Killers, The
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Contents |
Info
Website: http://www.islandrecords.com#thekillers
http://www.myspace.com/thekillers
Genres: Rock
Styles: Alternative Pop-Rock, New Wave-Post-Punk Revival
Buy Killers, The Music on Ebay
UK Charts (Updated Until December 31 2005)
Highest Place In Charts (Albums): 1
Total Weeks In Charts (Albums): 77
Highest Place In Charts (Singles): 3
Total Weeks In Charts (Singles): 31
Members (Alphabetical Order)
Discography
Go to Killers, The Discography
Lyrics And Music Videos
Go to Killers, The Lyrics and Music Videos
Posters
Go to Killers, The Posters
Ringtones
Go to Killers, The Ringtones
Buy Music Online
Go to Buy Killers, The Music Online
Biography
The Killers are a rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, who formed in 2002. The band is comprised of Brandon Flowers (vocals, synthesizer), Dave Keuning (guitar), Mark Stoermer (bass), and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (drums and vocals). They released their debut album Hot Fuss in 2004. Their sophomore album, Sam's Town, is due out on October 2nd and 3rd in the UK and USA, respectively.
History
In 2001, Brandon Flowers was abandoned by the first band that he was in, a synth pop band known as Blush Response, after he declined to move with the rest of them to Los Angeles, California. After the split, Flowers responded to an ad in the Las Vegas Weekly by future guitarist David Keuning, about forming a band which was inspired by bands such as Oasis, The Cure, New Order, and The Smiths. They met and immediately clicked, and set out to find a drummer and a bassist. (The first bassist was Dave's roommate and the first drummer would later sue the band, claiming that he wrote "Mr. Brightside".) Ronnie Vannucci and Mark Stoermer were both in other bands when they were approached by Brandon and Dave with an offer to join The Killers. After a watching a few of their early shows, Ronnie Vannucci and Mark Stoermer filled the remaining posts.
While thinking of band names, they brainstormed the name "The Genius Sex Poets", which was featured on the bass drum in the American music video version of Mr. Brightside. The band came up with the idea for their name from a New Order video titled "Crystal". It was featured on the bass drum of a fictional band in the video (although The Killers in the New Order video "Crystal" included a female). Incidentally, Brandon Flowers went on to take the stage at the 2005 T in the Park festival and perform "Crystal" with his idols, New Order.
Before they became a band, all four of them had various jobs. Flowers, who had dropped out of college, was a bellhop for a while at the Gold Coast Hotel. David Keuning, who was originally from Pella, Iowa and had dropped out of Kirkwood Community College and then the University of Iowa, and moved to Las Vegas in January of 2000, worked at a Banana Republic store, but could not stand the vast amounts of hats; Mark Stoermer worked as a medical courier delivering various medical supplies and was a student of philosophy at UNLV; Ronnie Vannucci was a student of classical percussion at UNLV and worked as a photographer at the Little Chapel of Flowers and as a pedicab driver at the Desert Passage mall inside the Aladdin Hotel.
UK magazine NME was an early champion of the band - reviewing early UK shows. The band became more well-known when they released their album Hot Fuss on June 7, 2004 in the United Kingdom (on London-based indie record label Lizard King Records) and June 15 in the United States on Island Records. They released their Japanese and French versions of the same album in late 2004. Their first single, "Somebody Told Me," was released on that same year. The band also had chart success with their singles "Mr. Brightside", which reached the Top 10 in the UK when released, and "All These Things That I've Done". The main bulk of their mainstream success came when they scored a number three chart position with their re-release of "Somebody Told Me". Such success spawned feuds with The Bravery and Fall Out Boy, both fellow label-mates for Island Records (see Controversy below).
Much of The Killers' music is based on British influences and on the music of the 1980s, particularly New Wave music. Brandon Flowers has also said in interviews that the larger than life sound of many of the band's songs is due to the influence of living in Las Vegas, a city where everything is about flash and who can top who. Despite their appreciation for the wave of post-punk bands that sprung up during the 80s, the band members are also avowed fans of David Bowie, Morrissey, Queen and U2, and the influence of these bands can easily be felt in some of their songs. Brandon Flowers occasionally sings with a faux British accent.
On December 1, 2004 they appeared as guests on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and on December 2, 2004, they made a guest appearance on the FOX television series The O.C.. On January 15, 2005 they were the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. In the past, they have appeared as musical guests on: Jimmy Kimmel Live, Pepsi Smash, The Late Show with David Letterman, and in Britain they have appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and Later with Jools Holland. Most recently, on April 14, 2005, they appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. On May 12, 2005 and October 10, 2005, they performed throughout MTV Presents: The Next Generation Xbox Revealed. They performed for an episode of Austin City Limits that aired on November 5, 2005.
The Killers performed at the 2005 Glastonbury Festival on the Pyramid Stage, on Friday Night, after they turned down the Sunday headline spot when Kylie Minogue cancelled after being diagnosed with breast cancer. They turned down the offer, stating that they didn't think they had enough songs to fill a headline slot. However, they attracted one of the biggest crowds at the festival. They also performed at the T in the Park festival in Balado, Scotland on July 9, 2005, during which, following The Killers' own set, Brandon Flowers performed "Crystal" with New Order — "Crystal" being the music video from which the band took their name. Soon, they were jetting off to Vienna with U2, in order to support them on the European leg of their current Vertigo Tour.
The Killers performed on the London stage of the Live 8 concert on July 2, 2005. They performed their song "All These Things That I've Done". To their surprise, Robbie Williams (who performed after them) 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, they incorporated that famous line into their songs. Coldplay sang it into "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" and U2 sang it with "Beautiful Day."
After seeing footage for director Richard Kelly's upcoming film Southland Tales, the band agreed to allow Kelly to use "All These Things I've Done" for the movie's soundtrack. The song was also used in the final scene and closing credits of the 2005 movie, The Matador.
Flood and Alan Moulder are producing The Killers' second album, Sam's Town, to be released October 3, 2006. Recent talks with BBC radio as well as NME magazine have confirmed song titles such as "When You Were Young", "Why Do I Keep Counting?", "Bones", "Uncle Johnny Did Cocaine, "Bling" and "Sam's Town". First single "When You Were Young" debuted on radio stations in late July.
On 24th July 2006, Billboard.com reports the Killers debuted their second album, Sam's Town, for the media. According to the preview, the album's sound stays fairly true to that which made the Killers famous worldwide, while incorporating new sounds reminiscent of the Verve, David Bowie, and Peter Gabriel. The album will be accompanied by a European tour in October and a US tour in November, which will feature an additional band member to better recreate the sounds on the record. In an interview with KROQ, The Killers confirmed that they shot, and filmed their new music video, "When You Were Young", near Mexico City. The video will air on MTV in late August.
Controversy
Since going platinum, the band (and principally Flowers) has managed to incite a few rivalries - most notably with The Bravery and Fall Out Boy, who are both labelmates (Island Records). Flowers has said that these bands, especially The Bravery, are riding on the coattails of the success of The Killers. However, it has been speculated that it was a publicity stunt to create momentum for The Bravery's self-titled debut album. Additionally, in an article of NME, Flowers claimed Fall Out Boy was hogging the A&R man both bands share, setting off their bassist Pete Wentz. However, after Wentz made a couple of rants on his blog in September of 2005, he offered a virtual cease-fire.
Brandon Flowers, in interviews with several music magazines, claimed that the song "Where Is She?" was based on Jodi Jones, a Scottish girl whose boyfriend, Luke Mitchell, was found guilty of her murder. Many, especially in Scotland, saw this as an insult to her memory, and Flowers (speaking for the band) gave a formal apology, telling the Sunday Herald, "I came across kind of badly. I'd hate to cause offence or further hurt because of it... there's no way on earth I could ever possibly pretend to know what it must actually feel like to suffer such a thing, and I wouldn't presume to appropriate any other individual's feelings for a song."
In February 2006 The Killers' former manager, Braden Merrick, filed a lawsuit alleging breach of contract when he was fired in May of 2005. Merrick's contract was to have run through 2007 and the two sides had been negotiating a settlement before the lawsuit was filed.
| Artist | Killers, The + |
| Artist Type | Band + |
| Genre | Rock + |
| Page Type | Main Info Page + |
| RID | 832,820 + |
| Style | New Wave-Post-Punk Revival +, and Alternative Pop-Rock + |
