BRANDON FLOWERS
Newly married singer and proud deck-shoe wearer.

The Killers, then – an out-and-out, pink leather jacket-wearing, synth-stroking, eyebrow-teasing pop group, right?
“[Tartly] No! We’re a rock’n’roll group who have a pop feel! It's in our blood, we write catchy songs. We’re not afraid of pop songs, but that doesn’t make you a pop group. As far as I’m concerned, anything that’s ever been a hit – even old Ozzy! – is a pop song, so, in that context, we’re a rock group who writes pop songs.”

Right. You come from Las Vegas – is there a scene there or were you grown in some sort of insane vacuum?
“Um, there is a scene, but it’s full of shitty nu-metal bands. It was weird, but people talked about us. I had lip-gloss on. I wore glitter, there were songs that made you think. People got confused, but we developed very quickly. Within a year we had 200 kids coming to every gig and that’s a big deal in Las Vegas.”

We’re still surprised David Bowie’s lawyer’s didn’t call after hearing ‘Mr Brightside’
“Well, yeah! But that’s what I grew up listening to! There was no plan, no effort made to sound a certain way. ‘Mr Brightside’ was the first thing we ever wrote, so it was pretty set what we had going on. At the time I was really into David Bowie – so it was natural. The only thing we tried to do was not sound nu-metal. Although we don’t have any nu-metal in us, so it wasn’t hard.”

You’re a Mormon – what crazy things do you believe?
“We believe that the Holy Trinity are separate people, but it says in the Bible they are one. We have the Book of Mormon, which we call another Testament of Jesus. It’s going on the same time as the Bible, but it’s set in South America.”

South America! You people are freaks!
“Fuck you! The big deal is that Jesus comes to visit the Mormons after he is resurrected. That freaks people out.”

We bet it does. Have your family always been pop stars, or are you the first?
“I’m the first. My paternal grandfather worked in a grocery store as a produce man. He put the vegetables and cans in the bags.”

Not glamorous
“No, but the hours were better.”



» MARK STOERMER
The Killers' bassist is so tall and severe looking he should be curating bleeding-edge German art/porn shows.

We think you’re a pop group, but Brandon doesn’t agree. What do you think?
“We see ourselves as a rock band that’s not afraid to write pop songs. In some ways, we’re trying to bring rock back to the pop format. Or the other way around… I get confused.”

Are British people nicer than American people?
“British audiences are! They like you first time around, while American audiences want to hate you. We’re on MTV now and most people in America still want to hate us, they’re so spoiled! In England we feel loved – people go nuts and they’re better listeners too. People are more musically educated here, too.”

If we lived in Las Vegas, we really doubt we’d spend much time going to see bands
“Well, that’s understandable – there’s a lot to compete with! Why go and see some local band when you can see Siegfried and Roy?”

Have you started fighting much yet?
“We do over music. Brandon and Dave are big Pet Shop Boys fans, while me and Ronnie [Vannucci, drums and missing in action last seen being chased by ladies] aren’t. I like Mars Volta and ’50s and ’60s jazz, like John Coltrane, that I know Brandon can’t stand. He loves pop songs and melody. I love pop songs too, but I also like it when music can make you feel things for no reason. I like it when music can make you think, when it surprises you, probably more than the other guys.”

What music did you like when you were little?
“Rap! I got Public Enemy’s , 'Yo! Bum Rush The Show' when I was ten and I loved it! I loved the noises on it.”

Has your family always been pop stars, or are you the first?
“Wow! That’s weird. No, I’m the first. My paternal grandfather was an engineer. He built rocket launch pads and stuff. That’s almost as cool as being in a rock band.”

Ronnie really looks like George Bush
“He really does! But people also think Dave looks like Val Kilmer! I get Dave Gilmour [from Pink Floyd] a lot. Brandon never really gets one.”

Do you have any recurring dreams that aren’t rubbish?
“I have one where I’m climbing a mountain. Every time I have it, I realise I’m dreaming and I jump off, then I wake up before I hit the ground.”

Rubbish
“Sorry…”



» DAVID KEUNING
David plays guitar. His biggest regret in life is missing a Nirvana gig to play that thing Americans call football that’s really rugby or something. His hair is visible from space.

Can you wrap this up for us – are you pop or rock
“Sometimes we’re rock, sometimes we’re pop! We’re neither one all the time.”

That’s no help at all. What music did you like when you were tiny?
“I loved Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’. Me and my brother both had a copy and my mum wrote Dave on mine so we wouldn’t fight about it. He’s weird, no one is disputing that, but God he made some great songs. ‘Off The Wall’, ‘Thriller’, ‘Bad’ and ‘Dangerous’ are a string of four, genius albums. ‘PYT’ and ‘The Man In The Mirror’ are my favourite tracks.

Do you come from a family of pop stars, or are you the first?
“I’m the first! My family are all about air-conditioning. I was supposed to move into it too, but I didn’t have the knack. I know my dad would love it if I came to work with him one day, but it’s working out pretty good so far doing this. Maybe twenty years from now.”

If we came to dinner – and we might – what would you make for us?
“How does frozen pizza sound?”

Terrible.
“Oh, OK, I can make pancakes – the ones where you add water? I make ramen noodles too, but I’m sick of them too. To be honest, I’m not that great a cook. I went through an egg sandwich phase once. Eggs and white bread, every day. It lasted 18 months.”

Do you have any recurring dreams that aren’t rubbish?
“I have one where Satan is chasing me. I had it the other night. In the dream I got a text message on my phone that just read ‘Hehehehehe’ over and over again – like cackling laughter. I traced the number and called it and it was the Devil laughing, so I screamed ‘Leave me alone!’ and slammed the phone down. He was chasing me around trees and stuff. He wasn’t moving fast, but I couldn’t get away. His number was a Vegas number too, I remember that…”

That’s not rubbish! Well done! You can now talk to us about your love for Star Trek
“Great! Well, I’m a total Trekkie and proud of it! My favourite episode is where Kirk encounters The Gorn and has to… [tape self destructs]”