The Killers

The story of an American rock band The Killers begins in 2001, when its future leader Brandon Flowers abandoned a synth pop group known as Blush Response. Shortly after, Flowers attended an Oasis concert and decided to create a true hard rock band. But it was not easy for him because everebody thought ex-poper couldn't play rock. But at last he got aquainted with Dave Keuning and his two friends, so they began rehearsing. Soon after Keuning's fellows were replaced by Mark Stoermer and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. The last two also abandoned their bands, as the Flowers himself. Vannucci said, that when he was entering the band, it was "very green and their fan base was scarce, and there was a lot of work to be done to become a polished act". The Killers played their first gig as the new band at a club in Los Vegas called The Junkyard. It was a hard time for the musicians – Vannucci sold his house to get some money, the group had no place to rehearse so they had to sneak into the University of Nevada's (where Vannucci was attending college) music rooms in order to practice. But little by little the group started to attract attention from the producers, and at last their demo record was heard by the oweners of the UK indie label Lizard King. As a result, The Killers got a chance to record their first album, Hot Fuss. The album was realesed in June 2004.

The Killers had a great success with their singles Somebody Told Me, Mr. Brightside, All These Things That I've Done, escpecially in the UK. The second disk, Sam's Town, was released on October 2006. Flowers himself described it as "one of the most experimental works of the past twenty years". Though the disk and the first single When You Were Young have received a mixed response from critics and fans, the first two albums have sold in excess of 9,000,000 copies. The music video for the second single, Bones, was made by famous director Tim Burton. The Killers themselves state that the main authorites for them are Oasis and Smashing Pumpkins. Their songs are usually described as a rock based on the music of the 1980s, particularly New Wave. Flowers says that The Killers have taken something from a large variety of artists, including Joy Division, New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Dire Straits, Mayfield, David Bowie, The Smiths, Morrissey, Depeche Mode, U2, Queen, Oasis and The Beatles. The Killers' second album was said to be greatly influenced by Bruce Springsteen's music and lyrics.

The compilation album called Sawdust was released in November 2007. It contained B-sides, rarities, and some new material, for example, the song Tranquilize – a collaboration with Lou Reed. The Killers also promised to realese a Christmas single Don't Shoot Me Santa on December 1, 2007. Flowers said the band was about to make more dance-oriented records in the years to come. Soon, the listeners were able to hear what he meant by that. In 2008, The Killers delivered a solid long player under the title Day & Age. That was a very tuneful and energetic album to please both critics and audience. In 2008, The Killers delivered a solid long player under the title Day & Age. That was a very tuneful and energetic album to please both critics and audience. In 2009 the musicians released their first live album. The material for Live From The Royal Albert Hall was recorded during the band’s performances in legendary Royal Albert Hall in London.