Eagles of Death Metal were hard hit by the devastating tragedy that occurred at their concert at Le Bataclan on Nov. 13, where 89 concertgoers were slain during an ISIS terrorist attack. Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme had already given a video interview to VICE on the Paris attacks, and now in a new interview on playing with U2 in the nation's capital. Based on the interview, it was extremely challenging for Hughes to again take the stage after the tragedy and found a mentor in Bono, who has been supportive of the group during this challenging time.
"Bono called because I needed advice," Hughes said to Rolling Stone. "I felt like the best person to ask for advice on how to deal with this is someone who's rubbed elbows with world leaders. And he just prayed with me on the phone. He kept my head off of things, and then U2 visited the memorial site and delivered lyrics of ours that he thought were appropriate. And that particularly was important to me because I really wanted to be out there."
Hughes further said to the publication, "I didn't want to be in some safe house. I take personal pride in being really close to my fans. I knew a lot of the people personally that didn't make it, and that little detail, just on a personal note, is something that nobody else would ever know that it mattered, but it mattered to me. I didn't know how I was ever going to get back onstage again."
In addition to performing onstage with U2 in Paris, the band also began a new campaign to commemorate the attacks entitled Play It Forward, where they ask bands to do covers of their song "I Love You All The Time" for charity. Any publishing proceeds garnered from Play It Forward will be donated directly to the family of their slain merchandise manager Nick Alexander, as well as families of the other 89 victims. Artists who have been involved so far include Florence + The Machine, Imagine Dragons, Jimmy Eat World, and Kings of Leon.
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