Brandon Flowers is an American born singer-songwriter and musician, though you would never guess from hearing his music. Flowers wears his influences (nearly all from the UK) on his sleeve. Credit to his older siblings, he practically grew up on New Order and the Cure.
Flowers was born on 21 June 1981 in Henderson, Nevada, US and was the youngest of 6 children. Brandon moved around a few times during his childhood. He first relocated from Henderson to Payson, Utah when he was 8 years old and two years later moved to Nephi, Utah. During his junior year of high school he moved to Las Vegas with his aunt to finish up at Chaparral High School.
Two years after his graduation Flowers went on to form one of the most iconic pop-rock bands of the decade, The Killers. Towards the end of 2001 he responded to an add guitarist David Keuning had placed in the paper seeking musicians for his new band. Once Flowers joined, he along with Keuning recruited bassist Mark Stoermer and drummer Ronnie Vannucci to complete the line up.
Under Flower’s direction The Killers went on to release 4 albums between 2004 and 2012, which would each take the No.1 spot on the charts. Additionally the band put out the compilation albums “Sawdust” and “Direct Hits”, achieving platinum and gold status, consecutively. The Killers have sold over 25 million albums worldwide and are largely responsible for reviving the 80s new wave sound initially defined by acts like the Pet Shop Boys, Psychedelic Furs, and Echo & the Bunnymen.
Brandon Flowers has influenced a multitude of bands with his signature sound and fashion sensibility and has likewise left an indelible impression on his contemporaries. Singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright composed the song “Tulsa” about the time when he first met Flowers. The track appeared in the middle of Wainwright’s widely acclaimed record “Release the Stars”. Elton John and U2’s Bono have also professed their fondness of Flowers. Elton named him as one of his top-five heroes and Bono spoke highly of Flowers’ voice, exclaiming that it was of the type of quality the radio should snap up.
Flowers released his debut studio album “Flamingo” in September of 2010. The album was a very personal one with themes strongly tied to Flowers’ hometown, Las Vegas. It was produced by a star studded list of sound engineers, including Stuart Price (Pet Shop Boys, Scissor Sisters, Gwen Stefani etc..), Daniel Lanois (Brian Eno, Harold Budd, U2) and Brendan O’Brien (Pearl Jam, Matthew Sweet, My Chemical Romance). “Flamingo” did exceptionally well on the charts entering the Billboard 200 at No.8. Flower’s second studio album is set for release in 2015.
Bear McCreary
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