Taking it personally
Brandon Flowers on the joys and agonies that have shaped his home life and career
He’s the Caesar’s Palace busboy who took a gamble on fame and became the frontman of one of the world’s biggest bands. So when Brandon Flowers heard that 58 concertgoers had been shot dead in his hometown LasVegas, it hit hard.
“It happened at the Bataclan and I gasped,” he says. “It happened at Manchester and I prayed. Then it happened in Las Vegas... and I cried. It’s horrible. Vegas is where I grew up and some of the greatest moments of my life have happened at concerts. It’s a place of joy.”
Brandon, 36, reveals that The Killers are now trying to organise a benefit show for the victims of deranged gunman Stephen Paddock and their families.
Next year marks 15 years since the Vegas band landed a record deal. Since then they’ve had five UK No 1 albums and given us such iconic tracks as Mr Brightside and Human.
Now Wonderful Wonderful – their first album in five years, thanks to some recent band counselling – has finally given them a US chart topper.
“It’s nice they’re coming around,” jokes Brandon. “We’ve been lucky enough to have success without having that box checked but it’s nice to have one. I just can’t believe it’s been 15 years. I feel like we’ve just started.” The new album includes deeply personal tracks about wife-of-12-years Tana’s battle with PTSD and suicidal thoughts, triggered by a private moment in her past – and Brandon hopes it will help others.
“I love the idea of that becoming something positive for many more people,” he explains. “It unified us in a really difficult time. It helped me have more empathy and drew us closer together.”
He adds that the songs will also be an “ice breaker” when they decide to talk about Tana’s illness to their sons, Ammon, nine, Gunnar, seven, and Henry, six.
Meanwhile, Brandon has had struggles himself – but got help from his very own guru... U2’s Bono. “I have feelings of inadequacies almost as much as I have feelings of being some kind of conqueror,” he admits.
“I have these extremes, so I was definitely having these feelings of inadequacy when I was seeking some wisdom from him. I walked away feeling a lot better.”
Brandon might soon be hearing from Mike Tyson after penning the track Tyson vs Douglas, about his hero’s downfall. “We have a mutual friend in Jimmy Kimmel. So if he hasn’t heard it by the time Jimmy sees him, Jimmy promises to play it to him,” says Brandon.
He was iconic. He made me want to do push ups as a kid.
Wonderful Wonderful is out now. The band tour the UK from November 6 to 28.