Foo Fighters’ Sonic Highways documentary sold to Australia

Australian Foo Fighters fans will get to see the band’s eight part Sonic Highways documentary on their TV screens.

It has been pre-sold to Nine Network and Foxtel for this territory. It was acquired by BBC Worldwide in June, and also sold to the UK (BBC Four), Canada (HBO Canada), Denmark (DR3), Belgium (OP12), Finland (YLE), Norway (NRK2) and New Zealand (The Edge).

It is not known when Sonic Highways will be shown in Australia, and how it will be shared by Foxtel and Nine, but in the UK, for instance, BBC Four is showing episodes one, two, seven and eight and BBC iPlayer will broadcast the others online.

But the Australian run will be “immediately after” its US premiere on HBO this Friday (October 17), said Salim Mukaddam, Director of Music for BBC Worldwide. The US screening coincides with the band’s 20^th anniversary.

Its UK broadcast is confirmed for Sunday October 26, with BBC Four showing episodes one, two, seven and eight and BBC iPlayer the others online.

Each of the eight episodes was directed by Dave Grohl. Mukaddam added, “It’s a credit to Dave Grohl that his reputation as a film maker is now so great that international broadcasters are willing to pre-buy an entire series.” Grohl’s directorial debut in 2013 with the acclaimed Sound City won a Grammy.

In Sonic Highways, the Foos devote each episode to the different city that their eighth album, also called Sonic Highways, was made in. He calls it “a love letter to the history of American music” and aims to “give back” to the next generation of young musicians.

Grohl digs into the musical heritage and cultural fabric of each city. Sessions began in Seattle, then to Chicago, Washington DC where Grohl grew up, Austin, Nashville, Los Angeles, New Orleans and New York. They used each city’s most iconic studio to record in, and feature a local legend to show how their city shaped their music and how they in turn shaped their city.

These include Dolly Parton, Public Enemy’s Chuck D, Willie Nelson, LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys’ Mike D, Joan Jett, Heart, Bonnie Raitt, Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielson, Gary Clark Jr and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Some also appear on the album, out in mid-November, but just who is not confirmed.

The Foos continue to lead the way in how their fans crowdfund to get them to play in their cities. In the latest, a campaign to get them to Cornwall in England has been another huge success. The target was £150,000 (Australian $276,440) in eleven weeks. But within the first three days, 1,844 backers had pledged over £214,000 (A$394,390).