In 2001, Brandon Flowers was abandoned by the first band that he was in, a synth pop band known as Blush Response, after he declined to move with the rest of them to Los Angeles, California. After he quit, Flowers responded to an ad in the Las Vegas Weekly by future guitarist David Keuning, about forming a band which was inspired by bands such as Oasis, The Cure, New Order, and The Smiths. They met and immediately clicked, and set out to find a drummer and a bassist. Many auditions later, they found Ronnie Vannucci and Mark Stoermer to fill the posts.
Before they had become a band, all four of them had various jobs. Flowers, who had dropped out of college, was a bellhop for a while at the Gold Coast Hotel. David Keuning, who was originally from Pella, Iowa and had dropped out of Kirkwood Community College and then the University of Iowa, and moved to Las Vegas in January of 2000, worked at a Banana Republic store; Mark Stoermer worked as a medical courier delivering various medical supplies and was a student of philosophy at UNLV; Ronnie Vannucci was a student of classical percussion at UNLV and worked as a photographer at the Little Chapel of Flowers. The band first started playing at a Las Vegas gay/transgender night club called "Tramps".
UK magazine NME was an early champion of the band - reviewing early UK shows. The band became more well-known when they released their album Hot Fuss on June 7, 2004 in the United Kingdom (on London-based indie record label Lizard King Records) and June 15 in the United States on Island Records. They released their Japanese and French versions of the same album in late 2004. Their first single, "Somebody Told Me," was released on that same year. The band also had chart success with their singles "Mr. Brightside", which reached the Top 10 in the UK when released, and "All These Things That I've Done". The main bulk of their mainstream success came when they scored a number 3 chart position with their re-release of "Somebody Told Me".
Much of The Killers' music is based on British influences and on the music of the 1980s, particularly New Wave music. Despite their appreciation for the wave of post-punk bands that sprung up during the 80's, the band members are also avowed fans of David Bowie, Queen and U2, and the influence of these bands can easily be felt in some of their songs. Brandon Flowers occasionally sings with a faux British accent.
On December 1, 2004 they appeared as guests on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and on December 2, 2004, they made a guest appearance on the FOX television series The O.C.. On January 15, 2005 they were the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. In the past, they have appeared as musical guests on: Jimmy Kimmel Live, Pepsi Smash, The Late Show with David Letterman, and in Britain they have appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and Later with Jools Holland. Most recently, on April 14, 2005, they appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. On May 12 and October 10, 2005, they performed throughout MTV Presents: The Next Generation Xbox Revealed.
The Killers performed at the 2005 Glastonbury festival on the Pyramid Stage, on Friday Night, after they turned down the Sunday headline spot when Kylie Minogue cancelled after being diagnosed with breast cancer. They turned down the offer, stating that they didn't think they were popular enough. However, they still managed to deliver an excellent performance, and attracted one of the biggest crowds at the festival. On the 2nd of July, The Killers performed at Hyde Park's Live 8 concert. They also performed at the T in the Park festival in Balado, Scotland on July 9th, during which, following The Killers' own set, Brandon Flowers performed "Crystal" with New Order - "Crystal" being the music video the band took their name from. Soon, they are jetting off to Vienna with U2, in order to support them on the European leg of their current Vertigo tour.
The Killers performed on the London stage of the famed Live 8 concert on July 2, 2005. They performed their song All These Things That I've Done. To their surprise and honor, Robbie Williams (who performed after them) incorporated the song's refrain "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier" into his own performance.
The band's second album is widely expected to be released in 2006.
