The Killers have been honored with an award to commemorate their record-breaking six-night residency at London’s O2 arena. The Las Vegas rock band recently completed their performances at the venue as part of their ongoing ‘Rebel Diamonds’ tour, setting a new record for the most tickets sold.
Their shows took place on July 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, and 11, and saw Brandon Flowers and the band celebrate 20 years of hits. Over 105,000 tickets were sold during these performances, marking the highest number for any music act at The O2 this year.
The award, created by the venue, is made out of Jesmonite, a sustainable material that can be crushed and reused. It features imagery of The Killers’ shows at the venue, along with a piece of The O2’s own tent fabric.
Matt Woolliscroft, Promoter at SJM Concerts, expressed his excitement about the milestone. “The six-night residency of The Killers at The O2 has been a phenomenal experience to be a part of,” he said. “In the 20 years that I have been working with the band, the ‘Rebel Diamonds’ tour has seen, in my opinion, their best performances, best production, and best setlists. Every night the audience reaction and energy has been incredible. The night of the Euros semi-final at The O2 was a true once-in-a-lifetime ‘I was there’ moment, and it was a privilege to be in the room for it. Each time they tour the UK, I am left thinking that they can’t get any better live, then the next time they come over they once again reach new heights.”
The Euros moment mentioned refers to their show on July 11, when the band paused their performance in London to watch England win their semi-final game against the Netherlands. Ten songs into their performance, Brandon Flowers and the band paused the concert to watch the clashing Euros semi-finals with the O2 audience. After England secured the victory, red and white streamers were fired to raucous applause, and the band dove right into ‘Mr. Brightside’ to celebrate.
Since then, the band spoke to NME about the gig – which soon went viral – and revealed that they had actually planned for multiple different outcomes on the night. “We had scenarios planned for if they won, if they lost, if it went an extra 30 minutes, if it went to penalties. We had everything covered and it just happened when it happened,” the frontman explained. “We just wanted to do something special for the fans, and it ended up being something that timed out really well. You can’t really make anything happen like that. It was a lot of luck.”
The Killers’ first night at the O2 Arena on July 8 scored them a four-star review, with Thomas Smith writing for NME: “The tone of the evening remains consistent: a balance of big hits and deep cuts from their entire discography. ‘Smile Like You Mean It’, ‘Spaceman’ and ‘Somebody Told Me’ are performed with bombast and urgency, as Flowers assumes the role of gracious host, reminding the audience that he and his band are in the service industry, gleefully here to facilitate the best of times. The smart staging – diamond-shaped lighting and a garishly-patterned casino carpet – complements the dazzling black number that Flowers sashays and flexes in.”
The Killers will kick off a Las Vegas residency in August to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ‘Hot Fuss’. Since then, The Killers have also been presented with two Guinness World Records for their hit song ‘Mr Brightside’. As of July 4, the track has spent a total of 416 weeks on the UK singles chart – the longest by a group – as well as the most cumulative weeks on the UK singles chart with one song. In total, that amounts to almost eight years.
Kirk M. Sommer, Global Co-Head of Music at WME, said: “The Killers were my first signing more than two decades ago – it was love on first listen – and they continue to break records, warm hearts, and delight fans each and every night. It is a great privilege to be a part of their team and I was so proud to share in the joy of these record-breaking shows at The O2. After their monumental second Glastonbury headline performance in 2019, multiple sold-out stadium shows across the world in 2022, and their stunning Reading and Leeds headline sets last year, this six-night, sold-out run at London’s The O2 was the perfect capstone to the wildly successful ‘Rebel Diamonds’ tour in the UK. It is exhilarating to see 20 years of hits performed live with conviction and surprises by a band at the top of their game. The audiences were electric. Congratulations to the band and whole team.”
Emma Bownes, Vice President of Venue Programming for AEG Europe, added: “We were absolutely thrilled to welcome The Killers back to The O2 for six incredible shows. Everything about the show was truly world class – from the changing setlist, to the mammoth production, and of course the moment of absolute euphoria when the band transitioned from the England Euro’s win into one of the most iconic songs of all time – Mr Brightside. It’s truly been a residency to remember, and we hope to welcome The Killers back to The O2 in the future.”
The award presented to The Killers by the venue is created with Jesmonite, a sustainable material which can be crushed and reused, and features imagery of The Killers’ shows at the venue, along with a piece of The O2’s own tent fabric.
With an incredible summer of show-stopping content ahead, The O2 is hosting headline performances from Justin Timberlake, Megan Thee Stallion, Noah Kahan, Niall Horan, Jungle, and more over the coming months.
Source: NME, Pollstar, RETROPOP
