I’m a casual fan of The Killers and Brandon Flowers. I basically only know the band’s early hits and I don’t think I’ve heard one song from their 2021 album Pressure Machine (which was acoustic and dark, apparently). I’ve seen Flowers interviewed before, and he comes across like an alien – sort of other-worldly, shy, reserved, yet also with a streak of religious fervor. He’s a practicing Mormon who grew up in a small town in Utah, then moved to Las Vegas and became a rock star, then moved back to Utah with his wife and three kids. He’s in his 40s now and he feels like he’s at some kind of crossroads where he doesn’t want to sing “Mr. Brightside” every night for the next forty years. Some highlights from Brandon’s Times interview:
The new pop/dance-music album isn’t happening: “Halfway through recording I realised, ‘I can’t do this.’ This isn’t the kind of record. . .” He pauses. “I think this will be the . . .” He stumbles a little. “I don’t think you’ll see us making this type of music any more. This is the crisis I’m in. The Killers are my identity and our songs fill the seats, but I’m more fulfilled making music like Pressure Machine. I found a side of myself writing it that was strong. This was the guy I’d been looking for! I’m as proud of Hot Fuss as you can be for something you did when you were 20, but I’m not 20. So I’m thinking about the next phase of my life.”
The incident in Georgia: This month, he invited a Russian fan on to the stage in Georgia, a country partly occupied by Russia, then asked the audience if the man was not their “brother” and was booed. We met before that furore, but he got in touch after the gig. “I had to calm an impossible situation. We want our concerts to be communal and I had no idea words I was taught my entire life to represent a unity of the human family could be taken as being pro-Russian occupation. We’re sad how this played out.”
Moving back to Utah: A few years ago [his wife] Tana was diagnosed with “complex PTSD”; her childhood, spent mostly in Las Vegas, was riddled with traumas. When she hit rock bottom, the family cashed in their chips for Utah, where Flowers grew up. “It was a huge deal. But Vegas is haunted for her. So we said, ‘This is not for you.’ Now we have access to medicine and counselling and she’s thriving, thank heavens. But it takes a lot.”
He doesn’t like cities: “I feel intimidated in cities. They are centres of the world, intellect and arts. I don’t belong… I still have a great deal of inadequacy and don’t know how to overcome it.”
The crossroads: “I’m a different person now, it’ll be difficult to go back,” he says. The Killers come with stadiums, but he wants to make quieter music that does not need large venues, let alone a band. “It is a conflict. It is just, well, at what point do I make that change? Who in the band wants to do that too? No matter what, there will always be people who look at me and just think of Somebody Told Me. And I get that. But I’m interested in evolving.”
His Mormon faith: “My faith continues to grow. If there is a religious gene, I have it. I know that can sound crazy to people, but America’s becoming more secular and that’s not as great as some think. I grew up hearing things like, ‘No amount of worldly excess can compensate for failure in the home.’ I’m so thankful! Where will people hear that? Not at school or playing sports. Religion can be a beautiful thing, but it’s easy to trash…. This makes me a bit of an enigma as a singer.”
“America’s becoming more secular and that’s not as great as some think.” First of all, no it’s not. Maybe it’s because I live in the South, but people have always been super-religious and it’s not something which waxes and wanes. It even feels like schools and the culture have become much more religious too. I wish things were more secular. “I grew up hearing things like, ‘No amount of worldly excess can compensate for failure in the home.’ I’m so thankful! Where will people hear that? Not at school or playing sports.” Oh, honey – Mr. Family Values Rock Star over here. Kids should NOT be taught the issues of excess in school or in sports… like, that’s something which should be taught by parents?
Anyway, this was an interesting piece and I buy that he’s just not into the rock star life, nor does he want to play “Mr. Brightside” one more g–damn time. I also learned that even Flowers credits the UK for The Killers’ success, not American fans.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
Brandon Flowers of The Killers performs a secret set on The John peel Stage at Glastonbury Festival 2017 Worthy Farm, Pilton, England, UK on Sunday 25 June, 2017.,Image: 512585707, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS- Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon 
Brandon Flowers of The Killers performing at British Summer Time Hyde Park 2017 Hyde Park, London, England, UK on Saturday 8 July, 2017.,Image: 514205074, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS- Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon 
Brandon Flowers of The Killers performing at British Summer Time Hyde Park 2017 Hyde Park, London, England, UK on Saturday 8 July, 2017.,Image: 514230540, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS- Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon
Brandon Flowers of The Killers performing at British Summer Time Hyde Park 2017 Hyde Park, London, England, UK on Saturday 8 July, 2017.,Image: 514230546, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS- Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / AvalonncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmcWtibYV6e8GrmKecn6Osp7jOsJyrq4%2BWuqa%2ByJyYrJeSmrCwucinnpiln6eyoL%2FEnKylmaKUwamt06yWp6eklK60q8arnJqsj5bAoL%2FOppyYrJieu6x7