U2 changed the lyrics to their song ‘Pride (In the Name of Love)’ to honour the victims of of the Israel music festival massacre.
Last Saturday (07.10.23), Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip unleashed their reign of terror at the Supernova Festival in Israel by killing over 260 people.
The electronic music festival, that took place in the desert near the Gaza-Israel border, was held to coincide with the weeklong Jewish holiday of Sukkot from Friday, September 29, 2023 to Friday, October 6, 2023.
During U2’s latest show at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Sunday (08.10.23), frontman Bono, 62, dedicated the 2003 hit to “our brothers and sisters – who they themselves were singing at the Supernova Sukott festival in Israel”.
He added: “We sing for those. Our people, our kind of people, music people. Playful, experimental people. Our kind of people. We sing for them.
“In the light of what’s happened in Israel and Gaza, a song about non-violence seems somewhat ridiculous, even laughable, but our prayers have always been for peace and for non-violence… But our hearts and our anger, you know where that’s pointed. So sing with us … and those beautiful kids at that music festival.
For the powerful rendition of the 1984 track, the Irish rock band revised the original lyrics that refer to the death of American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and reference the Hamas attack instead.
The re-written verse read: “Early morning, October 7, the sun is rising in the desert sky/ Stars of David, they took your life but they could not take your pride”.
As well as U2 numerous other stars and artists, such as Natalie Portman, Gal Gadot and Madonna, have spoken out about the horrific attack.