The Killers – American Alternative Rock Band

The Killers is an American alternative rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. Formed in 2002, the group consists of Brandon Flowers (vocals, keyboards), Dave Keuning (guitar, vocals), Mark Stoermer (bass guitar, vocals) and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (percussion, drums).

Part of the post-punk revival movement, The Killers draw influence from music styles of the 1980s and 1990s. 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 the compilation album Sawdust containing B-sides, rarities, and new material, was released in 2007.

The band’s first two albums have sold in excess of 12 million copies worldwide combined and their third album, Day & Age, produced by Stuart Price, was released in November 2008.

History

Formation

In 2001, 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 The Sun newspaper. Ronnie Vannucci Jr. and Mark Stoermer were approached by Flowers and Keuning with an offer to join “The Killers”, a name which comes from the bass drum of a fictional band in the music video for the New Order song “Crystal”.

Initially, The Killers played at large clubs in Las Vegas, Nevada. With the band’s lineup stable and its repertoire of songs expanding, the band attracted the attention of a British representative for Warner Bros. Though the Warner Bros representative passed on the band, he took the demo back with him, showing it to a friend who worked at UK indie label Lizard King. The Killers signed that summer to the British label.

Hot Fuss (2003–2005)

The Killers released their album Hot Fuss in June 2004 in the United Kingdom on London-based indie record label Lizard King Records, and in the United States on Island Records. Hot Fuss has been classified 4x Platinum by the BPI and 3x Platinum by RIAA. The band also had chart success with its singles “Mr. Brightside”, which reached the Top 10 in the UK when released, and “All These Things That I’ve Done”. However, their main mainstream success came when they scored a number three chart position with their re-release of “Somebody Told Me”.

The members of the band appeared as themselves in the episode “The New Era” of the teen television drama The O.C., which aired in December 2004. In July 2005, The Killers performed on the London stage of the Live 8 concert. They performed “All These Things That I’ve Done”. To their surprise, Robbie Williams incorporated 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.

Hot Fuss was also released as a special edition with a black version of the original cover and includes additional tracks later re-released in Sawdust.

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 that Sam’s Town would be “one of the best albums of the past twenty years”, though the album received a mixed response from critics and fans. The album sold over 700,000 copies worldwide in the first week of release, with a number two debut on the Billboard chart. The record sold over a million copies by January 2007. The album produced four singles in the United Kingdom and United States: “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 first single from Sam’s Town, “When You Were Young”, entered the chart on downloads alone at number five, and the following week on its official release went to number two on the UK Singles Chart.

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. This was followed by the release of “Don’t Shoot Me Santa” in November 2007. 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 – International Group & International Album.

Sawdust and Day & Age (2007–present)

The band released a compilation album called Sawdust, containing B-sides, rarities, and some new material, in November 2007. Sawdust has been classified Gold 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 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. The band released a cover version of Joy Division’s “Shadowplay” on the American iTunes Store that same month.

The Killers finished working on a third album, which was released on November 24, 2008 in the UK and North America. Brandon Flowers confirmed the album’s title as Day & Age in an interview with NME. 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. The band is releasing a third Christmas single in 2008, “Joseph, Better You Than Me”. It features Elton John and will be available on a number of download sites. Proceeds from the downloads will benefit Product Red.

Other Information

• Origin: Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
• Genres: Alternative rock, post-punk revival
• Years active: 2002–present
• Labels: Island, Vertigo, Lizard King Records
• Website: TheKillersMusic.com

Discography

• Hot Fuss (2004)
• Sam’s Town (2006)
• Sawdust (2007)
• Day & Age (2008)

Artist | The Killers | Music Crunch | It’s All About the Music, and the people behind it

Tags: alternative rock band, london, The Killers, Warner Bros