Eagles of Death Metal have thanked "awesome" Bono for helping them in the aftermath of the Paris terrorist attacks.
In November, the singer offered the American rockers use of U2’s private plane to exit the city after 89 people were brutally killed at their concert at the Le Bataclan theatre in one of a series of terrorist attacks in the French capital and purchased them new phones after theirs were left inside the music venue.
EODM frontman Jesse Hughes has now opened up about the Irish singer coming to their assistance and admits he can’t thank him enough for his support and actions.
Speaking in an interview with Rolling Stone, Hughes said: "Bono knows that I’m a Christian and he also knows I’m a mama’s boy. The very next day [after the attack], a courier came with a phone that had a note that said, ‘This is from Bono. Make sure you call your mom.’ I thought that was awesome. It was the first time that I really got to talk to my mom without being in a police station and that meant the whole world to me at that moment."
Hughes also revealed he and Bono prayed with one another over the phone in the wake of the atrocity.
He added: "Bono called because I needed advice. 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. 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."
Hughes’ EODM collaborator Josh Homme also explained why The ‘Miss Alissa’ hitmakers – who rescheduled their European live dates since the tragedy – have launched Play It Forward, a project inviting musicians to cover their song ‘I Love You All The Time’ for charity.
He said: "Roses grow in s**t, and this is a s****y situation. It’s funny how things this terrible, when you’re close to them, how they stop your life in its tracks … This is where I realise the importance of the arts and music to be able to move quickly to unite people. It’s a rare moment when these elements are conjoined."
Eagles of Death Metal’s Jesse Hughes thanks Bono
