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WATCH: Impromptu Song Shows Manchester's Resilience

People stop to observe a minute's silence in St. Ann's Square in central Manchester,  England, on Thursday to remember victims of Monday's bombing.
BEN STANSALL
/
AFP/Getty Images
People stop to observe a minute's silence in St. Ann's Square in central Manchester, England, on Thursday to remember victims of Monday's bombing.

A Manchester crowd's impromptu rendition of "Don't Look Back in Anger," by hometown band Oasis, emerged as an uplifting emblem of resilience after Monday's deadly bombing there.

The spontaneous singing followed a national minute of silence to honor the 22 people killed as they left a concert at Manchester Arena.

It started with a lone voice.

The Guardian says 32-year-old Lydia Bernsmeier-Rullow began to sing the band's 1996 hit. Soon others joined in and the song swept through the crowd in St. Ann's Square.

"It really touched my heart. It gave me shivers, it really did, to hear everyone joining in with me," Bernsmeier-Rullow said, as you can see in a video posted by the Guardian. "Don't look back in anger, that's what this is about," she added. "We have to look forwards to the future. We're all going to join together. We're all going to get on with it because that's what Manchester does."

The video has been widely shared on social media, the Guardian said.

"That moment was something special," Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham told the Guardian. "That's what you need to know about Manchester."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Kathy Goldgeier
Kathy Goldgeier is NPR's Network Hub Content Manager. She is part of a team reimagining the collaboration between NPR and Member stations. She works closely with the regional news hubs that bring stations together to share resources, coordinate coverage and reach new audiences.
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