Killers, the

US rock band, formed in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2002. Influenced by 1980s and 90s UK bands such as New Order and Oasis, they achieved popular success with new wave, punk and pop-inspired music. Their debut album Hot Fuss (2004), featuring the Grammy Award-nominated hit single ‘Somebody Told Me’ and ‘Mr Brightside’, was successful in both the USA and UK.

The band, first recognized outside Las Vegas in the UK, includes Brandon Flowers on vocals and keyboards, David Keuning on guitar, Mark Stoermer on bass, and Ronnie Vannucci on drums. A deal with the indie label Lizard King in the UK for the release of ‘Mr Brightside’ in 2003 quickly led to the band's signing with major label Island Records.

Flowers left the synth-pop band Blush Response in 2002 and responded to an advertisement placed by Keuning in a Las Vegas local paper. After Vannucci, a classical percussion student at University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), joined, the band began rehearsing in garages and, clandestinely at night, UNLV facilities. Song themes include jealousy and paranoia, violent criminals, AIDS victims, relationships gone sour, androgyny, and the desire to achieve greater things. The band derived their name from a New Order video about a fictional perfect band.