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Hot Fuss Background: American alternative rock band The Killers was founded by Brandon Flowers (lead vocalist and keyboardist) and Dave Keuning (guitarist) in 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The group also consists of Mark Stoermer on bass and Ronnie Vannucci, Jr. on drums. Initially gaining followings in the U.K., where they were signed to the indie label Lizard King, The Killers achieved mainstream popularity with their debut album “Hot Fuss” (2004), which went multi platinum in the U.K. and U.S. and received a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Album. The group went on to release the studio albums “Sam's Town” (2006) and “Day & Age” (2008), a compilation album titled “Sawdust” (2007) and a live album named “Live from the Royal Albert Hall” (2009). All three studio albums rose to No. 1 in the U.K. and made the Top 10 on the Billboard 200. The group has also released 18 singles, including the Grammy nominees “Somebody Told Me” (2005), “Mr. Brightside” (2006), “All These Things That I've Done” (2006) and “When You Were Young” (2007).
Childhood and Family: After dropping out of college, Nevada born vocalist and keyboardist Brandon Flowers (born on June 21, 1981) worked briefly as a bellboy at the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas before joining his first band, Blush Response. In 2001, however, he was fired by the band because he declined to move with the rest of the band to Los Angeles. Brandon remained in Las Vegas where he quickly noticed an advertisement placed by guitarist and Oasis fanatic Dave Keuning (born on March 28, 1976, in Iowa) in a Las Vegas magazine. He replied to the ad and the two began practicing and writing together. They performed with different bassists and drummers before bassist Mark Stoermer (born on June 28, 1977), a former trumpeter in the Chaparral High School Jazz ensemble who also played guitar in local Las Vegas bands, and drummer Ronnie Vannucci, Jr. (born on February 15, 1976), a classical percussion major at UNLV, joined the group in late 2002 to complete the quartet. The name The Killers is derived from the bass drum of a fictional band in a music video for the New Order song “Crystal.”
Career: The Killers began playing small clubs in Las Vegas where they made demo tapes and sent them to major record labels. Although they dealt with a series of rejections, the band did attract the attention of Alex Gilbert, a British representative for Warner Bros., who brought home the demo and showed it to a friend who worked at the London based independent label Lizard King Records. The label signed The Killers in July 2003. After the premiere of “Mr. Brightside” on DJ Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show in the U.K. in August 2003, The Killers began playing clubs and bars in London and gained positive reviews for their performances. Their fan base grew rapidly in the U.K., but the band did not begin to spread their popularity to the U.S. until they landed a prime spot at the annual CMJ Music Marathon in New York City. Before long, The Killers were signed by Island Def Jam. The debut studio album, “Hot Fuss,” was released in the U.K. on June 7, 2004, under Lizard King/Mercury/Vertigo and the U.S. on June 15, 2004, on Island. It rose to No. 1 on the U.K. Albums chart and was certified 6X platinum by BPI. The album also topped the albums charts in Australia, Argentina, Belgium and Ireland and made the Top 10 on the U.S. Billboard 200 (#7). “Hot Fuss” was nominated for a 2005 Grammy nomination for Best Rock Album. “Hot Fuss” spawned four singles. The first single, “Somebody Told Me,” (2004) went to No. 3 on the U.K. Singles Chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks and No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was nominated for Grammys in 2005 for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and earned the Best Alternative/Rock Dance Track nomination at the 2005 International Dance Music Awards. On May 24, 2004, the group re-released “Mr. Brightside” in the U.K. as the second single from the debut album. The song rose to the Top 10 on the U.K. Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100. It also went to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rocks Tracks and No. 5 on the Billboard Pop 100. “Mr. Brightside” received a 2006 Grammy nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, and MTV Video Music nominations for Best Rock Video, Best Group Video, Best New Artist in a Video (won) and Best Art Direction, to name a few. “All These Things That I've Done,” written by Brandon Flowers, peaked at No. 74 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 18 on the U.K. Singles Chart. It was nominated for a 2006 Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The fourth single, “Smile Like You Mean It,” (the third in the US) made the Top 20 on the U.K. Singles Chart (#11) and the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks (#15). “Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll” (2005) was included in the U.S. limited edition version of “Hot Fuss” (also the UK and Australia) where it replaced “Change Your Mine.” Despite not officially a single in the U.S., the song rose to No. 13 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart and No. 71 on the Billboard Pop 100. In addition to the awards and nominations mentioned earlier, The Killers were handed several awards during 2004-2005. The band won a Meteor Ireland Music for Best Live Performance Visiting Act, an mtvU Woodie for The Breaking Woodie (Best Emerging Artist), a NARM for Pop/Rock Breakout Artist of the Year, a World Music for World's Best Selling New Group and a Shockwaves NME (UK) for Best International Band. The group also received BRIT nominations for International Breakthrough Act and Best International Album for “Hot Fuss.” In 2006, The Killers resurfaced with the album “Sam's Town,” which was released on October 2 in the U.K. on Vertigo Records and the next day in the U.S. on Island. The album went to the top of the albums charts in the U.K., Ireland, New Zealand, Belgium and Argentina and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. It was certified 4X platinum in the U.K. and platinum in the U.S. and sold over 4 million units worldwide. The album received a 2007 BRIT Award for Best International Album, a MTV Australian nomination for Album of the Year and a Shockwaves NME nomination for Best Album. The lead single, “When You Were Young,” (September 2006) rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks and peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the U.K. Singles Chart. It was nominated for 2007 Grammy Awards for Best Rock Song and Best Short Form Music Video and won a Q Award for Best Video. The follow up single, “Bones,” (November 2006) peaked at No. 15 in the U.K. and No. 21 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Track Charts. It won a Shockwaves NME for Best Video. “Read My Mind,” released as the third single in the U.K. in February 2007, went to No. 15 on the U.K. Singles chart and No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also charted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play and the Billboard Hot Dance Airplay and No. 8 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks. It was nominated for a 2008 International Dance Music award for Best Alternative/Rock Dance Track. A remix of the song was included on the original soundtrack of the NBC television series “Friday Night Lights” and was nominated for a People's Choice in the category of Favorite Song from a Soundtrack. The U.K. fourth and final single, “For Reasons Unknown,” (June 2007) peaked at No. 53 on the U.K. Singles chart. The Killers also won a 2006 MTV Europe Music for Best Rock Group and the Best International Group Award at the 2007 BRIT Awards. “Sawdust,” the group's first compilation album, hit various music markets in the U.S. between November 9 and November 13, 2007. It debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 and sold over 82,000 copies during its first week of release. In the UK, the album peaked at No. 7 and was certified platinum by BPI. “Sawdust” was nominated for a 2008 Shockwaves NME for Best Album Artwork and a 2008 NME for Indie/Alternative Album of the Year. The album generated the singles “Shadowplay,” which rose to No. 68 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 115 on the U.K. Singles chart, and “Tranquilize,” which featured Lou Reed, charted at No. 13 in the U.K. The Killers launched their third studio album, “Day & Age,” on November 24, 2008. Co-produced by the band and Stuart Price, the album became the group's third studio No.1 hit record in the U.K. and their third album to make the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 (#6). It went multiple platinum in the U.K. and gold in the U.S. and has sold over 3 million copies worldwide. The album produced four singles with “Human,” “Spaceman,” “The World We Live In” and “A Dustland Fairytale,” The single “Human” (2008) went to No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 13 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks and was certified platinum in the U.S. It also peaked at No. 3 in the U.K. “Spaceman” (2008) peaked at No. 8 on Billboard's Hot Modern Rock Tracks, No. 67 on Billboard's Hot 100 and No. 40 in the UK. The last two singles, “The World We Live In” and “A Dustland Fairytale,” (both 2009) rose to No. 82 and No. 137 on the U.K. Singles Charts, respectively. On November 6, 2009, The Killers released a live album titled “Live from the Royal Albert Hall,” which was recorded in July 2009 at the Royal Albert Hall. It has been certified platinum by RIAA. On July 4, 2010, The Killers were invited to the White House by President Barack Obama for the second annual “Salute to the Military” concert as part of Independence Day celebrations. The band has recently returned to the studio and is working on a new studio album.
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