MusicRadar

The Killers. Human? Dancer? Whatever!

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Going head-to-head with Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy in Europe, The Killers release their third album Day & Age on Monday 24 November.

MusicRadar reckons it's a winner, but we'll bet our bottom dollar you don't know all these killer Killers facts…

1. They met through the small ads

One fateful morning in 2002, a minimalist entry nestled amongst the lonely hearts and unwanted patio furniture in the classified section of the Las Vegas Weekly. Guitarist Dave Keuning was clearly paying by the word. 'Looking to start or join band?' asked his ad. 'Influences: U2, Pumpkins, Oasis'.

2. They were almost fronted by a psycho

The odds of Keuning recruiting a Mormon with a moustache fixation were slim, but vocalist Brandon Flowers was reportedly the most normal applicant by some distance. "All the others were very strange," recalls Keuning. "I got one guy who had tattoos on his arms listing the dead people he had in his family."

3. The Killers already existed, technically

With all the best band names taken by the late-'70s, it seemed inconceivable that 'The Killers' had slipped through the net. In fact, it hadn't: this was the name of the fictional band in New Order's 2001 Crystal video. "The video had this band who looked all hot, pretending to be New Order, but known as The Killers," recalls bassist Mark Stoermer. "We saw that name on the kick drum head and lifted it."

Watch New Order's video for Crystal featuring fake band The Killers below.

4. Their first name was The Genius Sex Poets

No, really. This unfortunate early draft appears on the bass drum in the Mr Brightside video.

Relive the folly here.

5. They write genius gibberish

The baffling 'I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier' chant from All These Things That I've Done has so far been hijacked by three rock behemoths, with U2, Coldplay and Robbie Williams all dropping the line at concerts like it actually means something. On Day & Age, meanwhile, Flowers has upped the ante with Human's frankly nonsensical "are we human or are we dancer?'"

6. Dave Keuning plays the most unfashionable guitar of the '70s…

Dave Keuning with his rare Fender Starcaster

In the mid-'70s, Fender squared up to Gibson with their own spin on the semi-hollow ES-335. Widely unloved, the Starcaster had ceased production by the '80s, but lives on in the hands of spring-haired guitarist Dave Keuning. "Not many people use them," he admits. "A friend in Vegas had one. I played it and it sounded great. I had to have it shipped in from Japan. I love it – I used it a lot on Sam's Town."

Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood is another Starcaster fan. Watch Keuning use it in the Human video.