Don't Shoot Me Santa

Biography

There are at least five artists named The Killers: 1. An American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2001. 2. A Uruguayan rock band from the early 1970s. 3. An American hardcore band from Chicago, IL, from the 1990s. 4. An American band from Cleveland, Ohio, from the 1980s. 5. A British punk rock band from the 1970s. 1. The Killers is an American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2001. Their line-up is: Brandon Flowers (vocals, keyboards), Dave Keuning (guitar, backing voca...

There are at least five artists named The Killers:

1. An American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2001.
2. A Uruguayan rock band from the early 1970s.
3. An American hardcore band from Chicago, IL, from the 1990s.
4. An American band from Cleveland, Ohio, from the 1980s.
5. A British punk rock band from the 1970s.

1. The Killers is an American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2001. Their line-up is:
Brandon Flowers (vocals, keyboards),
Dave Keuning (guitar, backing vocals),
Mark Stoermer (bass guitar, backing vocals),
Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (drums, percussion).

They got the name from the fictional band The Killers in the video for New Order's song Crystal.
The band's four studio albums to date have sold in excess of 18 million copies worldwide combined.

The Early Years
Initially, The Killers played at large clubs in Las Vegas. With the band's line-up stable and their repertoire of songs expanding, the band began to attract attention from talent bookers, local agents, major label, scouts — and a UK representative for Warner Bros. Though the Warner Bros representative passed on the band, he took the demo back with him, showing it to a friend who worked at UK (London-based) indie label Lizard King Records (now Marrakesh Records). The Killers then signed in the summer of 2002 to a British label.

Hot Fuss
They released their debut album Hot Fuss on June 2004 in the United Kingdom and US (on Island Records). Their first single was Somebody Told Me. The band also had chart success with their singles Mr. Brightside, which reached the Top 10 in the UK when released, and All These Things That I've Done.

Sam's Town
The band started recording its second album, Sam's Town, on February 15, 2006, at The Palms Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas. It was released on October 2006.
The first single, When You Were Young debuted on radio stations in late July 2006. In late August 2006, it was offered as a downloadable track before the album's debut. The single then entered the chart on downloads alone at #5, and the following week on its official release went to #2 in the UK.
The video clip of the second single, Bones, was directed by Tim Burton.
The third single was Read My Mind. The video for it was filmed in Tokyo, Japan.
The last one was For Reasons Unknown, released in June, 2007.
The album sold over 700,000 copies worldwide in the first week of release, with a No. 2 debut on the United World chart.

Sawdust Compilation
The compilation album Sawdust, containing B-sides, rarities, and some new material, was released on November 12, 2007.
The album's first single Tranquilize, a collaboration with Lou Reed, was released on October 2007. The band also released their cover of Joy Division's song Shadowplay on the U.S. iTunes Store. The album contains songs Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town (a The First Edition cover), Romeo and Juliet (a Dire Straits cover), and a new version of Move Away (previously available on the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack). One of the tracks on Sawdust is Leave the Bourbon On The Shelf, the first but previously unreleased part of the so called Murder Trilogy, in which it is followed by Midnight Show then Jenny Was a Friend of Mine.

(Red) Christmas EP
In 2006 Songfacts reported that The Killers were recognized for their work with Bono's Product Red campaign, which is dedicated to fighting AIDS in Africa.
In the same year they have released their first Christmas themed song and music video, A Great Big Sled in aid of the charity, followed by Don't Shoot Me Santa on December 1, 2007.
Their festive tunes have subsequently became an annual event and (Red) Christmas EP intended to raise money for the Product Red campaign on November 29, 2011.

Day & Age
The third album Day & Age was released on 25th November 2008 (24th November for the UK).
The album's first single Human was debuted on 22nd September and on the 30th September, the single was made available on iTunes, with many radio DJ's suggesting it was the best single by The Killers yet.
Killers frontman Brandon Flowers said (in December 2008) that he thinks that his band "will be bigger than U2 eventually, and sooner than you might think". He told The Daily Telegraph that "U2 are unbelievable, but they're getting old. It feels like it's time".
The album was reviewed at Silent Soundwaves.

Battle Born
The band was on hiatus, but returned to the studio to record their fourth studio album in early 2011. Songfacts reported that Runaways, the first single from the new album, was released on July 10, 2012.
The Killers' fourth studio album, Battle Born, was released on 18 September 2012.
It took 15 months to record it. The band began working on it after they took a touring break for a little over a year. The album had five producers, with The Killers producing one song by themselves, The Rising Tide.
The debut single was Runaways, followed by Miss Atomic Bomb and Here with Me.

Influences
Much of The Killers' music is based on British influences and on the music of the 1980s, particularly New Wave. Flowers has also said in interviews that the larger-than-life sound of many of the band's songs is due to the influence of living in Las Vegas, a city where everything is about flash and who can top whom. They appreciate post-punk bands that sprang up during the 80's such as Joy Division, and they are also avowed fans of New Order (with whom Flowers has performed live), Pet Shop Boys, Dire Straits, David Bowie, The Smiths, Morrissey, Depeche Mode, U2, Queen, Oasis and The Beatles. Their second album was said to be greatly influenced by Bruce Springsteen's music and lyrics.

Official Site

2. The Killers was an Uruguayan rock band from the early 1970s which released an album Good Bye in 1972.

3. The Killers was an American hardcore band from Chicago, IL, from the 1990s founded by former members of Charles Bronson.
They released records on Hater of God and Gloom, and had split records with A.P.B. & 9 Shocks Terror.
Reminds of Behead The Prophet No Lord Shall Live meets The Oath.

4. The Killers (aka Insanity and The Killers) was an American band from Cleveland, Ohio. They released one 7″ on Huh? Oh? in 1981.

5. The Killers was a British punk rock band from England formed in 1977 (though released their first 7", I Don't Care, as Joe Cool & The Killers).
In 1978 they released their one and only album called Killer; by then they had dropped the Joe Cool and released the record under this name. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.