Last night (November 6), The Killers returned to the UK with the first show of their November tour. After releasing fifth album ‘Wonderful Wonderful’ back in September, Brandon Flowers and co. conquered Birmingham’s Genting Arena. NME was on hand to capture all the action. Check out the best photos from night one of their tour below.
Photos: Rob Loud.
A glitter-clad Brandon Flowers arrived in classic glam attire. The band opened with ‘Wonderful Wonderful’, the title track from their new album.
They followed it up with ‘The Man’, the group’s massive 2017 single and one of the best tracks of the year.
These days, Brandon Flowers and drummer Ronnie Vannucci, Jr. take on touring duties for The Killers. The other half of the Las Vegas group, Dave Keuning (guitar) and Mark Stoermer (bass), stick to the studio and are currently taking a break from touring.
Flowers recently revealed he hoped fans wouldn’t be “let down” by the band’s touring line up. “[…] a lot of heart is still going into these shows and a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this album,” he told The Daily Star.
Killers fans need not worry – the band were in electric form last night. They played a brilliant mix of old favourites (‘Somebody Told Me’, ‘Believe Me Natalie’) and new tracks (‘Rut’, ‘The Calling’). The only real omission from their set was 2006 track ‘When We Were Young’.
In NME’s review of new album ‘Wonderful Wonderful’, Barry Nicolson says it finds Flowers baring more of his soul “than ever before,” adding: “[…] the result is the band’s best album since 2006’s ‘Sam’s Town’.”
This UK tour is the band’s first in five years. It continues with another night in Birmingham (November 7), before stopovers in Liverpool, Newcastle, Manchester, Dublin, Belfast, Leeds, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Sheffield and London. They close the tour with two nights at the capital’s O2 Arena.
‘Wonderful Wonderful’ sold 118,000 album equivalent units in its first week in the US, 111,000 of which were traditional album sales. It knocked Foo Fighters‘ ‘Concrete And Gold’ from the top spot.
Despite the new LP’s success, the band closed their set with an old favourite. ‘Mr Brightside’, a timeless classic that’s somehow hovered near the UK charts for over a decade, was met by the night’s biggest singalong.
The Killers tour the US and Europe in early 2018, and they’re likely to be a mainstay in next year’s festival season. They’re already confirmed to headline Lollapalooza Argentina, Brazil and Chile, with plenty more dates likely to be announced.
