Musicians express shock over Paris attacks

The assault on one of the leading concert halls in Paris has sent shockwaves through the music world, with top-selling artists including U2 and Foo Fighters calling off shows.

"Shocked, sad and angry. We are all Parisian today," tweeted Peter Gabriel, one of many prominent musicians who took to social media after Friday's night coordinated attacks in the French capital.

More than 80 people were killed inside the Bataclan concert hall as gunmen opened fire during a performance by the California rock band Eagles of Death Metal, an attack for which the Islamic State group took responsibility.

France's Culture Minister Fleur Pellerin laid a bouquet of flowers Saturday in front of the Bataclan, a historic venue which is striking for its 19th-century chinoiserie architecture.

A short while earlier, an anonymous man brought a mobile keyboard near the entrance and played songs including John Lennon's pacifist anthem "Imagine" under the eye of a pack of photographers.