Ongoing History Daily: “Mr. Brightside” is The Killers song that won’t die

“Mr. Brightside” was the first-ever single from The Killers. It was released on September 29, 2003, and in Britain, it has never, ever gone away.

It’s been on and off the British charts for ten years, making it the longest-charting single in the history of those charts. It has sold more than six million copies in the UK alone and has been played on the radio around eight million times.

Here’s what drummer Ronnie Vanucci had to say about the song: “It just goes. It’s like if you sing ‘Happy Birthday’ and you don’t think. It’s just ‘Happy Birthday’ now.” Are they bored playing it yet? Nope.

Brandon Flowers says, “I’m able to feed off of the excitement of somebody who’s there, hearing it for the first time. I still get a thrill. My concern is that it’s going to turn on us and there’s going to be a backlash, but it just keeps growing.”