Thousands of music lovers smiled like they meant it last night as The Killers returned to rock the Granite City.
The Las Vegas band last played the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre in 2012, but at last night’s sell-out it was as if they had never left.
Kicking off their performance with Wonderful Wonderful, the second single from their new album of the same name, the band played fan favourites from throughout their 16-year musical history.
As one of the biggest rock bands of the recent times, the band have sold an estimated 22million records worldwide, and have headlined world-famous venues such as Madison Square Garden and Wembley Stadium.
The American group have won four NME Awards for Best International Band, and they are the only international act to have five number one albums in the UK.
From their breakthrough track Somebody Told Me from 2004’s Hot Fuss, to Spaceman from 2008’s Day and Age, and the classic Read My Mind, the Aberdeen crowd sang their hearts out to almost every song. The band did a cover of The Eurythmics hit Here Comes The Rain Again in a nod to famous Aberdonian Annie Lennox.
The show was part of The Killers’ tour of the UK and Ireland, which has previously seen the band play in Glasgow, Manchester and Dublin.
News of the band’s triumphant return to Aberdeen came earlier this year following their surprise set at Glastonbury. But the good news of the triumphant return of Brandon Flowers’ was marred this July when hundreds of eager fans were denied the chance to attend the AECC gig after tickets were snapped up from the website Ticketmaster within seconds.
But for the lucky thousands who were able to secure their tickets to last night’s gig, the evening was one to remember.
As well as their most famous hits and a healthy serving of their newest songs, The Killers also dug deep into their extensive catalogue for a handful of lesser-known tracks, including Runaways from 2012’s Battle Born.
As the evening drew to a close, the band put on a soulful performance of the sing-a-long anthem All These Things That I’ve Done, before an encore of smash hit Mr Brightside. That completed the gig with the greatest reaction of the night as the entire arena belted out every word.
A Wonderful Wonderful evening was certainly had by all, and fans will hopefully be able to see The Killers back in the Granite City soon.