Sting reopens the Bataclan

I don't quite know how I feel about Sting being the act to re-open the Bataclan just before the first anniversary of the atrocity that took place there.

Firstly, it's beyond a doubt right that the club should re-open. To do anything else would give those who sympathised with the killers a victory they don't deserve.

I thought that the club re-opening after the anniversary was the best idea, a low-key return to business as usual.

But opening with Sting just seems a bit odd. An act like Sting normally wouldn't be playing a venue like that, he's more a figure from international celebrity culture than from the world of music these days.

Maybe it's just that I've never been a big fan of Sting. Maybe it should be a French artist instead.

But maybe it's just that someone has to be the first act to play there, and they'll be scrutinised and criticised whoever they are.

Sting says: "In re-opening the Bataclan, we have two important tasks to reconcile. First, to remember and honour those who lost their lives in the attack a year ago, and second to celebrate the life and the music that this historic theatre represents.

"In doing so we hope to respect the memory as well as the life affirming spirit of those who fell. We shall not forget them."

The concert will raise money for charity. Maybe his heart's in the right place.

Pete Doherty and Youssou N'Dour play the Bataclan in the days after the anniversary, Marianne Faithfull, Laurent Garnier and Yael Naim play in weeks to come.

That feels a lot more like a return to normality for the Batacla.