The Killers are a fairly glam indie rock band from Las Vegas. They are:
Biography
Brandon Flowers was previously a member of a synth-pop group called Blush Response, and they kicked him out in 2002, because he was not prepared to move to Los Angeles with the rest of the band. Towards the end of the year he saw Oasis play live, and had some sort of epiphany - what he needed was guitars! When he spotted a small ad in the local newspaper posted by a guitarist who also cited Oasis as an influence, he decided it was meant to be. So over to Dave Keuning's he went, keyboard in hand, and the pair began working on songs right away. Dave already had the verse for Mr Brightside, and Brandon went away and wrote the chorus. This song has so far featured in every live performance The Killers have given. The group's name is taken from the video for New Order's Crystal, by the way, where The Killers is the name of The Perfect Band.
After auditioning a few drummers and bassists, Brandon and Dave eventually came across Mark Stoermer and Ronnie Vannucci. It seems a bit of a cliché to tell you what all four members of the now-complete band did before they got their calling, but this is actually quite interesting in this case. Ronnie had been leading a double life, alternating between photographer at the Little Chapel of Flowers and a student of classical percussion at university. Mark was a medical courier - a job which Morrissey (one of the group's idols) also endured before he made it. Less interestingly, Brandon was a bell-boy in a hotel, and Dave had been working at Banana Republic.
Having made the decision to pack in these oh-so-glamorous jobs, the band began rehearsing and writing in a garage where the temperatures reached 120 degrees. This was a very prolific time, and they wrote the majority of the songs which would appear on their first record, Hot Fuss. After gigging locally for a while, word began to spread about The Killers. They attracted the attention of independent London record label Lizard King. So over to the UK they came, to tour, and to release a limited edition run of Mr Brightside in September 2003. The NME raved about this new group, and, after an appearance in New York, the band signed a world-wide deal with Island Records in October 2003. Their UK releases are still on Lizard King Records.
The group toured the UK again shortly after, with British Sea Power, and even sold out their own headline shows. Meanwhile, they were busy recording and producing their album, Hot Fuss. It was released on 7th June 2004 (UK) and 15th June 2004 (US). It reached number 26 on the Billboard chart in the US, and number 2 in the UK chart. The critics were, on the whole, impressed with the album - from its punchy sound vaguely reminiscent of the 80s to its witty lyrics and well-crafted tales. The NME's only criticisms of the album are due to the reviewer's inability to understand irony (sound familiar?).
Discography
Thanks to www.nme.com , www.answers.com , and www.thekillersmusic.com