London Concerts Cancelled Over Terror Threat

In the wake of the string of rush-hour bombings in central London this morning, scheduled concerts by acts including Sum 41, R.E.M., Queen, the Queens of the Stone Age and the Prodigy have been postponed.

As of press time, at least forty people are dead and approximately 1,000 wounded in the terrorist attacks. A group identifying itself as "The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe" has claimed responsibility, saying the bombings were in protest of Britain's involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"Due to the terrible events in London this morning, the Prodigy have decided to postpone their concert at Brixton Academy tonight," reads a statement on the group's Web site. "The band feel that due to the severity of the events in the capital, it would be inappropriate to go ahead with the concert." A posting on Brian May's site states that the recently reunited Queen (now fronted by Paul Rodgers) will not be playing their show tomorrow in London's Hyde Park, the site of one of last Saturday's Live 8 concerts.

Also set for Hyde Park, on Saturday, are R.E.M., whose concert has also been postponed due to "the tragic circumstances" and security concerns, says the band's Web site.

Meanwhile, stateside, Moby posted an impassioned response to the attacks on his site: "Just woke up and read about the terrorist attacks in London. No matter how you look at it, terrorists are scum. Anyone who is willing to intentionally injure and wound innocent people is scum. One jihadist Web site referred to the attacks as 'blessed.' I may not be an Islamic scholar, but I do know that the Q'uran specifically prohibits the killing of innocent people . . . And the people who were killed and hurt in these attacks were certainly innocent, decent, normal people going about their daily lives and not hurting anyone . . . As a New Yorker who understands what it is to experience first hand the slaughter of innocents at the hands of terrorists, I would like to say to the people of London and the U.K. that I'm deeply sorry for your loss and your pain."

British Prime Minister Tony Blair abruptly returned to London from Gleneagles, Scotland, where he was hosting this year's G8 summit, an annual meeting of the leaders of the world's most powerful nations.

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »

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