By way of Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada

Why The Killers are adopted Brits?

The Killers formed in Las Vegas in 2001, and although the band call the city of sin home, it seems us in the U.K. have adopted them quite a lot. Why is that?

The inception of the band has humble British beginnings, their name is taken from a fictional band in a New Order music video. In the music video for ‘Crystal’ the New Order bass drum features a logo for a band called The Killers.

British influences can be heard throughout their music too, from New Order to Oasis and even electronic influences like Pet Shop Boys and OMD.

Yet it’s not there name or there influences that have made them musical icons in the U.K. There’s so much more to it than that. 

Let’s look at the bands biggest song ‘Mr Brightside’ since it’s release in 2004 where it hit the Top 10 in the U.K. it has never, yes never dropped out of the Top 100, that’s quite a fete for a song in this modern era. In the age of streaming, and the internet a song that is nearly 20 years old has that kind of power.

It has been voted by many radio stations and music magazines as the best song of the 00’s and Spotifys second most streamed song of the 00’s with over 1.8 billion streams!

In the U.K. this song is more than just a song it has become part of the furniture, the words are engrained into us all, and when that riff kicks in. You know what’s coming next. Whether that’s at a gig, an indie disco, in a nightclub, a house party or your aunties wedding. People are going to collectively lose their minds.

Exhibit A: https://youtu.be/QVlfINuDdKE?si=Ze29xaGlYi1iOzQS

Exhibit B: https://youtu.be/4hbZbdXIf7c?si=KDvzFq4-113OhEE4

Away from ‘Mr Brightside’ The Killers have done so much more. Those songs are anthems all the band from the bands 2004 debut ‘Hot Fuss’ all the way through to 2021’s ‘Pressure Machine’ they have got an arsenal of hits. With infectious riffs and anthemic choruses.

It rivals even the greatest bands in terms of output. I sit here now and write this post listening to the bands 2013 best of ‘Direct Hits’ and 5 tracks in I’ve already heard ‘Mr Brightside’, ‘Somebody Told Me’, ‘Smile Like You Mean It’, ‘All These Things I’ve Done’ and ‘When You Were Young’ 

That’s ridiculous, those songs aren’t just good songs, they are some of the most popular songs of recent memory. Songs that transcend genres and scenes. Pieces of music that have become milestones in popular culture all over the world.

In the last 5 years The Killers have headlined three of the biggest festivals in the U.K. ‘Trnsmt’ in 2018, ‘Glastonbury’ in 2019 and most recently ‘Reading & Leeds’ this year, playing to 50,000 to 100,000 people on these special nights. To young audiences, they still have that pull to make people buy tickets. Even 20 years in. Those songs still mean something.

Glastonbury saw the band pay tribute to their British heroes. With collaborations with the Pet Shop Boys and The Smiths hero Johnny Marr. It was one of the most memorable headline slots in recent memory. Reading and Leeds had a special feel though, Reading and Leeds is the festival that many young people go to in the U.K. they have sat their exams and it’s the end of summer blowout many of them take. The crowd is full of teenagers! Many of who were not even born when the band released ‘Mr Brightside’ or ‘For Reasons Unknown’ yet they sing and chant those songs like their lives depend on it.

They always put on a show, and in return the U.K. will come to see them in numbers. In the way The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Oasis, The Smiths, U2, Arctic Monkeys, Queen and Bowie songs have transcended across generations, The Killers anthems have done the same.

It’s a credit to Brandon Flowers, Ronnie Vannucci Jr, Dave Keunning and Mark Stroemer that they have kept it going. With the bands most recent effort ‘Your Side of Town’ a New Order, and Daft Punk style effort with some Vegas Glamour. It shows The Killers don’t plan on slowing down.

Although they are brought us to by way of Fabulous, Las Vegas, Nevada.

They cut their teeth in the U.K. and they are always welcome on Festival or Stadium Stages this side of the pond. We will always want to hear the tales of the ‘Spaceman’, Brandon’s ‘Dustland Fairytales’ and even the adventures of ‘Mr Brightside and his Miss Atomic Bomb’ 

The best British band that aren’t British! 

Thank you for reading x