My Chemical Romance mark 20 years since 9/11, the reason they formed

My Chemical Romance have shared a statement in which they mark the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and explain how the tragedy led to them forming the following day.

Frontman Gerard Way famously wrote the song ‘Skylines And Turnstiles’ in the immediate aftermath of terror attacks after feeling compelled to do so. “The world changed that day, and the next day we set about trying to change the world,” part of the statement reads.

See the message in full below:

“To whom it may concern,⁣ 2021 marks the 20 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Consequently, 9/12 marks the 20 year anniversary of My Chemical Romance. Like many of you reading this, 9/11 changed our lives and effected every aspect of our consciousness. Starting Mychem was a direct result of everything we experienced and witnessed during those horrific events. The world changed that day, and the next day we set about trying to change the world.

“Mychem has always been bigger than its parts. Even when the band took time away the MCRmy was there spreading the work and living the message of ​“Keep Yourself Alive!” Today we are collectively older and wiser, but still there to carry on when we hear the call. The past 20 years have been about healing, dusting off and getting back up, and living life to our highest potential. On this monumental anniversary let us all think about those we lost that day and the days since. Keep those loved ones close and their memories alive by thinking ​“what would they have wanted us to be doing today?”⁣

“Proudly living and breathing our true authentic selves? Being kind and compassionate to one another? Being creative, unique, and extraordinary? Maybe just trying to be better than you were yesterday?

“We have found that when in doubt, love is and always will be the answer.

“Thank you for showing us love and for walking by our side these past 20 years. We truly are stronger together and thankful you are here with us. Romantically yours,⁣ MCR⁣.”

Way has previously spoken about the band’s formation around the events that shook the world. Two years ago at Comic Con he said that My Chemical Romance became “therapy for me” in dealing with what he had witnessed.

“So 9/11 happens, and I pick up the guitar again and I write ‘Skylines And Turnstiles’, and then I called Otter [Matt Pellissier, drummer] and then I called Ray [Toro, guitarist], and we got Mikey [Way, bassist] in – and we just started building this momentum,” Way said.

“It became my therapy from the PTSD that everyone had experienced from 9/11, and processing that.”

MCR reunited to play their first show in seven years on December 20, 2019 at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles, grossing a record $1.5million – the most in the venue’s history. Frontman Gerard Way would later hail this as the “most fun” he’s ever had playing with the band.

The band rescheduled further reunion tour dates from 2021 to 2022 due to COVID, with shows confirmed in the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the US. Visit here for tickets and more information.

Meanwhile, Twenty One Pilots recently covered My Chemical Romance‘s ‘I’m Not Okay (I Promise)’ at their first full show in two years.