Noel Gallagher and Johnny Marr lead mass sing-a-long of ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ for Manchester arena attack anniversary

The city gathered in Albert Square to honour the victims

Noel Gallagher and Johnny Marr sent video tributes as Manchester held a special anniversary service last night (May 22) to mark one year since the devastating arena attack.

Last May, 22 people were killed and 139 wounded when a suicide bomber detonated a homemade bomb as people were leaving an Ariana Grande concert at the arena.

Weeks later, the One Love Manchester benefit concert took place, which saw performances from the likes of Katy Perry, Robbie Williams, Miley Cyrus, Coldplay and Liam Gallagher.

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Oasis‘ track ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ became a symbol of hope in the immediate aftermath of the attack, with Manchester residents bursting into the song after a minute’s silence for the victims back in 2017.

It seems the song continues to provide strength for the city, as the crowd sang during tonight’s Albert Square gathering.

“This is Noel Gallagher, and I am here on behalf on Manchester Together In One Voice,” said the former Oasis frontman via a video played to the crowd. “I am going to introduce to you my song ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’. If you look closely, I shall be miming along with you. Thank you very much.”

You can see footage of that below.

Video messages from fellow Manchester legends including Ryan Giggs, The Stone Roses’ Mani, Johnny Marr and more were also played to the crowd.

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“I wish I was with you tonight,” said Marr. “My heart is always going to be in Manchester, always has been and always will be. I am proud to be a Mancunian. I am sure it will be an emotional occasion.”

There was also a mass sing-a-long of Ariana Grande’s hit ‘One Last Time’, which you can see below.

Meanwhile, Noel’s brother and former Oasis bandmate Liam Gallagher also led a tribute in London – inviting Bonehead on stage to dedicate ‘Live Forever’ to the city.

To mark the occasion, local band Prose also teamed up with the Manchester Survivors Choir for a new charity single .The track, titled ‘A City United’, is a powerful offering and the first official release from the choir, which was initially formed after survivors of the Manchester Arena attack came together in the defiant aftermath of the tragedy.

Grande also marked the first anniversary of the Manchester Arena attack with a message of support for her fans.

Writing on Twitter, the singer said, “Thinking of you all today and every day. I love you with all of me and am sending you all of the light and warmth I have to offer on this challenging day.”

Last week, Grande opened up about the attack. “The last thing I would ever want is for my fans to see something like that happen and think it won”, she explained.

“Music is supposed to be the safest thing in the world. I think that’s why it’s still so heavy on my heart every single day.”

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