Huge American rock group break major Oasis music record with one of their most iconic tracks
IT’S a song that means so much to many of us – and was the last dance at my best friend Charlie’s wedding.
And now The Killers’ track Mr Brightside has reached a new high after it became the UK’s official biggest single of all time . . . that never reached the No1 spot.
The band, fronted by Brandon Flowers, have taken the record from Oasis’ song Wonderwall, written by Noel Gallagher.
It has been confirmed by the Official Charts.
And it couldn’t have come at a better time, as the tune celebrates its 20th anniversary this month.
As well as taking the accolade, with 1.066million sales and 530,340,000 streams, Mr Brightside is also now the UK’s third-biggest song of all time, beating WHAM!’s classic Last Christmas.
Brandon said of the song: “It’s funny, I almost don’t feel so much a part of it any more.
“It’s just this thing that exists in the world.
“It’s amazing I had something to do with it, but I almost feel a little bit removed from it because it’s so big.
“It’s incredible. I went to see Ed Sheeran in Las Vegas and I joined him for a version of Mr Brightside.
“We also did Castle On The Hill.
“These are people that may not be Killers fans, but it just lit up like a casino in this place when we started playing Mr Brightside.
“It was an amazing thing to see that transcendence.
“It doesn’t matter how old, young or what sex you are.”
The track first came out in 2001 but Brandon said he only knew it was going to become something special when they played Glastonbury three years later.
He said: “We’d been coming to the UK and had some great experiences, but we’d been away for a little while.
“We came back and when we played that song, something had obviously happened.
“Something shifted in the way that the audience physically responded, and it set us off on this path to become the live band we are now.”
Fans of the band will be able to hear them play Mr Brightside live all over again this summer as they are coming back to the UK on their Rebel Diamonds Tour.
The 16 dates include four performances at the Co-op Live in Manchester and six gigs at London’s O2 Arena.
It is going to be incredible to see The Killers back on stage.
Congrats, lads.
Biggest songs of all time (that have never been number 1 in the charts)
1. Mr Brightside – THE KILLERS. Chart position: 10.
2. Wonderwall – OASIS. Chart position: 2
3. All Of Me – JOHN LEGEND. Chart position: 2.
4. Take Me To Church – HOZIER. Chart Position: 2.
5. Fairytale Of New York – POGUES ft KIRSTY MacCOLL. Chart position: 2.