Nevadan pop-rock giants The Killers have announced the postponement of their 2021 UK and Irish tour due to ongoing complications caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Imploding The Mirage arena tour – which had originally been scheduled for the summer of 2020, and then again for May this year – will now take place in 2022. The band have also added a new gig to their schedule, with an extra show at Falkirk pencilled in between existing dates in the Scottish town and Norwich City FC’s Carrow Road stadium.
The American titans will receive stellar back-up on the 13-date tour, with support coming from Blackwood rock icons Manic Street Preachers – who are due to release their own highly-anticipated fourteenth studio album this summer – as well as Supergrass; Sam Fender and Stockport indie outfit Blossoms. A post on The Killers Twitter page stated: “UK and Ireland friends… We’re sorry, but there’s no way around this. These will be the same great shows, but we have to move them to next year. All tickets will be honored, so we really hope you can still join us!”
UK and Ireland friends… We’re sorry, but there’s no way around this. These will be the same great shows, but we have to move them to next year. All tickets will be honored, so we really hope you can still join us! pic.twitter.com/wjhOkqGiA7
— The Killers (@thekillers) March 8, 2021
Last year The Killers released one of their very best records in Imploding The Mirage, a collection of power-rock anthems drenched in the same spirit of rugged Americana that turbo-charged their acclaimed 2006 LP Sam’s Town and 2012’s Battle Born. There were anthemic, fist-pumping choruses aplenty – not least in memorable single releases Dying Breed, Caution and My Own Soul’s Warning which stand tall with the group’s finest work.
Imploding The Mirage topped the Official UK Albums chart and has sold over 60,000 copies in Britain. There was near-universal critical acclaim for the record, with Under The Radar hailing it as a “full-fledged embrace of the arena” and a “mission statement“; while in a five-star review NME spoke of its “canyon rock enormity…roaring into a distant soundscape with enormo-ballads and futuristic bangers aplenty.”
The Killers have confirmed that they are currently at work on their seventh LP. In a recent interview with NME, frontman Brandon Flowers – who is due to undergo shoulder surgery after a bike accident – said of the record “Some songs are laborious sons of bitches and then some just appear. This album just kind of appeared and we’ve never had that happen. We’ve had songs appear but never an entire record like this. We’re almost confused by it, but we’re going with it and we’re really excited about it.”
The Las Vegas collective will look forward to their return to the live stage in the UK, where the distinctly transatlantic new wave sound of their debut LP Hot Fuss achieved instance resonance back in 2004, and went on to soundtrack a decade of indie discos. The Killers’ current UK tour schedule for 2022 is as follows:
24/05/22 – Keepmoat Stadium – Doncaster (with Blossoms)
26/05 – Ashton Gate – Bristol (with Manic Street Preachers)
28/05 – Ricoh Stadium – Coventry (with Manic Street Preachers)
30/05 – St Mary’s Stadium – Southampton (with Blossoms)
01/06 – Riverside – Middlesbrough (with Manic Street Preachers)
03/06 – Emirates Stadium – London (with Sam Fender)
04/06 – Emirates Stadium – London (with Sam Fender)
06/06 – Falkirk Stadium – Falkirk (with Blossoms)
07/06 – Falkirk Stadium – (with Supergrass)
09/06 – Carrow Road Stadium – Norwich (with Blossoms)
11/06 – Emirates Old Trafford Stadium – Manchester (with Blossoms)
