The Killers singer on the evils of coffee, hanging out with Mitt Romney and putting Richard Dawkins right on God

Brandon Flowers: 'The world is against the Christian man'

Hello Brandon. What did you have for breakfast today?

I have the same thing every day. I find it comforting. I have a banana, but I can never eat the whole banana. And I'll drink a couple of Actimels. And some kind of cereal with almond milk. And then after that I have a Coke.

I read that there is some debate among Mormons about whether you're allowed to drink Coke.

Yeah. There's no doctrine about not drinking Coca-Cola. Coffee is still frowned upon. It's the caffeine. I think people become reliant on coffee. And that can't necessarily be a good thing.

You have 18 nephews and nieces. Can you name all of them?

Yeah (1). I think I could tell you all their middle names too.

Have you had any contact with the other Brandon Flowers?

The dude on the Kansas City Chiefs (2)? No.

Apparently he earns $10m a year.

Damn! I'm the wrong Brandon Flowers.

The new Killers album, Battle Born, is named after the Nevada state slogan. Are you aware of the Nevada state fish?

Is it some kind of trout?

The Lahontan cutthroat trout, to be exact.

Oh, I did know that. Our state animal is the bighorn sheep. Our bird is the bluebird.

You know your Nevada.

I'm proud of it. It's my roots. Sage is our state plant. The bristlecone pine is the state tree.

And the Killers have performed the state song ...

Yes, Home Means Nevada. I used to sing it in elementary school. It's probably one of my earliest memories of music.

Have you ever recorded it?

Not really. Harry Reid is the Senate majority leader and he went to the same high school that my parents did, and when he gives speeches in Nevada, he comes out to our recording of Home Means Nevada that we did for him.

And he is a Democrat?

Democrat Mormon.

Whereas Mitt Romney …

Republican Mormon.

What's the political split between Mormons?

We're leaning on the Republican side. (Laughs). Probably, like, 90%.

So you had lunch with Romney in Las Vegas?

Yeah. It was fine. We went to Caesar's Palace. I think I had a burger.

Who picked up the tab?

I think Mitt might've got that one. He was in Vegas and I was home and we were just kind of shooting the breeze.

And has he asked for your support?

Um, yeah (3). We also get asked from Obama. People focus on Romney, but we don't campaign for Obama either.

But you have done for Harry Reid.

Yeah, we have a different connection to Harry. Harry knows my aunt Barbara.

It's quite an odd thing to be in a tussle between politicians.

But you know, I keep saying it, I feel like a broken record but we're neutral. We've never really embraced one side or the other, or used our success to really preach like that.

How many times have interviewers asked whether you're human or dancer?

Probably about 50. I give different answers. But I don't know that I've ever said dancer. I'm not a great dancer.

Mormons are not supposed to drink alcohol. So have you never been drunk?

I have been drunk. I haven't drank in five or six years. And I will probably never be drunk again.

You live in Vegas. It seems quite brash: all sex and gambling. A bit like Blackpool.

I've been to Blackpool. It's not like Blackpool.

You were a Vegas hotel bellman. What does that job involve?

Say you want to kill a couple of hours before your plane and you want to go and gamble or get a hooker, you leave your bags with me. You'd come back when you're finished and you would give me your tag and I would give you your bag. And you would tip me.

For Brits visiting America, the tipping thing can be very troubling. Like, when should you give them a dollar and when shouldn't you?

Don't ever give anyone a dollar.

Too low?

Yeah. Maybe if it was like 1965.

You recently had a debate on Swedish TV with prominent atheist Richard Dawkins (4).

Yeah, let me say this. I gave some decent answers that were edited out. So, the world is against the Christian man.

Did you know Dawkins was going on?

I found out the day before and I know who he is, and I knew about The God Delusion and all of those things. For him he sees the beauty in science proving something and finding out origins of things. And that's enough for him. Nothing that science will ever find will disprove that God had a hand in it, for me. So it's a useless debate. And nothing that has been found has changed the gospel that I believe in.

Did you speak to him on the phone afterwards, as was mooted?

No, I would like to. I have issues with him. He generalises things about my church and kind of drags it through the dirt a lot.

Are you working on this year's Killers Christmas single yet?

Well, let me just go back to it. It's just there's so much to be said by his behaviour and the way that he is in interviews, for the most part. I've seen other interviews with him.

Words like "conman" and "fake" did seem designed to provoke a reaction.

Yeah, and this is information that he's getting off the internet! [Laughs] He's this smart guy and getting his information from the wrong places. That was really what frustrated me.

Why would you want to speak to him again?

I'd like him to just stop dragging [my church] through the mud.

Which is unlikely to happen.

Oh it's fine. He's an unhappy old lemon tree. I'm a peach.

Foot notes

(1)

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He can: Joshua, Luke, Brook, Seth, Rachel, Emily, Britney, Jake, Chase, Brianna, Cassidy, Taylor, Hayden, Caitlin, Alexis, Austin, Kyla and Ethan.

(2)

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The other Brandon Flowers has played in the NFL since 2008.

(3)

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They declined.

(4)

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You can watch it on YouTube. The other guests are Benny from Abba and Ulrika Jonsson. Presumably the Muppets' Swedish Chef had a prior engagement.