Alternative/Rock
ABOUT :
The Killers is an American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada that formed in 2001. The band consists of Brandon Flowers (vocals,keyboards), Dave Keuning (guitar, backing vocals), Mark Stoermer (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (drums,percussion).
An alternative rock band, The Killers draw some of their influences from the music styles of the 1980s. The group's debut album, Hot Fuss (2004) brought the band mainstream success. The Killers' second album, Sam's Town, was released in 2006, and compilation album Sawdust containing B-sides, rarities, and new material, was released in 2007. Their third studio album, Day & Age, produced byStuart Price, was released in 2008.
The band has sold over 5 million albums in the United States, over 4.5 million albums in the United Kingdom and over 15 million worldwide.
Formation (2001–2004)
In 2001, Brandon Flowers was abandoned by his first band, a synthpop band known as Blush Response, after he declined to move with the rest of them to Los Angeles, California. He then met David Keuning after responding to an ad that Keuning had placed in a Vegas newspaper which listed Oasis, The Cure, Smashing Pumpkins, Beck, Depeche Mode, U2, and The Beatles as influences. During The Killers' first year, two different drummers were fired and their original bassist quit. By late 2002 the current rhythm section of Ronnie Vannucci Jr. on Drums and Mark Stoermer as bass guitarist had joined the band. The name "The Killers" comes from the bass drum of a fictional band in the music video for the New Order song "Crystal".
Initially, The Killers played at small clubs in Las Vegas, Nevada, where they often played at drag shows. They began to send demo tapes to major record labels in the US, all the record labels turned them down but the band caught the eye of Alex Gilbert, a British representative for Warner Bros. Though Warner did not like the band, Gilbert took the demo back with him, showing it to friend Ben Durling, who worked at UK indie label Lizard King Records. When label head Martin Heath was asked in an interview with HitQuarters what appealed to him about the band he said, "Great and interesting original-sounding songs. When we met Brandon Flowers for the first time it was very clear to me that he was a major star. He had huge charisma. He completely believed in what he was doing. He just stood out and carried the music." The Killers signed with the British label in July 2003.
On the 19 August 2003 , "Mr. Brightside" premiered on DJ Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show in the UK. The Killers then travelled to London and began to play shows in bars and clubs, the crowds grew every night through word of mouth and critical reviews were extremely positive, soon after returning to the US they were signed by Island Def Jam.
Hot Fuss (2004 - 2006)
The Killers released their album Hot Fuss in June 2004 in the United Kingdom on Marrakesh Records and in the United States on Island Records. Hot Fuss reached Number 1 in the UK and has been classified 6x Platinum by the BPI. It reached the top spot in Australia, where it was certified 3x Platinum, and has also been certified 3x Platinum in the United States and Canada. The band also had chart success with its singles "Mr. Brightside," which reached the Top 10 in the UK and US, "All These Things That I've Done," "Somebody Told Me," and "Smile Like You Mean It."
In July 2005, The Killers performed on the London stage of the Live 8 concert, playing "All These Things That I've Done." Robbie Williamsincorporated the song's refrain "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier" into his own performance. Coldplay and U2 followed suit and, at their separate concerts played in Las Vegas, with The Killers in the crowd, incorporated the line into their songs "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face" and "Beautiful Day," respectively.
Sam's Town (2006–2007)
The Killers' second album, Sam's Town, was released in October 2006 under Island Def Jam Music Group. Brandon Flowers said thatSam's Town would be "one of the best albums people would remember 20 years from now", though the album received a mixed response from critics and fans. The album sold over 706,000 copies worldwide in the first week of release, with a number two debut on the Billboard chart. The record has been certified 4x Platinum in the United Kingdom and Platinum in the United States. The album produced four singles: "When You Were Young" released in September 2006, "Bones" which was released in November 2006, "Read My Mind" which was released in February 2007, and "For Reasons Unknown" which was released in June 2007.The Killers recorded a live session at Abbey Road Studios for Live from Abbey Road on November 29, 2006. They performed an almost totally unplugged set, which included a rendition of the Dire Straits hit "Romeo and Juliet". In December 2006 the band released a Christmas charity song, "A Great Big Sled", which benefited Product Red. In February 2007, The Killers attended the BRIT Awards in the United Kingdom, where they performed "When You Were Young". The band won two awards — Best International Group & International Album. In June 2007, The Killers headlined the iconic Glastonbury Festival.
Sawdust (2007–2008)
The band released a compilation album called Sawdust, containing B-sides, rarities, and some new material, in November 2007. Sawdust has been classified Platinum by the BPI. The album's first single "Tranquilize", a collaboration with Lou Reed, was released in October 2007. The album also contains the songs "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town", (a Kenny Rogers and The First Edition cover), "Romeo and Juliet", (a Dire Straits cover), and "Daddy's Eyes", a B-side from "Bones"/Best Buy Bonus Track to Sam's Town. The first pressing ofSawdust contained a rare demo version of "Move Away" which Brandon Flowers later stated was a mistake on the part of the band's record label; the proper version the group intended to put on the album was previously available on the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack is included on later pressings of Sawdust. The band released a cover version of Joy Division's "Shadowplay" on the American iTunes Store that same month. In a Rolling Stone magazine article, Sawdust was compared to the classic Smiths album Hatful of Hollow , they also released a second Christmas single titled "Don't Shoot Me Santa" this was again in aid of Product Red.
Day & Age (2008–2010)
In July 2005, The Killers performed on the London stage of the Live 8 concert, playing "All These Things That I've Done." Robbie Williamsincorporated the song's refrain "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier" into his own performance. Coldplay and U2 followed suit and, at their separate concerts played in Las Vegas, with The Killers in the crowd, incorporated the line into their songs "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face" and "Beautiful Day," respectively.
Sam's Town (2006–2007)
The Killers' second album, Sam's Town, was released in October 2006 under Island Def Jam Music Group. Brandon Flowers said thatSam's Town would be "one of the best albums people would remember 20 years from now", though the album received a mixed response from critics and fans. The album sold over 706,000 copies worldwide in the first week of release, with a number two debut on the Billboard chart. The record has been certified 4x Platinum in the United Kingdom and Platinum in the United States. The album produced four singles: "When You Were Young" released in September 2006, "Bones" which was released in November 2006, "Read My Mind" which was released in February 2007, and "For Reasons Unknown" which was released in June 2007.
The Killers recorded a live session at Abbey Road Studios for Live from Abbey Road on November 29, 2006. They performed an almost totally unplugged set, which included a rendition of the Dire Straits hit "Romeo and Juliet". In December 2006 the band released a Christmas charity song, "A Great Big Sled", which benefited Product Red. In February 2007, The Killers attended the BRIT Awards in the United Kingdom, where they performed "When You Were Young". The band won two awards — Best International Group & International Album. In June 2007, The Killers headlined the iconic Glastonbury Festival.
Sawdust (2007–2008)
The band released a compilation album called Sawdust, containing B-sides, rarities, and some new material, in November 2007. Sawdust has been classified Platinum by the BPI. The album's first single "Tranquilize", a collaboration with Lou Reed, was released in October 2007. The album also contains the songs "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town", (a Kenny Rogers and The First Edition cover), "Romeo and Juliet", (a Dire Straits cover), and "Daddy's Eyes", a B-side from "Bones"/Best Buy Bonus Track to Sam's Town. The first pressing ofSawdust contained a rare demo version of "Move Away" which Brandon Flowers later stated was a mistake on the part of the band's record label; the proper version the group intended to put on the album was previously available on the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack is included on later pressings of Sawdust. The band released a cover version of Joy Division's "Shadowplay" on the American iTunes Store that same month. In a Rolling Stone magazine article, Sawdust was compared to the classic Smiths album Hatful of Hollow , they also released a second Christmas single titled "Don't Shoot Me Santa" this was again in aid of Product Red.
The Killers finished working on a third album, which was released on November 24, 2008 in the UK and November 25, 2008 in North America. Brandon Flowers confirmed the album's title as Day & Age in an interview with NME.[26] They worked with Stuart Price who did the Thin White Duke remix of "Mr Brightside" and produced "Leave the Bourbon on the Shelf" and "Sweet Talk". The first single from the album was "Human", although originally planned for Sawdust, it was released on September 22, with the music video released on iTunes on October 16. Day & Age became the band's third studio album to reach number one in both the UK and Ireland, it reached number six on the Billboard 200 album chart. The band released a third Christmas single in December 2008, "Joseph, Better You Than Me". It features Elton John and Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys. Proceeds from the downloads will benefit Product Red.
During the summer of 2009 The Killers headlined a number of festivals across Europe including the Friday night show of 2009's Hard Rock Calling in Hyde Park, London , they also headlined American festivals Lollapalooza and Coachella for the first time. On July 5–6 at the Royal Albert Hall, London The Killers recorded their first live DVD. It was released in November.
UNICEF, MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) and the US Agency for International Development used a shortened version of the song "Goodnight, Travel Well" in a video to promote awareness of sex trafficking. The Killers also released a Christmas single in December 2009 called "Happy Birthday Guadalupe", and in November 2009 their song "A White Demon Love Song" was added to the New Moon soundtrack.
In late February 2010, The Sun (a British newspaper) published the story that Flowers' mother had died after a two year fight with brain cancer. This meant a premature closing of their Day and Age tour cancelling the Asian dates. Two Australian dates in Sydney and Perth were cancelled, however both the Gold Coast and Melbourne concerts went ahead, with the Day & Age tour finally coming to a close in Melbourne on February 21 as the headline act at the Good Vibrations Festival at Flemington Racecourse.
Hiatus and fourth studio album (2010–present)
In January 2010, the band announced that they will take a short break after being on the road for the better part of six years.
The band, invited by US President Barack Obama, played on the White House South Lawn on July 4, 2010 for the second annual "Salute To The Military" United Service Organizationsconcert as part of Independence Day celebrations, which Flowers described as a "monumental honour". Despite their hiatus, the band got together to play "Human", "Somebody Told Me", "Mr. Brightside", "A Dustland Fairytale", "God Bless America/Read My Mind" and "When You Were Young".
As of June 15, 2010, Flowers has confirmed that The Killers have set a date to return to the studio and work on a follow-up album to Day & Age.
In an interview in August 2010, Brandon Flowers was quoted as saying that he had "saved an ace" in regards to a song he had written for his solo album Flamingo, but later decided he would save it for the next Killers album. In an interview with Zane Lowe for BBC Radio 1, Brandon said The Killers would get back together to work on the next record "as soon as possible in 2011." Also in an interview with Q Magazine, Flowers said he expected the new Killers album to be out around 2012.
