Brandon Flowers: I like the same music as my mom
The Killers frontman has a brother called Shane who is 12 years his senior. Shane introduced Brandon to many of his favourite bands, such as The Smiths and The Cure, but the problem was the boys’ mother Jean already knew many of the tracks. Brandon liked the idea of listening to the same songs as his brother, but he was embarrassed when Jean would sing along too.
“One of the weirdest things was that I was listening to the same music as my brother did 12 years before me. Shane was long gone out of the house but I’m listening to his music and my parents already know it,” Brandon explained. “That’s the last thing anybody wants when you’re that age. I had a chance to be a real outsider and my mom’s whistling The Smiths’ Girlfriend In A Coma while doing the dishes.”
The Killers released their debut album Hot Fuss in 2004, and Brandon was totally unprepared for how successful it would be. He is more used to life in the limelight now he is 29, but it took him a long time to adapt to the way his life had altered.
“When The Killers started I was very aware that I wasn’t ready and it was scary. I was on these famous stages I’d read about as a kid and I started to feel I was getting too big for my britches,” he told Q magazine. “It made me want to learn to try and be better. Now it’s starting to feel like we belong.”