This year marks 20 years since The Killers released their blockbuster debut album Hot Fuss, and now the Las Vegas indie rockers have announced a surprise Australian tour to commemorate the milestone. 

The Killers will hit our shores from November, playing their very first shows in Townsville, followed by arenas in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne in early December. 

They’ll play a back-to-back greatest hits set drawing from their seven-album discography, billed as ‘Rebel Diamonds’, at each stop. 

In Sydney and Melbourne, there’ll be an additional show dedicated to a full performance of Hot Fuss, which is basically a greatest hits in itself - complete with the deathless ‘Mr. Brightside’, with a few extra surprises thrown in. 

Released 7 June, 2004, and rocketing straight to the top of the ARIA Charts, Hot Fuss was an instantly iconic debut in the era of what the Zoomers now call the ‘indie sleaze’. 

Fronted by Brandon Flowers, rock’s must charismatic Mormon, The Killers were a heady cocktail of their influences. 

Take a pinch of The Strokes, a dash of 1980s British New Wave, and a healthy sprinkle of U2 and Bruce Springsteen’s arena rock ambition, and you’ve got intoxicating hits like ‘Somebody Told Me’, ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’, and ‘Smile Like You Mean It’. 

The Killers have been regulars of triple j’s Hottest 100, Australian charts and playlists ever since. 

In fact, ‘Mr. Brightside’ – the angsty anthem that endures at parties, karaoke bars, dancefloors and even AFL Grand Finals - hasn’t left Spotify’s Top Songs Australia chart for more than 350 weeks straight. 

The Killers will return to Australia in December 2024, playing a run of east-coast arena shows with alternating themes each night. Some shows will be a playthrough of Rebel Diamonds, their 2023 greatest-hits compilation, while others will be a playthrough of Hot Fuss, their multi-platinum 2004 debut album which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. A full list of tour dates and ticketing information can be found below.

In addition to performing in the major east-coast capital cities, the Las Vegas pop-rock band will also be performing in Townsville for the first time, at the city’s Queensland Country Bank Stadium. In a statement given to The Townsville Bulletin, Frontier Touring CEO Dion Brant explained that the hope was to bring attention to the “overlooked” northeast Queensland region. “Townsville sometimes misses out on [more than] it deserves, and we wanted to kick [the tour] off with a bang,” he said. “It will also be the biggest show on the tour.”

Hot Fuss was released on June 7th, 2004. It went on to sell over seven million copies globally, topping the charts in four countries and going 30 times platinum. Four singles were released from the album, all of which have gone on to be played at every Killers show for the ensuing 20 years: ‘Mr. Brightside’, ‘Somebody Told Me’, ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’ and ‘Smile Like You Mean It’.

All four songs appear on Rebel Diamonds, the band’s second greatest-hits compilation following 2013’s Direct Hits. Along with a collection of the band’s singles across their career, it also featured three songs that were recorded for the band’s eighth studio album which was later scrapped entirely. The band recently shared a new single entitled ‘Bright Lights’, the first new music from the band to feature the full classic line-up in roughly a decade.

The Killers were last in Australia circa December 2022, where they played a run of arena dates as well as a one-off show at Sydney’s Liberty Hall immediately after the band’s Qudos Bank Arena show. In a review of both shows, Music Feeds praised the band for “cement[ing] their place atop the contemporary rock totem pole”.

“No matter how many times The Killers have run through these exact movements, played these hits, and Flowers stuck out the mic to let the audience finish his sentences, each moment is reborn night after night thanks to the revelry of the audience,” it read.

The Killers’ debut album ‘Hit Fuss’ was released in June 2004. It was a number one album in the UK and Australia and reached number 7 in their homeland USA.

Hits off ‘Hot Fuss’ were ‘Mr Brightside’, ‘Somebody Told Me’, ‘All These Things I’ve Done’ and ‘Smile Like You Mean It’.

‘Rebel Diamonds’ was the 2023 compilation album.

This will be the ninth Australian tour for The Killers in 20 years. They last toured Australia in 2022. They were also here in 2018, 2017, 2013, 2010, 2009, 2007 and 2004.

Catch The Killers at the following dates.

Sat 30 November – Queensland Bank Stadium: Bindal Wulgurukaba, Townsville, QLD - Rebel Diamonds show, all ages

Fri 6 December – Qudos Bank Arena: Gadigal Land, Sydney, NSW - Rebel Diamonds show, all ages

Saty 7 December – Qudos Bank Arena: Gadigal Land, Sydney, NSW - Hot Fuss show, all ages

Mon 9 December – Brisbane Entertainment Centre: Turrbal Jagera Land, Brisbane, QLD - Rebel Diamonds show, all ages

Thrs 12 December – Rod Laver Arena: Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Land, Melbourne, VIC - Rebel Diamonds show, all ages

Fri 13 December – Rod Laver Arena: Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Land, Melbourne, VIC - Hot Fuss show, all ages

Tickets are available from Thursday 12 September, 4pm local time. A pre-sale kicks off 10 September. Visit frontiertouring.com/thekillers for more information.

All shows are Rebel Diamonds shows, unless otherwise indicated.

• – Hot Fuss playthrough show

A pre-sale for the tour begins on Tuesday, September 10th from 3pm AEST. A general sale will then follow on Thursday, September 12th at 4pm AEST. Both can be accessed via Frontier Touring.