A New Zealand radio station has been forced to apologise after an April Fools’ Day prank involving a "secret" Foo Fighters gig went wrong.

The Rock Fm announced the Everlong hitmakers would be playing an intimate acoustic set at Auckland venue the Powerstation on Tuesday morning.

Expecting around 50 listeners to turn up, the station planned on playing a Foo Fighters album on a tapedeck as an April Fools’ Day joke.

But the announcement sparked nationwide interest, with thousands of listeners taking the day off work and booking flights to the city in a bid to see the rockers.

The station was subsequently forced to scrap the stunt and apologize to fans, urging them not to travel to the venue.

Program director Brad King insists the prank got out of hand. He says, "(It caused) absolute carnage. I arrived back in the country today after a week long holiday and heard of the announcement. This is an April Fools gag, dreamed up by our over enthusiastic promotions department and completely untrue.

"On behalf of The Rock I sincerely apologize for this mis-information. Contracts have been terminated, and heads have rolled. This is what happens when fools plan April Fools jokes."