Manchester attack: Katy Perry pays tribute to victims at London show

'What you should do is not let them win... they can never take that part away from us ever, ever'

Clarisse Loughrey
Sunday 28 May 2017 10:20 BST
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Katy Perry performs onstage during 102.7 KIIS FM's 2017 Wango Tango at StubHub Center on May 13, 2017 in Carson, California
Katy Perry performs onstage during 102.7 KIIS FM's 2017 Wango Tango at StubHub Center on May 13, 2017 in Carson, California (Rich Fury/Getty Images)

Katy Perry paid tribute to the victims of the Manchester attack while playing an intimate London show on Thursday night.

Addressing the 200-person capacity Water Rats venue, Perry stated: "It was hard for you guys, I know that, it was hard for me, because we all love music. We're all listening to the same music. And you think about it and you think, 'That's my friend, that's my sister, that's my brother, that's my cousin, that's the person that loves music.' It's awful, it's awful. It's awful."

"And whatever you can do to help, you should," she added. "If you can't do anything, that's fine. But what you should do is not let them win... they can never take that part away from us ever, ever."

The musician then led the crowd in a moment of silence dedicated to the victims of the attack, the youngest of which was just eight years old.

The suicide bombing left 22 dead and over 100 injured at Manchester Arena, right after the closing moments of a concert held by Ariana Grande last Monday.


The Courteeners played, on Saturday, the first major Manchester gig since the bombing, with frontman Liam Fray dedicating a poem to the spirit of the city, reading: "A grey Tuesday morning, ‘neath Lancastrian skies. We wake once again to wipe tears from our eyes. Forced to wear robes of weakness and pity. As cowards attack the very heart of our city."

"For a time our strut is reduced to a stagger. But make no mistake, we’ll rekindle our swagger. We’ll learn to live with another deep scar. If you think you can beat us, you don’t know who we are."

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