Pearl Jam have paid tribute to the lives lost on the 20th anniversary of the Roskilde Festival tragedy.
The Seattle rock legends shared a touching post to mark 20 years since that fateful day, when nine young men were crushed to death during their set at Roskilde, held near Copenhagen in Denmark.
“A normal festival show day…show up 5 hours ahead. Wait for your slot. I barely remember it…” the post reads. “Sunny, I think. Lou Reed played, I think. Then rain and wind. But nothing has been the same since.”
An accompanying clip features nine flames set to a black background, soundtracked by a live snippet from Pearl Jam’s “Love Boat Captain,” a 2002 song which references the tragedy.
In the live cut, frontman Eddie Vedder tweaks the lyric to reflect the march of time: “Lost nine friends I’m getting to know….every day. And if our lives became too long, would it add to our regret?”
Eight young men, aged 17-26, suffocated in a crowd crush as Pearl Jam took the stage at Roskilde 2000. A ninth man died five days later in hospital.
Vedder and Co. were left heartbroken following the catastrophe, which also left 43 people injured. The bandmates even considered splitting up the group.
In the aftermath, several inquiries were conducted though no charges were filed. An initial report published in December 2000 found that “a chain of unfortunate circumstances” led to the deaths after poor sound in the back prompted concert-goers to push forward.
A second investigation, published in the summer of 2002, found “there is no reason to presume that something punishable has been done.”
