Viola Beach weren’t remotely my kind of music. But it’s still heartbreaking to see their Twitter feed still showing automated tweets advertising gigs this week that will never happen. Like the Bataclan massacre hack in November, their tragic deaths in a road accident struck close to home.
There are many, many musicians I know who’s routine includes driving long distances back from gigs at the opposite end of the country and arriving home at four in the morning because their budget won’t stretch to staying in the cheapest of B&Bs. Many of them must be thinking “That could easily have been us”.
Rest in Peace, Viola Beach. You weren’t part of my particular musical tribe. But music is bigger than the any one tribe, and the loss of lives so young is a terrible tragedy.