Broken Social Scene reflects on playing Manchester following terrorist attack

Members of Broken Social Scene had to make a difficult decision in the wake of the suicide bombing attack that left 22 people dead in Manchester.

The Toronto band was scheduled to open the European leg of its tour for the upcoming album “Hug of Thunder” on May 23 at Albert Hall in Manchester.

A day earlier, a terrorist attack struck Manchester Arena, where thousands of young people had turned out for an Ariana Grande concert.

“We all sat in the backstage room and had a big group meeting to see how everybody felt,” recalls Charles Spearin, a member of the sprawling rock collective.

Questions circulated about whether the venue would still be open, while the band debated if it was appropriate to go on stage when emotional wounds were so fresh.

The band decided their show must go on and thought the sombre “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl” would set the appropriate tone to open the concert.

The powerful opener echoed across the Internet as fans shared videos of the performance. Some spoke about how the moment helped them find some solace.

Drew says he couldn’t have predicted the response.

“After we were done I said, ‘Well I hope someone recorded that,’” he remembers. “We were playing for the people in front of us and that was it.”

Reflecting on the unexpected confluence of circumstances, Drew says the tour ended up starting “in a really beautiful way.”

“In the sense of wiping away all the pettiness and stupidness that sometimes crops up in a band,” adds Spearin.

“Hug of Thunder” is due out on Friday.