It's strange to say it, but there are still plenty of music-lovers who are unaware that The Killers have ever released one Christmas song, let alone ten. But, since 2006, the Las Vegas hit-makers have produced an annual festive offering every December, with the sale proceeds from each of them being donated to Bono's (RED) campaign dedicated to trying to eliminate the threat of HIV/AIDS in Africa. These tracks - aside from helping a fantastic cause year after year - are a wonderful showcase of the remarkable variety the Las Vegas band have been able to demonstrate throughout their career. While some are perhaps closer to being songs about Christmas than they are "Christmas songs", there's no denying that they are all superbly entertaining in their own way. From stories of a deranged Santa hell-bent on punishing those on his dreaded naughty list, to the tale of an unhappy Christmas morning from the perspective of an unfortunate lump of coal, Brandon, Mark, Dave and Ronnie have continuously pulled out all the stops to bring their fans something new and exciting on December 1st every year!
10. ¡Happy Birthday Guadalupe!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C24KIIh_OzM For their fourth Christmas single, released in 2009, The Killers recruited assistance from Wild Light and Mariachi El Bronx for a reflection on the part Christmas has to play in times of economic frugality. Flowers said in 2014 that he had started writing this song on a plane while he was thinking about the worldwide recession, pondering about how people could come together in spite of all that and still have a typically joyful Christmas time. The Mariachi flavour is an interesting take for the band, and it's likely that Flowers had taken a bit of inspiration from the two featured artists on the single as both had toured with the band on their tour in support of Day & Age. The song and video focus around the relationship of the narrator with his love - a woman named Guadalupe - and his desire to bring her a special Christmas even in the current circumstances. While it may find itself at the bottom of our ranking list, it's by no means a weak effort and the catchy tune is typical of the now stadium-filling band, with some of the hearty themes even managing to find their way into Flowers' first solo record afterwards in 2010.
Gareth is 28 years old and lives in Cardiff. Interests include film, TV and an unhealthy amount of Spider-Man comics and Killers songs. Expect constant references to the latter two at all times.
Follow on twitter @GJCartwright.
