Foo Fighters wrapped up their four-night residency on Jimmy Kimmel Live with an unexpected blast from the past. Instead of sticking strictly to modern cuts or standard stadium anthems, Dave Grohl and company revived their take on Gerry Rafferty’s 1978 hit “Baker Street.” Closing out a week that featured both classic singles and fresh tracks from their album Your Favorite Toy, the late-night finale gave late-seventies soft rock an unapologetic, high-decibel makeover.
The biggest thrill of the performance is watching the band translate Rafferty’s smooth pop architecture into heavy guitar rock. Lead guitarist Chris Shiflett took on the song’s famous saxophone hook, running the horn melody through his fretboard with sharp distortion. Fronted by Grohl on rhythm guitar and vocals, the six-piece band turned the breezy radio favorite into a driving rock workout that brought their late-night television takeover to a lively finish.
While the Kimmel performance felt fresh, “Baker Street” is actually a cherished relic in the band’s catalog. Foo Fighters originally recorded the cover back in April 1997 at London’s Maida Vale Studios during a BBC Radio 1 session with Steve Lamacq. Grohl later remembered falling in love with the original song on AM radio during childhood car rides with his mother, making the unlikely rock adaptation a very personal homage.
Over the years, the track became a prized gem among dedicated fans. It circulated on UK editions of the “My Hero” single in 1998, resurfaced on the tenth-anniversary edition of The Colour and the Shape, and landed on the 2011 Record Store Day compilation Medium Rare. The group dusted it off at an intimate benefit show in Hollywood shortly before the Kimmel appearance, proving the cover still packed a punch nearly three decades after they first cut it. Listen to the studio-recorded cover of “Baker Street” that became a celebrated staple of the band’s expanded catalog.
The late-night rendition also offered a prime spotlight for drummer Ilan Rubin. Known for his work with Nine Inch Nails, Rubin powered the track with a frantic, galloping beat that gave the melody an urgent pulse. Fans watching online singled out his relentless energy, with one viewer joking that the drummer was beating the drums “like they owe him money.” Alongside Shiflett’s blazing lead work, the performance showcased how comfortably the current lineup handles tricky stylistic pivots.
The clip racked up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube, with fans celebrating the band’s refusal to take the predictable route. As another listener pointed out, the group is “not afraid to play whatever the Foo they want to.” Transforming a vintage saxophone solo into a soaring rock riff showed off the timeless quality of Rafferty’s songwriting while highlighting the playful curiosity that continues to define Foo Fighters on stage.