Brought up in the neon gamblers’ paradise of Las Vegas on a diet of rock and synth bands such as The Cure, Oasis, mid-70s David Bowie, Morrissey and classic Depeche Mode among others, The Killers are in fact a very British band. They met through the small ads in a weekly Vegas newspaper and their rise to fame has been meteoric, inspired and yet eventful all at once.

A series of dead-end jobs – a bell-hop for example – had successfully demoralised Killers frontman and twenty-first century heart-throb Brandon Flowers sufficiently for him to give up all hope of ever being able to pay his bills easily. He shared his dejection with future band guitarist David Keuning who majored in music but was desperate to avoid becoming ‘just another music teacher in a turtleneck’. After meeting through that small ad, they formed The Killers in 2001, taking their name from a slogan in a New Order video. Along for the ride were former medical courier turned bassist Mark Stoermer and modern music’s nearest descendant of Keith Moon, photographer Ronnie Vannucci.

They gigged quickly and constantly, an early version of the future smash single ‘Mr Brightside’ being played in their very first show – which it has been ever since. America listened … and was totally uninterested.

A tape made its way to Lizard King Records in the UK, the spiritual home of The Killers and a deal then an album followed soon after. The album was called Hot Fuss and it would make its way into the Top 5 Selling Albums of 2004. For The Killers, everything was about to change.

Their striking looks, blistering live show, a slew of classic singles and Brandon Flowers acerbic interview wit sent The Killers to the top of everyone’s Best Bands of the Year lists. In 2005, with the singles continuing to flow and high profile festival performances lined up, The Killers look set to be the first mega-band of the new Millennium. This book charts that rise to fame, interviewing key players along the way as well as placing the band firmly in the context of the predominantly British legacy they are currently mining.