The Killers at BST Hyde Park, review: A masterclass in connecting with the audience

It had been four long, and decidedly less flamboyant, years since Brandon Flowers last brought The Killers to London.

But our capital city has a special place in the frontman’s heart and from the moment he bounded onto the stage wearing a pink leather jacket reminiscent of the Hot Fuss glory days amid a shower of confetti, it was clear that this would be a welcome home party to remember.

“The Man”, the first single from the upcoming fifth album Wonderful Wonderful, proved a sufficiently banging opener despite being mere weeks old, with Flowers’ ironic strutting and gyrating eliciting whoops from all corners of the sold-out Hyde Park gathering.

Then came three big-hitters, “Somebody Told Me”, “Smile Like You Mean It” and “Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine” (“I know what you’re doing here!” remaining the most satisfying Killers lyric to scream en-masse, rivalled only by “I got soul but I’m not a soldier“ from ”All These Things That I’ve Done“), before a costume change to a black jacket with glittery lapels heralded a return to the heartland rock of Sam’s Town.

“The man who sings ‘This River Is Wild’ does not wear a pink leather jacket,” quipped Flowers, before delighting hardcore fans of the band’s back catalogue with the underrated album track, which had won out over “Glamorous Indie Rock and Roll” in a Twitter poll to decide what they would play earlier in the day.

“Human” was teased with a stripped-down piano verse, before “Bling (Confessions of a King)” built to its anthemic climax and led into the full-band version of the Day & Age favourite.

This headline appearance – a UK festival exclusive bar their secret set at Glastonbury in June – had sold out quicker than any British Summer Time show since The Rolling Stones in 2013. Hearing the euphoric crowd sing along to every word was evidence why. The Killers bring the hits. They aren’t too cool to play what they know we want to hear and they have never been ashamed of aiming high. They smile. They have a good time on stage – and it’s infectious.

Given how many songs are in demand, three could have been skipped from the set list: “A Dustland Fairytale” and “This Is Your Life” were met with a more subdued response, while their cover of Joy Division’s “Shadowplay” is always slick but comes at the expense of some of their own crowd-pleasing songs (“Bones” to name but one key omission).

Still, this set was a masterclass in connecting with an audience and, as The Killers closed the night with a pumped-up powerhouse rendition of their song of a generation, “Mr Brightside”, not one person was ready to go home.