10 Surprising Details You Didn't Know About The Killers
5. Mr. Brightside Was The First Song They Wrote
An eternal bop if there ever was one, 'Mr. Brightside' isn't just their most iconic song, but also the first they wrote. Imagine coming out of the gate as a new band this dang hard. You probably can't, but The Killers can.
After a nasty break-up that left him heart-broken, Flowers wrote the lyrics to the song before even before meeting Keuning. When the two met, Keuning had already written what would become the instrumentals. They then recorded a rough demo of 'Mr. Brightside' that, while less polished than the final version, was more raw sounding giving it a youthful grit reminiscent of a punk track.
The original demo can be found on their best of album 'Direct Hits'. Listening to it is a surreal experience considering just how much their sound has changed since. Even then, the demo is still fantastic and worth listening to.
It's almost like Flowers and Keuning had known each other before they even met considering how they each had a piece to a puzzle that would go on to become their biggest hit.
Could it be that they were destined for greatness from the start? Yes. The answer is yes.