The Cure’s Roger O’Donnell pays tribute to murdered Ukrainian conductor Yuriy Kerpatenko
The Cure‘s Roger O’Donnell has paid tribute to Ukrainian conductor Yuriy Kerpatenko, who was recently shot dead by Russian soldiers.
Kerpatenko was killed after he refused to take part in a concert in occupied Kherson, according to the culture ministry in Kyiv, reports The Guardian.
The concert on October 1 was intended to feature the Gileya chamber orchestra, of which Kerpatenko was the principal conductor, but he was said to have “categorically refused to cooperate with the occupants”.
The Kherson regional prosecutor’s office in Ukraine has since launched a formal investigation “on the basis of violations of the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder”.
His death prompted The Cure’s keyboardist to post a tribute to the late conductor.
O’Donnell wrote that before a recent show in Hamburg that he had learnt of Kerpatenko’s killing.
“Don’t know why but this touched me, I know I wouldn’t be that brave and you know that’s why Ukraine will win. So I put his name on my keyboard and with the help of my friend @dariahlazatova we will try and do something for his family, Yuriy Kerpatenko remember that name @aaronjlaw,” he added.
Meanwhile, Eurovision 2022 winners Kalush Orchestra collaborated with The Rasmus on a new version of the latter’s hit single ‘In The Shadows’ last week.
The video for the new version, directed by Leonid Kolosovsky, references the history of Ukraine and the experience of the country in the modern day.
Recalling the shoot, Lauri Ylönen, co-founder and frontman of The Rasmus, said: “There was a feeling that everyone wanted to make a maximum effort for a common goal.
“Our mission is to let as many people as possible know about this war and the courage of the Ukrainian people. That’s why we decided to shoot a video for this song. It was inspiring to hear how this song can be reborn like that! And the lyrics are unfortunately even more relevant to what is happening now, in Ukraine and around the world.”
The song contains the line: “They say that I must learn to kill before I can feel safe/ But I’d rather kill myself than turn into their slave.”
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Damian Jones
NME
