The Killers were named after a fictional band that appears in the music video for the New Order song “Crystal.”
Brandon Flowers was originally in another Las Vegas band called Blush, but was forced to leave the group after he refused to move to Los Angeles with the rest of his group members in 2001.
The Killers were started by Brandon Flowers and David Keuning who then recruited Ronnie Vannucci Jr. and Mark Stoermer to join the group.
The band mostly played small clubs in Las Vegas and quickly garnered the attention of Alex Gilbert, a representative for Warner Bros UK. While his label wasn’t interested in the band, he showed the demo to a friend back in England who worked for a label called Lizard King who signed the band. The label is now named Marrakesh Records.
The first album from the band, Hot Fuss, was released in 2004 and the record became a triple platinum hit practically overnight. After about half a year, the band was already making cameos on popular American shows like The O.C.. (Photo Via Sleepin’ Beauty [Flickr])
If you’ve heard the line “I’ve got soul but I’m not a soldier,” you can thank The Killers. They first used that line in their song “All of These Things That I’ve Done,” and was quickly borrowed by Robbie Williams, U2 and Coldplay.
When the album Sam’s Town came out, Brandon Flowers put his foot in the mouth before the release by promising it would be “one of the best albums of the past twenty years.” It received very mixed reviews by fans and critics alike. Of course, sales were still good.
In 2007, the band released Sawdust. The first pressing had a demo version of “Move Away,” but it was said to be a mistake by the record label and since then, it was replaced by a different version of the same track.
Brandon Flowers is a practicing Mormon and the group has stayed tied in with their religious beliefs, including the release of three Christmas songs over the last three years.
Throughout the years, the band has worked with such big-name musicians as Lou Reed, Elton John and Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys.
There are some minor controversies between the band and other groups on their US label, Island Records. Flowers accused bands such as Fall Out Boy and The Bravery of riding on his group’s coattails. Since then he has apologized.
The next album the group is coming out with will be all cover tracks, including covers of Tom Waits, Rod Stewart and Genesis.
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