In 2001, singer and keyboardist Brandon Flowers responded to an ad that a guitarist, Dave Keuning, had posted in Las Vegas. After meeting and discovering their similar musical influences, the two decided to start a band, naming themselves the Killers.
After demoing tracks, the duo played their first live show the next year at Cafe Espresso Roma in Vegas. The two were noted for having a unique punk sound, and began gaining local attention. In 2002, drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. teamed up with the pair, and later that year, Mark Stoermer joined the group as the bassist.
The four members continued recording demos and playing small venues in their hometown. Due to their impressive five-song demo, in July 2003, the group signed with Lizard King Records in London. A month later, their song “Mr. Brightside” premiered on BBC Radio 1, receiving high praise. The Killers began recording their debut album, Hot Fuss, in which they decided to keep their demo versions to preserve the rawness of the tracks. After finishing their record in November, the group was invited to support British Sea Power on their UK Tour, and also played supporting acts for Stellastarr and Morrissey.
Hot Fuss was released in June 2004. They began a headlining tour, which got extended, and their singles “Somebody Told Me,” “All These Things That I’ve Done” and “Mr. Brightside” were nominated for Grammy Awards. In the US, Hot Fuss spent more time on the UK Albums chart than any other record that decade. “Mr. Brightside” would go on to be downloaded over 3 million times by 2017.
Following their debut success, the band continued to record for their second album, Sam’s Town, which was released in October 2006. Sam’s Town sold over 700,000 copies during its release week and the band began headlining major arenas and a number of European festivals. After releasing their third record, Day & Age, the group began a world tour, performing on every continent and headlining Lollapalooza and Coachella. Following their tour, the band announced that they would take a break, which lasted for a year and a half.
In 2011, the Killers returned as headliners of Chile’s Lollapalooza and a number of other international festivals. They then released Battle Born in 2012, which became their fourth consecutive No. 1 album in the UK. Following their record release, the Killers recorded Direct Hits, which featured songs from their four previous albums. In 2016, Stoermer announced that he would leave the band to pursue solo projects, and was replaced by Jake Blanton.
Wonderful Wonderful, the band’s fifth studio album, was released in September 2017. The group played a number of shows in the UK before Keuning announced his indefinite departure from the band. Wonderful Wonderful became the band’s first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart.
Two years later, the Killers announced Imploding the Mirage, their sixth album, would be released in 2020. After one week of releasing Imploding the Mirage, which was unfortunately in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the band announced their next album, Pressure Machine. In 2021, Keuning was reunited with the band and began playing shows with them leading up to Pressure Machine’s release in July 2021, which would debut at No. 1 in the UK.
In July 2022, the band teased their eighth studio album and unveiled their latest single “Boy” at Madrid’s Mad Cool Festival. The group has confirmed their eighth record will be released in early 2023.
