THE LEAD SINGER of the Eagles of Death Metal has spoken for the first time about the terror attack at the Bataclan theatre in which 89 people lost their lives.
In an emotional interview with VICE, he said people who had hidden in the band’s dressing room had been killed by the attackers.
130 people died and more than 350 others were injured in the Paris attacks on the night of Friday 13 November.
Jesse Hughes, who spoke to VICE’s Shane Smith alongside band co-founder Josh Homme, said the killers were able to get into the dressing room and killed almost everyone.
“Several people hid in our dressing room and the killers were able to get in and killed every one of them, except for a kid who was hiding under my leather jacket.
“People were playing dead and they were so scared – a great reason so many were killed was because so many people wouldn’t leave their friends.
“So many people put themselves in front of people.”
Nick Alexander, one of the first named victims of the massacre, was selling merchandise for the band at the Bataclan.
Three record company staff also lost their lives.
In a statement released last week the group said members were “united in grief” with the victims, fans and families of the Paris attacks.
“Our thoughts and hearts are first and foremost with our brother Nick Alexander, our record company comrades Thomas Ayad, Marie Mosser, and Manu Perez, and all the friends and fans whose lives were taken in Paris, as well as their friends, families, and loved ones.
“Although bonded in grief with the victims, the fans, the families, the citizens of Paris, and all those affected by terrorism, we are proud to stand together, with our new family, now united by a common goal of love and compassion.
“We would like to thank the French police, the FBI, the US and French State Departments, and especially all those at ground zero with us who helped each other as best they could during this unimaginable ordeal, proving once again that love overshadows evil.”
The full interview with Hughes and Homme (who was not performing with the band at the Bataclan) will be published on VICE.com next week.
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