MUSIC LYF: The Killers Announce "Direct Hits"

Ten years ago today, on September 16th, 2003, four young men from Las Vegas left America for the first time to play their first ever London show, appearing fourth on the bill at Camden’s Dublin Castle. It was the first time they had played a gig outside of North America.

Fast forward to 2013, that band – The Killers – has gone on to sell over 20 million albums worldwide, headlined festivals across the globe, performed at The White House, and picked up myriad awards. Each of The Killers’ four studio albums has yielded some of the most amazing songs of the last decade, and, this summer, amidst various festival headlining shows all over the world, they reached a summit very few artists have ever managed: headlining Wembley Stadium to an ecstatic capacity crowd of 70,000. These shows – from their masterful showing headlining this year’s Lollapalooza to their crowning achievement commanding the stage at Wembley – reaffirmed what millions everywhere already know: The Killers have released some of the finest, most memorable, most loved songs of the last ten years, and they’re still going strong.

MUSIC LYF: The Killers - Battle Born (Album)

The Latest and Greatest Chapter from THE KILLERS!

From out of the wreckage of the American Civil War, the great state of Nevada came into being on October 31st, 1864. Its creation immediately helped to secure the re-election of Abraham Lincoln, the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment and, ultimately, the future of the union. Today, that proud but painful history is enshrined in the two words emblazoned on the upper left-hand corner of the state flag: ‘BATTLE BORN’.

That phrase has always resonated with Brandon Flowers. It’s what THE KILLERS named their studio in Las Vegas, and when the band reconvened last May to start work on the follow-up to 2008’s Day & Age, it became first a song title, then a thematic touchstone, and eventually the name of the album itself. But not all battles are blood and thunder: after a yearlong hiatus that saw three of the four Killers launch solo careers, they quickly discovered that timing and circumstance can be daunting adversaries in their own right. Safe to say, Battle Born’s title was well-earned. “It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, no question,” says Brandon. “It’s the longest we’ve ever taken to make a record, and the longest I’ve ever spent on the lyrics. We thought we had enough songs, but then we realised that we didn’t, and so we had to pound away and grind it out until we were certain that we were ready.”