Ongoing History Daily: The immortal “Mr. Brightside”

July 2, 2021 Alan Cross 0 Comments 0 min read

When The Killers released “Mr. Brightside” as a single on September 29, 2003, they had no idea they had created a monster—especially in the UK. It was the first song the band ever wrote when they first got together in Las Vegas around the end of 2001 and was inspired by a girl who cheated on singer Brandon Flowers.

When it first appeared in its demo version, nothing much happened. But when it was re-released in 2004, it reached the Top 10 and then proceeded to stay on the UK’s Top 100 charts for 260 weeks. That’s five years. It became the most-streamed song of the aughts in the UK. It’s also one of the top fifteen most-downloaded tracks in the UK. And that’s on top of selling 3.5 million copies.

I wonder what the woman at the centre of the song thinks?

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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