Story behind iconic AFL grand final momentOliver Murray
News Corp.
14 May 2018IT HAS become one of the most enduring images from an AFL Grand Final, but for The Killers they had no idea it was going to happen.
After Richmond won last year’s Grand Final, captain Jack Riewoldt got on stage with The Killers to belt out the Las Vegas band’s classic Mr Brightside.
The Killers had just performed at the MCG before the big game and were playing a set for celebrating Tigers fans when Riewoldt stepped on stage.
Before the Grand Final, Riewoldt had told the Tigers’ media team that if they won he’d be on stage singing with The Killers.
When the story was relayed to the AFL media team in the final quarter and victory was ensured for Richmond, some calls were made.
The image of Riewoldt on stage with singer Brandon Flowers was shown around the world and was soon trending on social media.
But speaking to news.com.au last week before their final gig of a sold out Australia tour, The Killers had no idea how big a moment they had been part of.
The band performed a Selina’s at Coogee Bay Hotel in Sydney, in front of just several hundreds fans to launch The American Express Music Backers Program, a $1 million investment to support Australia’s music industry.
“It wasn’t planned,” Flowers said.
“We can only equate (Riewoldt) to someone who’s a big footballer or basketballer in America, like LeBron James or something.
“So we can kind of wrap our heads around it but we sort of missed all the hoopla because we flew out straight away.”
So how did it come about?
“Right before we went on stage they said this guy wants to come up and sing, and we’re not ‘sure’.”
But the moment shows how big the band’s 2004 hit Mr Brightside has become. It’s almost taken on a life of its own away from the band.
“It’s like happy birthday now,” drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr joked.
Flowers added: “It’s incredible to watch it happen, because the last time we came to Australia would have been the Battle Born tour to promote our last record.
“When we played that record we had the best shows we’d ever had and When You Were Young was the climax to the evening
“Sometimes Human would be a little bit bigger than Brightside but it was always When You Were Young, (or) Human.
“Then something just happened over the last five years that we don’t really have an explanation for and that song has just grown.”
Despite being “brought to you courtesy of fabulous Las Vegas” as Flowers explains to the crowd at each gig, The Killers were ideal to launch the American Express funding aimed at helping live music in Australia.
Sydney’s Alex Cameron, who co-wrote six songs on the Killers’ latest album Wonderful Wonderful, has supported the band on its Australian tour.
And The Killers have covered classic Aussie bands like INXS and Crowded House along the way.
At the AFL Grand Final, they covered Forgotten Years by Midnight Oil — a song Flowers admits is one he wishes he’d written.
“There’s a lot,” Flowers says when asked what other Australian songs he wished he’d written, like Unguarded Moment by The Church or “any of 20 songs from INXS”.
“Thunderstruck is the best live song ever. We get to play Mr Brightside every night and what that’s like, but Thunderstruck is even bigger. It’s so crazy, it’s so good,” he said.
http://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/the-killers-on-that-afl-moment-meeting-your-idols-and-australias-influence-on-the-band/news-story/5ea570e7117159f6b86fd76aeb3bb5ba