The Killers Biography
Summary
"The Killers" are an American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, most famous for their hit singles 'Somebody Told Me', 'Mr. Brightside', 'When You Were Young' and 'Read My Mind'. Formed in 2002 and made up of Brandon Flowers (vocals, keyboards), Dave Keuning (guitar, vocals), Mark Stoermer (bass guitar, vocals) and Ronnie Vannucci Jr., (drums, percussion), they released their debut album, "Hot Fuss", in 2004. Their second album, "Sam's Town", was released in early October 2006. Their first two albums to date have sold in excess of 9,000,000 copies.
History
Formation and early success
In 2001, 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. Shortly thereafter, Flowers attended an Oasis concert, and, realizing that he wanted to make the transition from a keyboard band to a true rock band, began searching for a guitarist. It is said that between then and his first meeting with David Keuning, he was rejected by a potential guitarist who claimed that 'this 'Duran Duran' crap wasn't going to go anywhere.' (After gaining his fame, Flowers was waited on by that same guitarist in a Las Vegas restaurant.) He then met Keuning after responding to an ad that Keuning had placed in the paper that listed, among other things, Smashing Pumpkins and Oasis as influences. The two hit it off immediately and began rehearsing. They were joined by a bassist (Keuning's roommate) and a drummer.
Both bassist and drummer quickly moved on to other things, and the drummer later sued the band, claiming that he wrote 'Mr. Brightside.' After their departure, Vannucci and Stoermer (who were both in other bands at the time; Vannucci was drummer in a melodic indierock group called Expert On October, featuring current backup guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Ted Sablay on bass) were approached by Flowers and Keuning with an offer to join 'The Killers,' a name which comes from the bass drum of a band in a New Order video for their song 'Crystal.'
After watching a few of their early shows, Vannucci acknowledged that the group was very green and would need a lot of work to become a polished act and their fan base was scarce. However, Vannucci did eventually join the band.
Stoermer was the last to join. He filled the remaining post at least partly because he and Flowers had quickly become friends. They played their first gig as the new band at a club in Vegas called The Junkyard. After Vannucci sold his house the band found themselves without a garage to rehearse in and took to sneaking into UNLV's music rooms, where Vannucci was attending college, in order to practice.
Initially, the Killers played at small clubs in Las Vegas, Nevada. With the band's lineup stable and their repertoire of songs expanding, the band began to attract attention from talent bookers, local agents, major label, scouts - and a UK representative for Warner Bros. Though the Warner Bros rep 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 then signed that summer to a British label.
"Hot Fuss"
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. 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.' However, their main mainstream success came when they scored a number three chart position with their re-release of Somebody Told Me.
"Sam's Town"
The Killers' second album, "Sam's Town", was released on October 2, 2006 in the UK, and October 3 in the USA under Island Universal. The album polarised many fans due to its left-field approach in its songwriting and production, many people who enjoyed Hot Fuss were shocked by the band's new direction. Brandon Flowers said that "Sam's Town" will be 'one of the most experimental albums of the past twenty years,' though the album has received a mixed response from critics and fans. The first single from Sam's Town 'When You Were Young' debuted on radio stations in late July 2006. In late August 2006, it was offered as a downloadable track before the album's debut. The single then entered the chart on downloads alone at #5 and the following week on its official release went to #2 in the UK. It was unable to knock the Scissor Sisters off the top spot. Their single, 'Bones,' was the second video from the band, and was directed by Tim Burton.
Promoting "Sam's Town", the band returned as the musical guest for the 32nd season premiere of "Saturday Night Live" on September 30, 2006. They performed 'When You Were Young' and 'Bones.' The album sold over 700,000 copies worldwide in the first week of release, with a No. 2 debut on the United World chart. The album has produced four singles in the United Kingdom and United States: 'When You Were Young,' 'Bones,' 'Read My Mind,' and 'For Reasons Unknown.'
Brandon Flowers announced on August 22, 2007 in Belfast, Northern Ireland at the T Vital Festival that it would be the last time that the album 'Sam's Town' would be played in Europe.
"Sawdust"
The compilation album called "Sawdust", containing B-sides, rarities, and some new material, was released on November 12, 2007.
The album's first single 'Tranquilize', a collaboration with Lou Reed, was released October 12, 2007 in the UK and on October 22, 2007 in the U.S. The band also released their cover of Joy Division's 'Shadowplay' on the U.S. iTunes Store on October 9, 2007. The band just recently released the video for 'Tranquilize' at Yahoo Music. Lou Reed also makes an appearance on the video.
The album also contains the songs 'Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town' (a The First Edition cover), 'Romeo and Juliet' (a Dire Straits cover) and a new version of 'Move Away' (previously available on the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack). One of the previously unreleased tracks on "Sawdust" is the highly anticipated 'Leave the Bourbon On The Shelf'.
The Killers will also release Christmas single called 'Don't Shoot Me Santa' on December 1, 2007. The song will, like 'A Great Big Sled', benefit Bono's Product Red campaign to fight AIDS in Africa. The recording will not be included on Sawdust.
The new album Sawdust was leaked over the Internet on November 8, 2007, two days before its worldwide release.
In an interview with Billboard, Flowers said the new sound of the album could be inspired by the dance-inspired Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix of 'Mr. Brightside', with Flowers hinting that the band could be returning to that sound.
Influences
Much of The Killers' music is based on British influences (indeed, the band is often described as the 'Best British band to have come out of America') and on the music of the 1980s, particularly New Wave. 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 whom. They appreciate post-punk bands that sprang up during the 80s such as Joy Division and they are also avowed fans of New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Dire Straits, Mayfield, David Bowie, The Smiths, Morrissey, Depeche Mode, U2, Queen, Oasis, and The Beatles.
Their second album was said to be greatly influenced by Bruce Springsteen's music and lyrics.
Notable appearances
On January 15, 2005 and September 30, 2006, The Killers were the musical guest on "Saturday Night Live". In the past, they have appeared as musical guests on: "Jimmy Kimmel Live", "The Late Show with David Letterman", "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno", and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien". In Britain, they have appeared on "Top of the Pops", "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross" and "Later with Jools Holland". They performed for an episode of "Austin City Limits" that aired on November 5, 2005. The Killers also performed in an episode of "The O.C".
The Killers were featured at the Launch Event for the Xbox 360 on May 12, 2005 hosted by actor Elijah Wood on MTV.
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 canceled 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, Flowers performed 'Crystal' with New Order. They then jetted off to Vienna with U2, in order to support them on the European leg of their Vertigo Tour. They also appeared at the Carling Weekend as second on the bill to The Pixies.
The Killers performed on the London stage of the Live 8 concert on July 2, 2005. They performed '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 the songs 'God Put a Smile Upon Your Face' and 'Beautiful Day,' respectively.
The Killers recorded a live session at Abbey Road Studios for Live From Abbey Road on 29th November 2006. They performed an almost totally unplugged set which included a rendition of the Dire Straits' hit Romeo and Juliet.
On February 14 2007, Valentines Day, The Killers attended The BRIT Awards in England, and performed 'When You Were Young'. The band were also up for 2 awards- International Group & International Album. The band won both awards, defeating the Scissor Sisters and Gnarls Barkley.
The Killers headlined Saturday June 23 festivities at Glastonbury 2007 and at Hovefestivalen in mid-2007 as well as V Festival in August, the Austin City Limits Festival in September 2007 and Brazilian Tim Festival in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Curitiba in October. They were also headliners on the Main stage of T In The Park in Balado, Scotland on 7 July, 2007 and at Oxegen 2007 in Ireland on 8 July, 2007. Additionally, they headlined day two of Tennents ViTal in Northern Ireland, on August 22 2007, as well as day two of The Echo Project in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 13 2007 and lastly in the Argentinian 'Yeah Festival' made in Buenos Aires the Friday November 2 and in the 'Fenix Festival' with Travis and Starsailor in Santiago, Chile November 4 of 2007.
The Killers covered the 1979 Joy Division song 'Shadowplay' on the soundtrack of the 2007 movie "Control.
They have also played at Madison Square Garden (located in New York City, NY) on April 28, 2007.
Controversy
Since going platinum, the band (and principally Flowers) has incited 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. Additionally, in an article of NME, Flowers claimed Fall Out Boy was hogging the A&R man both bands share, setting off Fall Out Boy's bassist Pete Wentz. However, after Wentz made a couple of rants on his blog in September of 2005, he offered a virtual cease-fire. Flowers has since apologized to The Bravery, Fall Out Boy, and Panic! at the Disco, saying 'I'd like to take it all back - these people are just doing what they want to do, just like I am,' and that he was 'not proud of' his occasional jealousy.
Also in NME, Keuning went on record as saying 'All those bands, Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, they are only influenced by each other and blink-182. How can that be a good thing?' Panic! at the Disco made an appearance on the November 14, 2006 episode of Total Request Live, and made it appear that they don't seem to hold a grudge against the Killers, saying that they 'love the new album.'
Brandon Flowers, in interviews with several music magazines, claimed that the song 'Where Is She?' was based on Jodi Jones, a Scottish teenager 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 offense 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.
Flowers has recently gone on record claiming that Green Day's politically driven concept album "American Idiot" displays 'calculated Anti-Americanism.' He explained that he has problems with the album content itself and also the fact that the band's recent live DVD, "Bullet in a Bible", was filmed overseas. The taping of the concert, featured on Bullet in a Bible, shows thousands of English fans singing along to 'American Idiot.' He said, 'I just thought it was really cheap. To go to a place like England or Germany and sing that song - those kids aren't taking it the same way that he meant it. And he Billie Joe Armstrong knew it.' Stating that he feels Green Day's DVD is a bit of a stunt, he went on to say that he feels The Killers' most recent release, "Sam's Town", is a much more accurate representation of American culture.
Discography
Albums
"Hot Fuss"
"Sam's Town"
Compilation albums
"Sawdust"
Awards and nominations
"Grammys:"
"Billboard Music Awards:"
"MTV Video Music Awards:"
"MTV Europe Music Awards:"
"BRIT Awards"
"Shockwaves NME Awards:"
"Miscellaneous:"
References
(Genre June 05) , background
(QVegas) , background
Dubtitled, background
(List of awards Mark Needham (music producer) has won with the Killers)
(Billboard.com) , Full "Sam's Town" tracklisting and album preview
External links
(The Killers Official Site) , from Island Records
(The Killers official site (U.K.)) , from the Vertigo label
(The Killers Complete Discography) The only complete listing / discography of all The Killers releases World-Wide
(The Killers Exclusive Performance & Behind the Scenes footage)
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about The Killers.
