The Killers cover Smiths classics with Johnny Marr on North American tour – watch
They've joined forces once again
The Killers were joined by Johnny Marr to perform songs by The Smiths at the opening three dates of their North American tour over the weekend.
In support of their latest studio album ‘Pressure Machine’, The Killers kicked off their sprawling two-month North American trek at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena on Friday night (19th August).
Smiths legend Johnny Marr is the support act on all dates on the tour, and having previously performing ‘This Charming Man’ and ‘Mr Brightside’ with The Killers at Glastonbury in 2019, he’s been making guest appearances with the Las Vegas band once again.
The opening concert in Vancouver saw Marr perform ‘Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before’ and ‘There Is a Light That Never Goes Out’ with The Killers midway through their set.
Mixing things up, on the following night (Saturday 20th August) at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, Marr joined The Killers on stage for the final three songs – The Smiths’ ‘There Is a Light That Never Goes Out’ and ‘What She Said’, plus The Killers’ set closer ‘Mr Brightside.’
On Sunday at Portland's Moda Center, Marr once again performed with The Killers, however this time just for two tracks, ‘There Is a Light That Never Goes Out’ and ‘Mr Brightside.’
You can check out fan-filmed footage of Johnny Marr performing with The Killers below.
Brandon Flowers is an outspoken Smiths aficionado and in a 2012 interview with The Guardian he credited the Manchester band with changing his life.
“When you’re young you want pop music that is catchy – not many pre-teens are into death metal – and when I heard ‘Panic’, at 12, it made me feel immensely happy. It certainly didn’t make me want to wear black and be alone in a corner of the room,” Flowers said.
“Nobody in Nephi, Utah had heard of the Smiths then and I doubt they have heard of them now, which made them something special.
“Everyone was listening to grunge and here was this song saying ‘burn down the disco … because the music they constantly play says nothing to me about my life.’ Morrissey was speaking directly to me!”
Speaking to The Times last year, Flowers said he still loves The Smiths despite not agreeing with Morrissey’s political views.
“If ‘What She Said’ came on the radio with my kids, I wouldn’t change it,” Flowers said. “It’s still an amazing song, so I’m not that serious, where I would change the station. I don’t agree with him, but I’m not going to burn my CDs by the Smiths or anything.”
Absolute Radio's 100 greatest albums of all time, including The Smiths:
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