“That was a churnup for the books”: Fans hail after Foo Fighters perform surprise Glastonbury set under fake band name

Foo Fighters fans attending the Glastonbury Festival or watching it on livestream had reason to celebrate. The band was revealed to be the mysterious the Churnups, who performed an hour-long set at The Pyramid Stage on June 23, 2023.

The speculation that the Churnups were actually the Foo Fighters was not confirmed until just before the set, when the band's vocalist Dave Grohl said to fans:

"You guys knew it was us the whole time, didn't you? It's nice to see your faces again."

The confirmation of the band being the Churnups, as well as their performance, had fans excited and joyful, as one netizen expressed in their tweet regarding the performance:

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Foo Fighters fans ecstatic over their performance as the Churnups

Foo Fighters were ecstatic over the band's performance as the Churnups at Glastonbury festival, and many took to social media in order to express their joy at the performance.

Some fans exclaimed the band to be the best live band in the world. Others pointed out that they were correct in their guess as to the identity of the Churnups after the mystery act was first spotted on the Glastonbury Festival lineup. Others were dissappointed that the Churnups were not, in fact, their own favorite band.

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More about Foo Fighters and their music career

The band was formed initially by Dave Grohl to support his own album, after the drummer and singer refused an offer to join Pearl Jam following the disbandment of Nirvana after the death of Kurt Cobain.

The name of the band was inspired by the World War 2 term for UFO, foo fighters. Dave Grohl expanded on the name's inspiration in an exclusive interview with Clash magazine:

"Around the time that I recorded the first FF tape (that became the first record), I was reading a lot of books on UFOs. Not only is it a fascinating subject, but there’s a treasure trove of band names in those UFO books!"

The singer continued:

"So, since I had recorded the first record by myself, playing all the instruments, but I wanted people to think that it was a group, I figured that FOO FIGHTERS (WW2 term for UFOs) might lead people to believe that it was more than just one guy. Silly, huh?”

The singer later elaborated:

"Had I actually considered this to be a career, I probably would have called it something else, because it’s the stupidest f****ng band name in the world.”

The band released their debut studio album, Foo Fighters, on July 4, 1995. The album was a major chart breakthrough, peaking at number 2 on the Kiwi album chart as well as at number 3 on the Australian and UK album charts.

Following the success of their debut album, the band released their second studio album, The Colour and the Shape, on May 20, 1997. The album peaked at number 3 on the UK album chart.

The band had their first chart topper with their fourth studio album, One by One, which was released on October 22, 2002. The album peaked as a chart topper on the Australian, Irish and UK album charts respectively.

The band achieved critical acclaim with their seventh studio album, Wasting Light, which was released on April 12, 2011. The album peaked as a chart topper on the Billboard 200 as well as Australian, Canadian, Austrian, German, Kiwi, Swiss and UK album charts respectively.