The Killers have revealed that the majority of work on their new album Day & Age was done via email with producer Stuart Price.

Speaking to the AV Club, frontman Brandon Flowers said of the process: “It made it real fresh, I think. It was almost like pre-production was underway as soon as we hit ’send’ on an idea. He’d send something back, and we’d all fight about it, or embrace about it, and then we met for a month and sealed the deal.”

Flowers voiced his disappointment at not being the first artist to produce a record electronically. “I just read this article on that new [Brian] Eno and [David] Byrne record,” he said. “They did exactly what we did. They emailed the whole thing, and then got together for two weeks and finished it. They beat us to the punch. We thought we were gonna be, you know, matadors.”

Guitarist Dave Keuning noted that convenience was a key factor in assembling the album over a long distance with Price.

“Even when people live in the same town, you spend time apart,” he explained. “But if you get a song idea at home, you can just email it. You don’t have to leave your house. And they can hear it, they can play on it if they want to, they can mess around with it.

“And then when you’re in the same room, you have a head start on what the song is.”

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Sir Paul McCartney is reportedly planning to collaborate with The Killers.

The Las Vegas rock band recently met the former Beatle backstage after their concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

The Sun quotes a source as saying: “Paul had a great time at the gig. He loves their music and their great attitude.

“He was as pleased to meet them as they were to meet him but they were gobsmacked when he said he’d love to do something with them music-wise.”

Killers frontman Brandon Flowers admitted that his first encounter with McCartney was “daunting”.

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International act The Killers are likely to have a $3 million law suit hanging over their heads when they visit the Gold Coast next year.

The band’s former manager, Braden Merrick, is suing The Killers for unpaid commissions after he was fired in May 2005 and bass player Mark Stoermer told CoastConfidential it is far from over.

“It’s still pending. It’s a bit of a mess and I can’t say what the outcome will be,” says Stoermer who is legally restrained from discussing the finer details.

This is not the first time The Killers have faced trouble. Lead singer Brandon Flowers provoked rivalry when he said bands The Bravery and Fall Out Boy were riding the coat-tails of The Killers’ success. He later apologised.

Stoemer says this instance taught the band to be more wary of the statements they made in public.

“I think some of those statements were said off the cuff and we didn’t realise how big a deal would be made out of it.

“It’s hard to be natural in an interview situation and some things might not come out the same way when speaking to friends.”

However, bad publicity and a pending lawsuit have not stopped The Killers from releasing their new album Day & Age, or held them back from touring.

“We’re just focusing on this record and a year of touring ahead,” says Stoemer.

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Fall Out Boy Pete Wentz wants to bury the hatchet with The Killers —after becoming a father.

The two bands have been at war since 2005 when Killers frontman Brandon Flowers said he wanted to “destroy emo”, claiming it was a bad influence on kids.

But Pete—whose pop star wife Ashlee Simpson, 24, gave birth to son Bronx last month—told Rated: “My biggest public regret is the fall-out with The Killers. Fatherhood has made me see our feud is petty bulls***.”

Tattooed Pete—who, with his bleak lyrics, has become the spokesman for the emo generation of moody teenagers—went on: “I’ve wasted so much time thinking of cute insults for Brandon and his band, when I should have used that creativity to my own band and our music. I want it to stop—and, for another thing, I like The Killers’ music anyway!”

[…]

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Watch the video here!

The Killers’ Christmas single stars Elton John and Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant.

Frontman Brandon Flowers said: “Elton’s been doing a show called the Red Piano in Las Vegas and we sometimes have dinner with him.

“We’re big admirers of his voice and his gift for writing amazing songs so we asked if he wanted to chip in on our Christmas song—Joseph, Better You Than Me—and he wrote the chorus.”

Neil helped out with lyrics and sings with Elton.

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From http://www.thekillersmusic.com

Every day 4,100 men, women and children die in Africa from complications from HIV/AIDS. Yet only two pills a day for a cost of around 40 cents a day could save the lives of the estimated 4,100 people living with HIV AND AIDS who cannot afford to buy the medicine they need.

This year’s Christmas single will be distributed via a new program called (RED)WIRE. Subscribers to (RED)WIRE pay $5/4£ a month for access to exclusive audio and video content from artists like The Killers, U2, Coldplay, REM, Bob Dylan and others. The proceeds go directly to the Global Fund, which purchases ARV medicine for AIDS victims in Africa. The medicine costs $12 per month, so every 5 people who subscribe are paying to keep one person alive. You can sign up now for a free trial of (RED)WIRE with no credit card. You’ll get the first two issues for free. As a band we have chosen to support Project (RED) and The Global Fund for three years now. ALL proceeds from the sales of each Christmas single go directly to (RED) to support their efforts in Africa. We ask all of our fans who have the financial ability to sign up for (RED)WIRE and help us help the people of Africa.

We’d like to wish all of our fans everywhere in the world a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanza, Festivus or whatever stirs your mush and a very Happy New Year.—Brandon, Mark, Ronnie and Dave
This Belongs To The Killers No Copyright Intended