Lars Ulrich on Metallica's cover of Oasis' 'Don't Look Back In Anger: "It was emotional and felt like the right thing to do for Manchester"
Metallica‘s Lars Ulrich has spoken out about the band’s cover of Oasis‘ ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’.
Speaking in NME’s Does Rock ‘N’ Roll Kill Braincells?, the drummer spoke of their take on the anthem, which they performed at Manchester Arena just months after an explosion at an Ariana Grande gig killed 22 people.
When asked if either Noel or Liam Gallagher gave him any feedback, Ulrich said: “Yes. Kirk and Rob [Trujillo, bassist] did ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ and I did get a very appreciative text from Noel the next day – it was quite a moment obviously getting all the fans singing along. It was emotional and felt like the right thing to do for Manchester [in the wake of the Manchester Arena attack]”
Noel also performed the track in tribute to those that died in the Manchester Arena attack in May 2018 after 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.
Ulrich also reiterated a story he previously told when he once stepped in to act as the band’s lighting man during a gig in New Jersey.
“I first became familiar with Oasis in the late summer of ’94,” the sticksman explained. “I was reading all these crazy articles in NME – I loved their arrogance, confidence and how every other word would be ‘cunt’ or ‘fuck’. Then I fell in love with the music, so I flew to see them play in New Jersey. One thing led to another and I found myself tapping along to the sounds on the lighting board – I guess there were a man short and it was great fun and obviously lots of crazy shenanigans and stories.”
Ulrich also revealed that the band were considering recording a follow-up to their first collaborative album with Lou Reed, ‘Lulu’ before the singer’s death in 2013.
“Listen, I would play with Lou anytime, anywhere and he knew that,” he said.
“He’d had this idea for a long time and when we played together at the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame [in 2009], in his mind, he’d found the perfect band to get his vision out and we definitely talked about doing more stuff together. We just felt so connected and we stayed in touch way up ‘til his very early and untimely end. I would do anything for that man.”
Metallica recently announced they’ll play their first show of 2020 as part of the ‘Encore Drive-In Nights’ series. A special show will be filmed at an undisclosed location in California, to then be aired on August 29 at several hundred drive-ins and outdoor theatres in North America.
The band have been sharing previews from their forthcoming live concert album, ‘S&M2’, including renditions of ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’ and ‘Moth Into Flame’ with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.
The film will be released in a variety of formats on August 28, including 4xLP vinyl, 2xCD, DVD and Blu-ray versions, plus a limited edition “Deluxe Box”.
