a-half stars and noted: “Vocally, Grohl has rediscovered his roar, but lyricism has never been his strongest suit, and much of it here is throwaway; those looking for signs of where his head is at after his infidelity scandal two years ago will be largely disappointed.
“‘Your Favorite Toy’ is a few more tracks of that depth away from being the most vital Foo Fighters record since 1997’s ‘The Colour and the Shape’. For now, at least, they have remembered that no-frills punk, played fast and loud, suits them much better than middle-of-the-road dad-rock.”
They will be playing a European stadium tour that is set to include two nights at Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium at the end of June. They will also be playing a range of major European shows, a North American stadium tour, and have announced an Australian and New Zealand tour for late 2026 and early 2027.
Any remaining tickets for all shows on the Foo Fighters’ US tour are available here and for UK and Europe shows, you can find tickets here.
They also played an intimate Tiny Desk Concert show recently, appeared on SNL UK, and endured spicy wings and revealed their cringiest lyrics on Hot Ones.
The post Watch Foo Fighters follow in Nirvana’s footsteps by covering The Vaselines’ ‘Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam’ at BottleRock appeared first on NME.
