U2 have scotched rumours of a poignant return to the stage for Eagles Of Death Metal less than a month since the US rockers’ concert was targeted in the Paris terror attacks.
The Dubliners tonight play the first of two gigs in the French capital amid reports they had invited the California band to join them in a special sign of solidarity and remember the 130 victims.
“We’re back in Paris and it’s great to be here. Some people have been saying that Eagles Of Death Metal will appear on stage with U2 tonight. This is not the case,” the band said on their website.
Mass confusion and panic overcame the Bataclan theatre when two gunmen stormed the Eagles Of Death Metal concert on November 13 and fired indiscriminately at the crowd during a series of atrocities.
U2 cancelled two concerts in the city in the wake of the killings, but will play rescheduled shows tonight and tomorrow at the AccorHotels Arena in Bercy in what frontman Bono has vowed will be their best show.
They also have an undisclosed special guest lined up for tonight.
The band’s message to fans, however, leaves the door open for them to bring the curtain down on the acclaimed Innocence + Experience Tour with another tribute.
Bono is writing a new song – Streets of Surrender (SOS) – in the wake of the horrific attacks.
And bringing fans closer to the action, t he band have already begun to tee up the anticipated Monday night performance by asking them to post questions on social media which they will answer before the show.
The AccorHotels Arena is on the banks of the Seine in the Bercy area, near the 11th arrondissement, where terrorists targeted the Bataclan and pubs, cafes and restaurants – killing 130 people.
In a video interview with Vice News last week, Eagles Of Death Metal vocalist Jesse Hughes, 43, recalled how the gunmen, after storming the venue, killed everyone who had fled into a dressing room apart from ”a kid who was hiding under my leather jacket”.
Hughes broke down as he spoke of the selflessness of those caught up in the horror, including 36-year-old merchandise manager Nick Alexander, from Colchester, Essex, who was killed.
He said: ”(Nick) stayed quiet and never called for help until he bled out, because he didn’t want anyone else to get hurt.”
Sound engineer Shawn London also revealed he made eye contact with one of the gunmen from behind his console.
One of the few artists to defy security concerns to play in Paris in the wake of the atrocities was veteran Northern Ireland punk band Stiff Little Fingers, formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles.
The concert on Monday will be filmed live and will be shown on HBO.
U2 play down rumours of Eagles Of Death Metal concert collaboration