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wI don’t hate you,'” Zoe Alexander told people facing trial For the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks. His 35-year-old brother Nick was The only British citizen killed When gunmen attacked Paris’s Bataclan theater during a rock concert as part of a series of coordinated attacks in the capital. He was the business manager of the California-based band eagles of death metalWho were playing in front of a crowd of people sitting in ambush.
Zoe’s words made headlines at the time, a remarkable display of grace and forgiveness amid the horror of such atrocity. Marking the 10th anniversary of the attacks, she tells Independent Why letting hatred win would have felt like a “disrespect” to her brother, who she remembers as “in a great place in his life, doing what he loves.”
“When something like this happens, you can never imagine what will happen in 10 years,” she says. “But we will be [in Paris] This year again, with the community of survivors and victims’ families. We have all stood together and been on this journey together.”
Bataclan reopens Exactly one year after the attacks, which killed 90 people, an emotional performance was given by the former Police frontman and solo artist stingHe performed in front of hundreds of concertgoers, including survivors and family members of the victims, a moment he calls “a great honor,”
“I played there in the seventies,” Sting explains. Independent“Still, it was a difficult task to strike the right balance of celebrating the reopening of a historic site while simultaneously honoring the victims and their relatives, as well as the few surviving staff who were still working there,”
Zoe was one of the family members present. “I wanted to go in and be there,” she says. “I didn’t want to be afraid.” She recalls the tension in the air – roads were closed around the venue and armed police stood guard as guests walked in the door – “We were all wondering, ‘Is this going to be OK?'”
Sting also recalls, “There was obvious tension in the club.” “So I spoke calmly to the crowd in French, explained the dilemma here and asked if they would join me in a minute of silence. Then I introduced my song ‘Fragile’, which felt respectful and appropriate, and after that everything became a little more comfortable, the set having been specially prepared for the occasion.”
During the show, he brought on guests including French-Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf – known for fusing Arabic-influenced sounds with jazz, funk and rock – who joined him for several solos. Sting says, “At one time I brought some Arab musicians to play with me – I know there was some controversy about it later, but this attack was an attack on the whole city. The Parisians, the Arabs and the French all suffered.”
Five days after Sting’s performance, I was in the audience Peter Doherty’s Bataclan concert Where the crowd was still, understandably, nervous. A couple were murmuring amongst themselves whether they should stay. As soon as one crew member did a sound check of the drums, the other group jumped up. Doherty’s debut as a guitarist was with Jack Jones, poet and frontman of the Swansea-born rock band Trampoline. He first read a set of poems – Nick Alexander’s name was written across his chest – with a line, “Silence is the deepest sound”, echoing loudly around the venue.
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“That will always be one of the most impactful, meaningful moments of my life,” says Jones. It was Doherty who gave a brief speech to his band before the show and then wrote Nick’s name on Jones’ chest: “I was so nervous, I was shaking sideways,” says Jones. “When I came out it was completely quiet – the whole thing was very emotional.”
He believes that the entire music community – not only those who played at the Bataclan, but the broader response at the time of the attacks and since – felt a responsibility to “move forward, carry that flame forward”. Doherty clearly shared this sentiment, as the ensuing show was a boisterous affair, with the front man staggering around the stage, bumping into his bandmates and instigating some good-natured cheers from the crowd.
Zoe was not there for Doherty’s show at the Bataclan, but she had spoken to the band beforehand and was impressed by their decision not to have any merchandise stands that night in Nick’s honour. “The Libertines were a part of his and my musical journey – growing up in London we had great times watching them play, and the last gig we saw together was actually The Libertines at Alexandra Palace.” She returns to Paris every year, as many do, to miss her loved ones or to confront the memories of what she experienced that night. “The fact that survivors are still going to events, I think is incredible proof [their courage]” she says.
A few years ago, he and his co-organizers changed the name of the trust established in Nick’s name from the Nick Alexander Memorial Trust to the Nick Alexander Music Trust. “That was quite an important thing for us, because it shifted it to focus more on the future and his legacy. It gives grants for musical instruments to small charities and community groups across the UK, with the first grant going towards a ukulele orchestra. “All the music made in his memory keeps him alive in a way,” she says. “He’s still making music today.”