pearl jam They have paid tribute to the lives lost on the twentieth anniversary of the Roskilde Festival tragedy.
Seattle rock legends shared an emotional post to commemorate 20 years since that fateful day, when nine young men were crushed to death during their set in Roskilde, held near Copenhagen in Denmark.
“A normal day of festival show … appears 5 hours ahead. Wait your place. I barely remember it … ”reads the publication. Sunny I think. Lou Reed played, I think. Then rain and wind. But nothing has been the same since then.
An accompanying clip features nine flames set against a black background, recorded by a live snippet from Pearl Jam’s “Love Boat Captain”, a 2002 song that references the tragedy.
In the live cut, leader Eddie Vedder he modifies the lyrics to reflect the march of time: “I lost nine friends that I am meeting … every day. And if our lives became too long, would it add to our regret?”
Eight young men, ages 17-26, suffocated when Pearl Jam took the stage at Roskilde 2000. A ninth man died five days later in hospital.
Vedder and company were devastated after the catastrophe, which also left 43 people injured. Bandmates even considered splitting the group.
Subsequently, several inquiries were made, although no charges were filed. An initial report released in December 2000 found that “a string of unfortunate circumstances” led to death after a poor sound at the back prompted concert goers to move on.
A second investigation, published in the summer of 2002, found that “there is no reason to suppose that something punishable has been done.”
