The tale of how Las Vegas pop-rockers The Killers formed

Since their formation in 2001, anthemic US rockers The Killers have grown into one of the biggest bands on the planet. After a bit of shifting around in the line-up, it settled in its current form in 2002: Brandon Flowers on lead vocals and keyboards, Dave Keuning on lead guitar, Mark Stoermer on bass guitar and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. on the drums.

After their iconic crowd-pleaser 'Mr Brightside' was certified 10x Platinum, we've pulled together something of a brief history on the band, and how they formed — including how they chose their band name. Read on to further your Killers-shaped horizons...

WATCH: The Killers: "Off-kilter... That's always fun!"

When were The Killers formed?

The band originally formed back in 2001, after Brandon Flowers was fired from band Blush Response. He had an epiphany at an Oasis concert, and realised that fronting a rock band was his true calling - leading to a furious search for like-minded musicians, during which he discovered an ad by guitarist Dave Keuning.

They met up and immediately began working on writing music together, and recruited drummer Matt Norcross before recording a demo consisting of their first ever song - 'Mr Brightside' - and 'Desperate'. They recorded two more songs a month later, with Dave's roommate Dell Neal completing the line-up on bass guitar.

The band played their first gigs together in 2002, handing out free demos to drum up interest in themselves. They then met Ronnie Vannucci Jr., a well-known drummer in the area, and bassist Mark Stoermer also joined soon after that, forming the current line-up that we know today.

What is the current line-up for The Killers?

Brandon Flowers sings lead vocals and also plays synthesizer and keyboards; Dave Keuning plays lead guitar and provides backing vocals; Mark Stoermer plays bass guitar and also backing vocals as well as playing rhythm guitar and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. plays the drums.

Former bass player Dell Neal was part of the band from 2001 until 2002, and Matt Norcross played drums for the same period. Brian Havens played drums briefly for The Killers in 2002, before Ronnie was recruited.

How old are The Killers?

Brandon Flowers' birthday is 21st June 1981, making his current age 43; Dave Keuning's birthday is 28th March 1976, making him currently aged 48; Mark Stoermer's birthday is 28th June 1977, which makes him currently 47-years-old, and Ronnie Vannucci Jr.'s birthday is 15th February 1976, so he's currently aged 48.

Are The Killers American?

They sure are. Brandon Flowers was born in Nevada, David is from Iowa, Mark is from Texas and and Ronnie is from Las Vegas. The former three all moved to Las Vegas, which is how they met!

How did The Killers get their name?

Brandon explained this during one of The Killers' gigs at Manchester Arena in 2015, "We took our name from a New Order video, I think they’re from here?" he joked. "And it was from this song called Crystal. We’re going to play it for you tonight."

The New Order video for 'Crystal' features a fictitious band called The Killers, and the logo and band name features on the bass drum in the video.

WATCH: New Order - 'Crystal' (Official Music Video)

When was The Killers latest album released?

The band's sixth album 'Imploding the Mirage' was released on 21st August 2020, having been pushed back from 29th May 2020, and they released single 'Caution' on Thursday 12th March 2020, which features Lindsey Buckingham, formerly of Fleetwood Mac.

WATCH: 'Caution' - The Killers

In 2021, they released 'Dustland' featuring Bruce Springsteen - and their most recent single 'Bright Lights' was released in 2024.

Recent tours

The Killers brought their 'Rebel Diamonds' tour to the UK and Ireland in the Summer of 2024, playing dates in London, Dublin, Glasgow and Manchester. The tour supported the release of their second greatest hits album, of the same name, and took place in June and July, before continuing on to Asia, North America and Australia.

The Killers were set to perform in May and June 2020 throughout the UK, but were forced to postpone the tour due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Announcing the news in April 2020, the band released a statement to explain.

It read, 'UK and Ireland friends...We must postpone our UK and Ireland dates due to COVID. The single most important thing is that you all take care of yourselves and be safe and healthy. These are going to be the same great shows, but we have to move them to next year. All tickets will be honoured, so we really hope you will join us. If you can’t, please contact your ticket agent.'

The rescheduled dates were to run from May 2021 - June 2021, with special guests Blossoms, Sam Fender and Manic Street Preachers set to make the odd appearance. Sadly, these dates have had to be postponed until 2022.

The Killer's announced their 'Imploding the Mirage Tour' was being rescheduled to 2022 on their Instagram, writing: 'UK and Ireland friends… We’re sorry, but there’s no way around this. These will be the same great shows, but we have to move them to next year. All tickets will be honored, so we really hope you can still join us!'

After the pandemic was announced, the band remained positive that the tour would still go ahead, taking to Twitter on 12th March 2020 to release a statement which read, 'People of Earth, greetings and salutations.

'We've been putting this tour together for a long time and we are extremely excited to finally share it with you. We have, of course, been paying close attention to the recent precautionary measures around the world and trust that the coronavirus is expected to follow traditional flu season patterns.

'We look forward to a great summer of shows. Look after each other - sing the chorus of Mr. Brightside when you wash your hands - and see you this summer!'

Lead singer Brandon Flowers then demonstrated this, posting a video of himself singing the chorus of Mr. Brightside whilst washing his hands!

Scroll through to see some of our favourite live moments from The Killers:

WATCH: Brandon Flowers Twitter Fan Q&A #AskBrandonFlowers

You can hear The Killers' biggest hits on the Absolute Radio playlist. Listen to Absolute Radio now.

Now read:

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• The Killers
• Brandon Flowers
• dave keuning
• mark stoermer
• ronnie vannucci jr.