Madonna and Eagles Of Death Metal pay tribute on anniversary of Paris terror attacks

Both Madonna and the Eagles Of Death Metal have honoured the anniversary of the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks.

During her ‘Celebration’ world tour stop on Monday (November 13) in Paris, the pop icon took a moment to reflect on the attack that struck the city eight years ago.

On November 13, 2015, 89 people were killed by terrorists at Eagles Of Death Metal’s gig at Paris’ Le Bataclan music venue as part of a series of attacks around the French capital.

In 2015, while on her ‘Rebel Hearts’ tour, the singer and her son, David Banda, paid tribute to the victims of the attack by visiting Place de la République, a square located near Le Bataclan.

Another excerpt from Madonna’s speech at the Accor Arena last night – longer clip on IG.#MadonnaCelebrationTour #Paris pic.twitter.com/HI4uRVJQtU

— MadonnaTribe (@madonnatribe) November 14, 2023

“This is a tragic event, and I remember singing with David in Place de la République, the last time I was here with the ‘Rebel Heart’ tour – what little I could do to acknowledge this tragedy. But these tragedies keep happening, it never ends. And you can ask yourself sometimes, when will it end, and what can we do as human beings to change it?” Madonna said at her show Monday night (per Music News).

The Eagles of Death Metal also paid tribute to the anniversary of the attacks by sharing a clip of the French flag with Ed Harcourt’s cover of their track ‘I Love You All The Time’ to their official Facebook page.

Last year, the band’s frontman Jesse Hughes and guitarist Eden Galindo appeared in court on May 17 to give testimony in Paris in an ongoing civic trial surrounding the attack.

Both band members described how the attack had permanently affected them as survivors. The Guardian reports that Hughes immediately knew the venue was under attack while the band was playing their song ‘Kiss The Devil’.

“Being from a desert community in California, I know the sound of gunshots,” he said. Hughes went on to state that he “knew death was upon us” as three gunmen opened fire on the audience, ultimately killing over 80 people.

Galindo, meanwhile, expressed his grief over the loss of the victims – to the point where he ultimately left Eagles Of Death Metal for a time. “I live a different life,” he said. “I’ll never be the same.”

Back in 2017, Hughes opened up about living with the memory of the Bataclan attack.

Speaking to Billboard, Hughes said he can’t see a time when the Bataclan attack isn’t in the back of his mind, but that living through that experience has given him new impetus to make the most of life.

In other news, Madonna‘s stage designer recently shared that the icon wanted “feel more connected” to the audience on her current ‘Celebration’ tour.

Speaking about the tour, Ric Lipson of architecture firm Stufish told Rolling Stone UK: “She knew that she wanted to base the show through the eyes of her being spiritually born in New York City. From the early days of landing in Times Square and going down to the Lower East Side, CBGBs and the clubs, the places she hung out when she was young. Her concept of the show then evolved into a geography that would lay out the whole city.”