Back in March, The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers went viral after he posted a video of him washing his hands while humming the band’s first ever single, “Mr Brightside”. It was the tonic the internet needed – 30 seconds of light relief amid a sea of bad news and global turmoil – and a reminder of just how ubiquitous that hit still is, 13 years after its release.

One of the most iconic indie anthems of all time, it propelled the young Las Vegas band, founded by Flowers and guitarist Dave Keuning, to global rock star status. Their 2004 debut album, Hot Fuss, was certified seven times platinum here in the UK, staying in the top 100 for more than 200 consecutive weeks, with each of the four albums they have released since all going to No1 too.

Fun fact: The Killers actually hold the record for the most consecutive No1 albums in the UK for an international act and are considered the most successful band to have ever come out of Nevada, with more than 28 million global album sales under their glam-rock belts.

Now, Flowers is gearing up to release The Killers’ sixth album, Imploding The Mirage, with the second single from the record, “Fire In Bone”, arriving today. The band has headlined Glastonbury and played arena gigs all over the world, from Wembley to Madison Square Garden, and there is, of course, an Imploding The Mirage stadium tour slated for this year.

It has, for obvious reasons, now been postponed, but to give you an idea of just how hotly anticipated these shows are, 250,000 tickets were sold in two hours here in Britain alone. For now, though, Flowers – who has confirmed that Keuning did not take part in this album and will not be on the tour – is holed up with his wife and three children at home in Utah, from where he dialled in for this interview.

Here, he talks about his very beginnings, from The Killers’ first show and the first time he met fans to how he made that hand-washing video and why he feels certain that this new album is “a beast”.

The first time you realised you wanted to be a musician...

I toyed around with the idea for a while, but it didn’t really sink in until I bought David Bowie’s Hunky Dory when I was 19. Any person in their right mind would have heard that record and given up, but instead I ran towards this idea of being a musician. I guess I was kind of intoxicated by it at that point.

The first time you played in front of a live audience…

With The Killers, the first time was in early 2002 at a place called The Boston. It was a bar in Las Vegas and they had local nights – you would just schlep your gear over and get yourself on a list with about ten bands on it to find a slot. It was kind of strange because you had to navigate when you were going to play – it wasn’t just a set time, you had to work it out with the other bands about who was going, when. I remember arguing with the singer from another band because he was trying to push us off of our slot because he had to pick up his girlfriend from the strip club he worked at. It was one of the first times it got heated and you were happy you had your gang with you. The band became like a gang; it was a strange time.

The first time you made money out of being a musician…

I actually don’t remember, it must have taken a long time. Getting a cheque from David Letterman stands out as really exciting. You get these statutory cheques when you do a show like that, so it would have been before I had an accountant or anything, and I got sent this cheque. It was surreal, gratifying and exciting. It really ticked all those boxes!

The first time you blew your paycheque frivolously…

I bought a Volkswagen Touareg, SUV. It was all murdered out, all black, and that would have been in 2005. It was the first time I was able to buy anything without making payments.

The first time you began work on the new album…



Probably a year before we announced it [in November]. We’ve been doing this for 19 years now, so we have a lot of experience. There’s a certain amount of confidence that comes with all the gigs we’ve played and all the records we’ve made and we’re able to apply that with a strangely optimistic outlook on life. I think it’s really good. Whenever you're putting an album out you think it’s really good – if you don’t, you shouldn't put it out – so only time will tell, but it seems like it’s a beast.

The first time you got properly drunk…

I worked at a golf course when I was 16 and someone brought a bottle of Aftershock, a cinnamon liquor. We don’t drink as early as you guys do and, at that age, that was an exciting prospect. Our job was to get all the carts cleaned and put away after they closed down the golf course – all the people that run the golf course are gone by that point. We started getting stuck into this Aftershock and I got really drunk. Was it bad? No, life was elevated for a couple of hours.

The first time you put together a stage outfit…

My eighth grade graduation. I was the only kid that played an instrument, so I was submitted to do a piano piece. I played "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" by Elton John – it was when Lion King was popular – and I picked out some terrible khakis and a strange cream sweater. I was in a very awkward phase of my life.

The first time you fell properly in love…



Until my wife, I think I had only experienced infatuation. She’s a very lovable creature. We met at a thrift store, I was actually with Dave and we were looking for clothes for our first gig. We were looking for, what do you guys call it, gig clobber? She was on her way to work, she worked at this clothing store Betsy Johnsons, and she stopped by. She approached me and asked me if I went to gigs, I was stupid, I didn’t realise she was hitting on me. I didn’t go to gigs at the time so it was kind of a boring exchange, that was it, but before she left she wrote her name and number on a piece of paper and walked up to me and handed it to me. Then she just walked out with her hand over her mouth, it was just adorable, and I was hooked from then on. This would have been 2004.

The first time a politician made you mad...

Back in middle school, a teacher gave us an assignment where we had to choose a governor or senator to write to, in the hopes that they would return the favour. I chose a guy named senator Orrin Hatch and we watched as, one by one, everybody got their reply letter and showed it to the class. I never got one back from Orrin Hatch.

The first time you met a fan…

I remember the first one that left an impression. It would have been 2004, I was behind Brixton Academy and meeting these kids that were fans – I say kids, but they were probably about my age at the time – and I noticed their shirts. It was dimly lit, but it looked like they had Killers shirts on, because of the logo, but what they had actually done is taken our design but written “victims”. It was incredible. Our fans call themselves “victims” and that was the first time I saw it in action – it took me back a little bit. I still get a warm feeling from it.

The first time you went viral… Can you tell us about the ‘Mr Brightside’ hand-washing video?

We almost got duped by the fake Italian video, all those people singing from their balconies. Somebody sent me that and we were about to post it, before we realised it wasn’t real. So my first thought was to post something that was real. I had my wife film me quickly washing my hands and singing “Mr Brightside” at the sink. It was the first time I’ve ever done anything like that, but I heard it was one of the songs you could sing while washing your hands if you didn’t want to use “Happy Birthday”. It had a pretty big impact, but it was just a light-hearted thing.

Do you get bored of performing ‘Mr Brightside’?

I really don’t. I’ve always been annoyed by bands that withhold those types of songs from their fans. I’m able to hear it through the hearts of our fans when I’m on stage. It’s not lost on me that this might be someone’s first concert, or their first time seeing The Killers, that of course they want to hear that song. It would be the wrong thing to do to withhold it.

© Rob Loud

The first time you were given any really excellent advice…

I can’t think of any… There is bad advice I didn’t take though. I was told by a record executive that I should be a star on the stage and off the stage. He gave me an example of a label mate I had at the time, who was making headlines basically because he was living debaucherously, but this guy was also on the charts and in arenas, so he was saying, “That’s a star.” I realised right when he said it that it wasn’t the path for me – my spirit just rejected it. As soon as I accepted that, it was almost like this mist had lifted, revealing this other road I could take, which was just trying to be myself and still be a songwriter and a performer.

The first record you bought…



The Cars Greatest Hits. That music was handed down to me by my brother: he was going through high school when all that music was in full swing. When I was 12 or 13, grunge was in full swing, but that’s just not my thing, so rather trying to assimilate, thank heavens I had my brother giving me no wave, new wave, indie music... It was a lifesaver.

The first time you met Dave Keuning…



Late 2001. He put an ad out in the classifieds in these free weekly magazines that I used to scour. Everybody would put their influences in their ad, so I didn’t even look at who it was, I’d just check what bands they were into. It was very rare to find bands that you liked – new metal and a lot of heavy metal was very popular at the time – so when I flipped through and saw “Smashing Pumpkins. Oasis. The Beatles” it really stood out. It made it easy to call that person.

The first time you got given a rider…

It was very slim-pickings in the early days. We opened for British Sea Power on a UK tour and in each venue they’d have a dressing room and we would be in the hallway with the small rider just on a table. It wasn’t bad, it was just essentials such as houmous, beer and water.

Head to GQ's Vero channel to find out what Brandon Flowers is doing during quarantine, to see his TV, film and music recommendations, his favourite Utah spot and a particularly excellent anecdote about the book he lent to Bruce Springsteen. Follow GQ on Vero for exclusive music content and commentary, all the latest music lifestyle news and insider access into the GQ world, from behind-the-scenes insight to recommendations from our editors and high-profile talent.

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