Eagles of Death Metal to play Paris again
Eagles of Death Metal, the US rock band whose concert in Paris was attacked by jihadists in November, will play a new gig in the French capital in February, they said on Wednesday.
The Feb 16 fixture will be the first in France by the Californian rockers since Islamist gunmen attacked the Bataclan concert venue on Nov 13, killing 90 people.
The band’s merchandising manager, Nick Alexander, a 36-year-old Briton, was among the fatalities of the worst of several assaults that night in Paris, in which 130 people were killed and 350 wounded.
“The rescheduled trek — The Nos Amis Tour — will see the band set to finish the tour that was cut short by the tragic events of Nov 13th at the Bataclan Theatre in Paris,” the group said in a statement, adding that survivors of the Bataclan massacre would receive free ticket.
“Nos Amis” means “Our Friends” in French.
The concert will take place at the Olympia concert hall — the Bataclan is not rescheduled to reopen before late 2016 — and be followed by performances in the northern city of Lille and southern city of Nimes.
Eagles of Death Metal made an emotional return to the French capital earlier this month to join Ireland’s U2 on stage for a rousing rendition of Patti Smith’s People Have The Power.
“The people of Paris have always been incredible to us, and our feeling of love towards this beautiful city and its people has been reinforced a million times over this past month,” Eagles’ frontman Jesse Hughes said in Wednesday’s statement.
“Not returning to finish our set was never an option. We look forward to coming back in February and continuing our mission to bring rock ‘n’ roll to the world.”