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The Killers are an American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. Formed in 2002 and made up of Brandon Flowers (vocals, keyboards), Dave Keuning (guitar, vocals), Mark Stoermer (bass guitar, vocals) and Ronnie Vannucci Jr., (drums, percussion), The Killers released their debut album, Hot Fuss, in 2004. The Killers second album, Sam's Town, was released in early October 2006. Their first two albums to date have sold in excess of 8,750,000 copies.

Most famous for their hit singles "Somebody Told Me", "Mr. Brightside" and "When You Were Young", The Killers music is based on British influences and on the music of the 1980s, particularly New Wave music and later, on epic 'Americana' artists such as Bruce Springsteen.

The future bandmates had diverse occupations before forming The Killers. Flowers, who had dropped out of college, was a bellhop for a while at the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Dave Keuning, who was originally from Pella, Iowa, dropped out of Kirkwood Community College, then the University of Iowa, and finally moved to Las Vegas in January of 2000. He worked there at a Banana Republic store, stating that it was a terrible job and he finally quit when a new manager was appointed and he wouldn't allow Dave to listen to music in the back room. Mark Stoermer worked as a medical courier, delivering various medical supplies while studying philosophy at UNLV. Ronnie Vannucci was a student of classical percussion at UNLV to become a teacher and worked as a photographer at the Little Chapel of the Flowers and as a pedicab driver at the Desert Passage mall inside the Aladdin Hotel.

In 2001, Flowers was abandoned by the first band that he was in, a synth pop band known as Blush Response, after he declined to move with the rest of them to Los Angeles, California. Shortly thereafter, Flowers attended an Oasis concert, and, realizing that he wanted to make the transition from a keyboard band to a true rock band, began searching for a guitarist. It is said that between then and his first meeting with David Keuning, he was rejected by a potential guitarist who claimed that "this 'Duran Duran' crap wasn't going to go anywhere." After gaining his fame, Flowers was waited on by that same guitarist in a Las Vegas restaurant. He then met Keuning after responding to an ad that Keuning had placed in the paper that listed, among other things, Smashing Pumpkins and Oasis as influences. The two hit it off immediately and began rehearsing. They were joined by a bassist (Keuning's roommate) and a drummer.

Both bassist and drummer quickly moved on to other things, and the drummer would later sue The Killers, claiming that he wrote "Mr. Brightside." After their departure, Vannucci and Stoermer (who were both in other bands at the time; Vannucci was drummer in a melodic indierock group called Expert On October, featuring current backup guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Ted Sablay on bass) were approached by Flowers and Keuning with an offer to join "The Killers," a name which comes from the bass drum of a band in a New Order video for their song "Crystal".

After watching a few of their early shows, Vannucci acknowledged that the group was very green and would need a lot of work to become a polished act. Additionally, their fanbase was scarce and they hadn't yet worked out their image. However, Vannucci would eventually join the band.

Stoermer was the last to join The Killers. He filled the remaining post at least partly because he and Flowers had quickly become friends. They played their first gig as the new band at a club in Vegas called The Junkyard. After Vannucci sold his house The Killers found themselves without a garage to rehearse in and took to sneaking into UNLV's music rooms, where Vannucci was attending college, in order to practice.

Initially, the Killers played at small clubs in Las Vegas, Nevada. With The Killers's lineup stable and their repertoire of songs expanding, The Killers began to attract attention from talent bookers, local agents, major label, scouts�and a UK representative for Warner Bros. Though the Warner Bros rep passed on The Killers, he took the demo back with him, showing it to a friend who worked at UK indie label Lizard King. The Killers would sign by the end of the summer, and moved to England. They also chose this time to create the band logo as we know it today after being shown the website of a company called dubtitled whose founder was friend of the founder of Lizard King.

The Killers released their album Hot Fuss on June 7, 2004 in the United Kingdom on London-based indie record label Lizard King Records, and June 15 in the United States on Island Records. The Killers first single, "Somebody Told Me," was released on that same year. The Killers 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." However, The Killers main mainstream success came when they scored a number three chart position with their re-release of "Somebody Told Me.

The Killers' second album, Sam's Town, was released on October 2, 2006 in the UK, and October 3 in the USA under Island Universal. Brandon Flowers said that Sam's Town will be "one of the best albums in the past twenty years," though the album has received a mixed response from critics and fans. The first single from Sam's Town "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. It was unable to knock the Scissor Sisters off the top spot. Their single, "Bones," was the second video from The Killers, and was directed by Tim Burton. Brandon Flowers has announced that The Killers will be in the recording studio sometime in mid 2008 for their third album, and that they have started rehearsing to get new ideas.

Much of The Killers' music is based on British influences (indeed the band are often described as the "Best British band to have come out of America") and on the music of the 1980s, particularly New Wave music. Flowers has also said in interviews that the larger than life sound of many of The Killers's songs is due to the influence of living in Las Vegas, a city where everything is about flash and who can top whom. Despite their appreciation for the wave of post-punk bands that sprung up during the 80s, the band members are also avowed fans of New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Morrissey, Depeche Mode, U2, Queen, Oasis, and The Beatles.