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The Killers
| The Killers | |
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 The Killers in concert |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
| Genres | New Wave[1] Post-punk revival Heartland rock Alternative rock Indie rock |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Labels | Island, Vertigo, Marrakesh |
| Website | thekillersmusic.com |
| Members | |
| Brandon Flowers Dave Keuning Mark Stoermer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. |
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The Killers are an American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada that was formed in 2001, by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards) and Dave Keuning (guitar, backing vocals). Mark Stoermer (bass, backing vocals) and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (drums, percussion) would complete the current line-up of the band in 2002.
As an alternative rock band, The Killers draw some of their influences from the music styles of the 1980s.[citation needed] 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 unreleased material, was released in 2007. Their third studio album, Day & Age, produced by Stuart Price, was released in 2008.
The band has sold over six million albums in the United States, over five million albums in the United Kingdom and over 15 million worldwide.[2]
Contents[show] |
[edit] History
[edit] Formation (2001–2002)
In 2001, Brandon Flowers was abandoned by his first band, a synthpop band known as Blush Response,[3] after he declined to move with the rest of them to Los Angeles, California. After seeing Oasis play at the Hard Rock Hotel, Flowers decided he wanted to be in a rock band and began searching for a guitar player, he eventually came across an ad posted in a Vegas newspaper by Dave Keuning who shared similar musical influences. The pair began practicing and writing together and by the end of 2001 they had recorded a demo tape (which featured the early versions of "Mr. Brightside" and "Under the Gun") with the help of Keuning's flatmate Dell Star on Bass and a local drummer named Matt Norcross who had both joined the band. Keuning and Flowers played their first live show together at the Cafe Espresso Roma in Las Vegas in early 2002. By the Summer of 2002 Norcross had been fired and was replaced by 16 year old drummer Brian Havens , he however also parted company with the band after only a couple of shows, soon after Bassist Dell Star quit the band due to personal reasons. By the fall of 2002, bass player Mark Stoermer and drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. who had both befriended Keuning and Flowers while playing with other bands on the live circuit in Las Vegas had joined the official line up. The band initially practiced in Vannucci's garage as he was the only member who owned a house, after he moved they began sneaking into the band room of UNLV (where Vannucci was studying percussion) at night to practice. The band claim that they wrote much of debut album Hot Fuss during these sessions including hit single "Somebody Told Me". [4][5] The name The Killers comes from the bass drum of a fictional band in the music video for the New Order song "Crystal".[3]
[edit] Getting Signed (2003-2004)
Initially, The Killers played at small clubs in Las Vegas. They began to send demo tapes to major record labels in the US; most of the record labels turned them down but they were invited to perform at a showcase for Warner Bros. Though Warner did not like the band they did catch the eye of Niall Norbury, a British representative for the label, Norbury 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."[6] The Killers signed with the British label in July 2003.[7]
On the 19 August 2003 , "Mr. Brightside" premiered on DJ Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show in the UK.[8] 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, on 29th of September 2003 they released Mr. Brightside on a limited number of CD's and Vinyl's in the UK, around 1,000 copies sold out within a week. As a result of the buzz from the UK, upon returning to the US they were invited to play at the ASCAP CMJ Music Marathon in New York City[9] many labels were keen to sign the band afterwards and they eventually agreed to sign with Island Def Jam in early 2004.[5]
[edit] 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.[10] Hot Fuss reached Number 1 in the UK and has been classified 6x Platinum by the BPI.[11] 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.[12] The band also had chart success with its singles "Mr. Brightside," which reached the Top 10 in the UK and US,[13] "All These Things That I've Done,"[14] "Somebody Told Me," and "Smile Like You Mean It." [10]
In July 2005, The Killers performed on the London stage of the Live 8 concert, playing "All These Things That I've Done." Robbie Williams incorporated the song's refrain "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier" into his own performance.[15] 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.[16]
[edit] Sam's Town (2006–2007)
The Killers' second album, Sam's Town, was released in October 2006 under Island Def Jam Music Group.[17] Brandon Flowers said that Sam's Town would be "one of the best albums people would remember 20 years from now";[18] though the album received a mixed response from critics and fans[19] it was voted the "most underrated album of the decade" by Rolling Stone readers in Dec 2009.[20] The album sold over 706,000 copies worldwide in the first week of release, with a number two debut on the Billboard chart.[21] The record has been certified 4x Platinum in the United Kingdom, Platinum in the United States, and 2x Platinum in both Australia and Canada. The album produced four singles: "When You Were Young" released in September 2006 (Platinum in the United States, Diamond in Brazil), "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.[22] 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.[23] In 2007, The Killers headlined the iconic Madison Square Garden for the first time as well as Glastonbury Festival.[24]
[edit] 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.[25] The album's first single "Tranquilize", a collaboration with Lou Reed, was released in October 2007.[25] 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 of Sawdust 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.[26] The band released a cover version of Joy Division's "Shadowplay" on the American iTunes Store that same month.[27] 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.
[edit] Day & Age (2008–2010)
The Killers' third album, Day & Age, was released on November 24, 2008 in the UK and November 25, 2008 in North America. 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" which was released on September 22 and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA.[28] 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.[29] It has also been certified 4x Platinum by the BPI. 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.[30][31] The Killers also released a forth 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.
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, "Live from the Royal Albert Hall". It was released in November and played at various cinemas across the globe. Live from Royal Albert Hall was certified 4x Platinum by the BPI (UK) and Platinum by the RIAA (US).
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.[32]
[edit] Hiatus (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.[33][34]
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 Organizations concert as part of Independence Day celebrations, which Flowers described as a "monumental honour".[35] 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".[36] The band also played at a progressive campaign rally on July 8, 2010 in Nevada for Obama and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid who was up for re-election. The Killers played an acoustic version of "Read My Mind" and did a folksy rendition of the state song, "Home Means Nevada".
The Killers released their fifth Christmas single, titled "Boots" on 30 November in North America, despite the band taking a break.[37]
They are scheduled to be the inaugural headliner of the new International Lollapalooza Festival in Santiago, Chile on April 2, 2011.[38] They will also play the season closing Top of the Mountain concert in Ischgl, Austria on April 30th 2011.[39]
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