The Killers Biography

The American rock band originated in 2001 when lead singer Brandon Flowers was dumped by his first band synthpop trio 'Blush Response' as he refused to move to Los Angeles. After being inspired to start a rock band after seeing Oasis perform live, Flowers responded to a newspaper ad posted by guitarist Dave Keuning and the pair started writing songs, including early versions of 'Mr Brightside, and touring Las Vegas.

Joined by drummer Ronnie Vanucci JR in August 2002 and bass player Mark Stoermer the same year, the line-up as we know it today was formed and 'The Killers', who are named after a fictional band featured on the drums in the music video 'Crystal' by New Order, started touring Las Vegas clubs

The band came to the attention of London-based independent label Lizard King Records, and they made their way over to the UK for their first ever gigs outside of Las Vegas.

They then won Best International Band at the NME awards. Big things were expected from their debut album 'Hot Fuss' featuring the singles 'Somebody Told Me', 'Mr Brightside’' and 'All These Things That I've Done'.

'Hot Fuss' didn't disappoint, the album has topped the charts in the UK where it has already sold over one million copies and it has already sold 2.2 million in the US. As of 2011, 'Hot Fuss' has sold over seven million units worldwide and was the 26th best-selling album of the decade.

Their successful debut was followed by 'Sam's Town' in October 2006, which sold over 706,000 in its first week of release. It spawned hit singles 'When You Were Young', 'Bones', 'Read My Mind' and 'For Reasons Unknown'. The album won two Brit awards in 2007. As of 2011, the album had sold 4.5 million copies worldwide becoming four times platinum in the UK.

The Killers also released a compilation album called 'Sawdust' in November 2007, consisting of B-sides, rarities and previously unreleased material.

In 2008, the band released third album 'Day and Age' before going on tour. This was cancelled in February 2010 after Flowers' mother died after a two-year battle with brain cancer.

Between January 2010 and May 2011, the band were on hiatus after six years of touring, with each member pursuing solo projects. In May 2011, they started work on their fourth album 'Battle Born', which is intended for release in summer 2012.