Brandon Flowers (The Killers) biography
Date of birth : 1981-06-21
Date of death : -
Birthplace : Henderson, Nevada, U.S.
Nationality : American
Category : Arts and Entertainment
Last modified : 2012-03-13
Credited as : Musician, Member of The Killers band, Flamingo solo album
0 votes so far
Flowers, the youngest of six children, was born on June 21, 1981 in Henderson, Nevada to Terry Flowers and Jean Flowers. His older siblings are his brother Shane and four sisters April, Shelly, Amy and Stephanie. His family lived in Henderson until Flowers was eight, when they moved to Payson, Utah for two years before moving to Nephi, Utah at which time he was in the 6th grade. Flowers lived in Nephi until his junior year at Juab High School. He moved to Las Vegas to live with his aunt and graduated from Chaparral High School in 1999.
While listening to the radio in his car after his very first college class, Flowers heard the song “Changes” by David Bowie. He fell in love with the piece and realized immediately that he wanted to be part of the music industry.
His career in music began when he became a member of Las Vegas band Blush Response (this was where he discovered he could sing), but he was fired after refusing to move to Los Angeles, California, with the rest of the band. After leaving Blush Response, Flowers realised that he still wanted a career in music and came across an ad for guitarist David Keuning. After many short-term bassist and drummers, the pair met Ronnie Vanucci (drums) and Mark Stoermer (bass) and the band has been together since. In 2004 the group released Hot Fuss (after having toured with Morrissey in multiple sold out shows), 2006 - Sam’s Town, 2007 - Sawdust, 2008 - Day & Age.
On July 4, 2010, The Killers were invited to headline the "Salute to the Military" USO Concert at the White House by President Obama. They performed 'God Bless America' and favorites from their catalogue.
Canadian-American singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright wrote a song about Flowers called "Tulsa" for his fifth album Release the Stars. Wainwright has stated in numerous interviews that it was inspired by their first meeting in a bar in Tulsa, Oklahoma. According to Wainwright, Flowers was "very flattered and somewhat bashful" about this tribute.
Flowers, himself, has performed with Coldplay, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Pet Shop Boys, Lady Gaga, Fran Healy (of Travis), Andy Summers (of The Police), New Order, Bright Eyes, amongst others. Sir Elton John has listed Flowers as one of his top-five heroes while editing The Independent's World Aids Day special edition.
Flamingo was released September 6 in the UK and Ireland and September 14 in the US and Canada. The first single from Flamingo, "Crossfire", was released on June 21 (Flowers' birthday). The video for "Crossfire" was released on July 8 and includes Charlize Theron. As of November 2011, the video has more than 10 million views on YouTube. The album made the Top 10 Albums of 2010 list on UpVenue.com.
Flamingo charted in the UK on September 12, 2010 at Number 1. It is Flowers' fourth consecutive album to reach No. 1 on the UK charts, including work by The Killers.
SPIN named Brandon Flowers one of "The 15 Best Shows of the Summer" in 2010 for his show at the Shimmer Showroom in Las Vegas. SPIN also listed him as one of "The 25 Best Fall Tours"/"Must-See Fall Tours". While on tour Flowers has had special guests including Stuart Price, Andy Summers, and Fran Healy.
Flowers married Tana Brooke Mundkowsky on August 2, 2005 on the island of O'ahu in Hawaii. They have three sons, Ammon (named after a Book of Mormon missionary), born July 14, 2007;Gunnar, born July 28, 2009; and Henry, born March 9, 2011.
He was nominated for Q Awards 'Best Male Artist' in 2010. He was also nominated for "Best Video" ("Crossfire") at the Shockwaves NME 2011 Awards.