Somebody Told Me Mr. Brightside is Human
Formed in Las Vegas in 2001 by guitarist Dave Keuning and vocalist Brandon Flowers, The Killers finalised their original lineup a year later with Mark Stoermer on bass and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. on drums.
The debut album, Hot Fuss, arrived in 2004 and quickly established the band with two huge singles: Mr. Brightside and Somebody Told Me.
The album topped the U.K. charts, while its first two singles also made a major impact on the indie charts.
But Mr. Brightside would go on to become something much bigger than a successful single.
A Killer Tune
Released as the lead single from Hot Fuss, Mr. Brightside has become one of those tunes that seems almost impossible to escape—and that’s not necessarily a bad thing!
It developed into an anthem and, for working musicians, became a genuine cover-band standard.
Almost two decades after its release, bands and DJs are still playing it, as it has become the kind of song you can save for the end of the night when you really want to lift the energy.
It sits comfortably alongside other reliable crowd-pleasers such as Sex On Fire and Seven Nation Army.
These are not necessarily the songs you choose because they’re the most technically challenging. You choose them because you know what happens when you play them to a room full of people.
Somebody Told Me + When You Were Young
Somebody Told Me was the other major early hit from Hot Fuss, helping establish The Killers as one of the defining indie-rock bands of the era.
The Killers understood the importance of a strong hook, a memorable guitar part and a chorus that a crowd can sing back at you. That’s exactly the sort of song that works in a live setting.
The follow-up album, Sam’s Town, arrived in 2006. Its lead single, When You Were Young, performed strongly, although it never quite became the universal go-to that Mr. Brightside had become.
The second single, Bones, also had some success, but arguably lacked the same explosive chorus that The Killers had mastered on their earlier material.
Still, Sam’s Town showed the band moving beyond the sound of Hot Fuss, continuing to develop their songwriting and arrangements.
Human
Then came Day & Age in 2008 and another major single: Human. The song has the clarity and simplicity that makes a great singalong work. Once again, The Killers had found that sweet spot where a relatively straightforward song could create a huge moment when played to a crowd.
It even became the subject of one of the funniest pieces of television I’ve seen involving a pop song.
The U.K. TV show Fast and Loose featured comedian David Armand performing his famous interpretive dance routine to Human, miming the lyrics entirely through movement.
The Killers Tunes | Related Pages
Mr. Brightside | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play Mr. Brightside by The Killers using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, TAB, and backing tracks.
| Dbadd9 | Dbadd9/C |
Coming out of my cage and I’ve been doing just fine…
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