Immediately following the Paris terrorist attacks on 13 November, which claimed the lives of 130 people, the music industry responded with solemnity. Major acts like U2, Prince and the Foo Fighters all pulled scheduled concerts from France’s capital. Over the past few days however, the industry has countered its initial reaction with a more hopeful and resilient message.
On Monday, U2 officially rescheduled its Paris dates. The 7 December show at the Accorhotels Arena in Bercy will be broadcast that same day on HBO. In a statement, Bono, U2’s frontman, said: “So much that was taken from Paris on the tragic night of November 13th is irreplaceable. For one night, the killers took lives, took music, took peace of mind – but they couldn’t steal the spirit of that city. It’s a spirit our band knows well and will try to serve when we return for the postponed shows on December 6th and 7th. We’re going to put on our best for Paris.”
Earlier in the day, the Foo Fighters offered a free download of its five-song EP, titled Saint Cecilia, on its website, along with a link to donate to the victims of the violence in Paris. The album, recorded in Austin, Texas, was completed before the attacks, but in a note that accompanies the recording, Dave Grohl, the band’s frontman, said the “project has now taken on an entirely different tone”.
“Now, there is a new, hopeful intention that, even in the smallest way, perhaps these songs can bring a little light into this sometimes dark world,” he continued. “To remind us that music is life, and that hope and healing go hand in hand with song. That much can never be taken away.”
Over the weekend, Jarvis Cocker also spoke out on the attacks, by airing a piece of music penned in response to the incident on his BBC 6 Music show, Sunday Service.
The minimalist, largely spoken word number, titled Friday 13th 2015, centers mostly on the nature of freedom. “The strongest statement of resistance is to just keep going,” Cocker says in the song, with music by Serafina Steer. During the show, Cocker also played music from French musicians, including Serge Gainsbourg, Jacques Dutronc and Françoise Hardy, as well as Frank Sinatra’s classic recording of I Love Paris. The former Pulp frontman has resided in Paris for several years.
Celine Dion also paid tribute on Sunday with a mournful rendition of Edith Piaf’s Hymne à L’amour, performed at the American Music awards. The song was written by Piaf in 1949 in dedication to her lover Marcel Cerdan, the French boxer who died in a plane crash on his way to New York from Paris. Accompanied by a live orchestra, Dion sang in French as images of Paris monuments and tributes left following the attacks were projected behind her.
Actor Jared Leto, who also fronts the rock band 30 Seconds From Mars, relayed his personal connection to the tragedy in introducing Dion by naming friends and colleagues of his who had been at the Bataclan concert hall the night of the attacks – one of whom, Thomas Ayad, was killed.
He also read a letter published by Antoine Leiris, whose wife was killed in the Bataclan assault.
“Friday night you took an exception life, the love of my life, the mother of my son, but you will not have my hatred,” Leto read. “You’re asking for it, but responding with hatred and anger is falling victim to the same ignorance and hatred that has made you what you are.
“You want me to be scared to view my countrymen with mistrust,” Leto continued. “You lost. We are just two now, my son and me. But we are stronger than all the armies in the world.”
