Dave Grohl has said that guitarist Pat Smear always seemed destined to be part of Foo Fighters, describing him as someone who “should be in the band”. The remark highlights Smear’s long-standing importance to the group’s sound and history, despite periods when he was not formally a full-time member.

Smear first worked with Grohl in the punk band The Germs and joined Foo Fighters during its early live era in the mid-1990s. He left in 1997, returned as a touring guitarist in 2005 and later became an official member again, contributing to the band’s enduring three-guitar line-up alongside Grohl and Chris Shiflett.