Video of crowd of Mancunians singing Oasis hit after minute’s silence for attack victims is shared around the world

The moment a crowd of Mancunians spontaneously broke into a rendition of the Oasis song Don’t Look Back in Anger has been shared around the world, cementing the song as a symbol of Manchester’s resilience in the face of tragedy.

The impromptu performance came at the end of a nationwide minute’s silence to honour the 22 people killed in Monday’s bombing at Manchester Arena. About 400 people had gathered at 11am in the city’s St Ann’s Square, where floral tributes have been piling up, to mark the moment.



After the silence, which was disturbed only by the whirring of a police helicopter, a shout of “Rock on, Manchester” was heard and the crowd applauded.

Lydia Bernsmeier-Rullow, clutching a bouquet, then tentatively began to sing the opening verse to the Manchester band’s 1996 hit and the crowd soon joined in.

The video of the moment, which follows a rendition by the students of Chetham’s music school on Tuesday that was also widely shared, was widely seen as a powerful symbol of Manchester’s mood. Within hours, it had been shared thousands of times on social media and broadcast across the world, including by Noel Gallagher.

Noel Gallagher (@NoelGallagher) ❤️ Mancunians https://t.co/kkiofSq60q

“That moment was something special,” said Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester. “That’s what you need to know about Manchester.”

Bernsmeier-Rullow, 32, the daughter of Manchester radio presenter and DJ Mike Shaft, said she had “really struggled” since the attack but that Manchester “will recover”.

“I love Manchester, and Oasis is part of my childhood,” she told the Guardian. “Don’t Look Back in Anger – that’s what this is about: we can’t be looking backwards to what happened, we have to look forwards to the future.

“We all joined together and we’re all going to get on with it because that’s what Manchester does.” She added: “It really touched my heart and gave me shivers to hear everyone joining in with me.”

Josh Halliday (@JoshHalliday) Just spoke to Lydia Bernsmeier-Rullow, the amazing woman who started that impromptu Don't Look Back In Anger singalong in St Ann's Square pic.twitter.com/aGKuYJw65V

On Tuesday, pupils at Chetham’s music school, a boarding school that was inside the police cordon in the city’s centre, performed the song – with their arms around each other – when their usual afternoon concert was cancelled.

A spokesman for the school said it had been a group decision to perform the song, which was on Oasis’s second studio album, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?. “We wanted to come together as a school and show our support and optimism,” they said. “Although the disaster has shaken our community, it has brought us together and made us stronger.”

Other songs from the city’s rich musical history have also provided comfort to residents. At a vigil for the victims on Tuesday evening, a man could be heard chanting “There is a light that never goes out”, a reference to the song by the Smiths of the same name.

Between 11am and midday on Wednesday morning, BBC Radio Manchester aired an hour of music exclusively from the city, chosen by listeners, including Elkie Brooks’s Sunshine After the Rain, Stars by Simply Red and Sit Down by the band James.

