Did Brandon Flowers Leave The Killers?

Written by Jeff Campbell in Band Members,Alternative Rock Last Updated November 17, 2022

Brandon Flowers Leave Killers lg

Fans know that in recent years The Killers have seen significant lineup changes, and singer Brandon Flowers has dabbled in solo work. This has led many fans to ask, did Brandon Flowers leave The Killers?

Here’s what I know from following their career:

Brandon Flowers has not left The Killers. In fact, he, along with drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. are the only original members still consistently in the band, so The Killers are essentially Brandon’s group. He has released 2 solo albums but maintains those never meant he would no longer be a part of The Killers.

But many people still wonder if he has left the group over the last few years.

This is because he began discussing plans for a solo album and tour in 2019. However, the album and tour have yet to materialize.

Let’s explore Brandon and his band’s history and plans to see where things are headed.

Did Brandon Flowers ever consider quitting The Killers?

Brandon Flowers has never publicly said he considered leaving The Killers at any point during his career. However, as with any group, he has done solo projects and had a solo tour planned at one point, which did not happen.

Brandon Flowers has talked very openly in interviews about The Killers, his love for music, and many other things. In some of those interviews, he addressed the members who had decided to leave and seems to still respect them.

He understands that people have their own paths to take in life.

Brandon has also discussed how he is the youngest member of The Killers. This means that his perspective is different. He said this as a reason why he has never left and why he can’t blame those who did.

The passion for music has been shown again because The Killers released a new album in 2020. So clearly, he hasn’t left the band and still feels there is something to be said under that band name.

In interviews and social media posts, Brandon has expressed his happiness with the new music. He has credited his recent move to Utah from Vegas as a major part of the return to form.

Is Brandon Flowers still planning another solo album and tour?

Brandon Flowers has not publicly discussed the idea of a new solo album and tour in quite some time. He first discussed it in 2019, and it caused many fans to believe The Killers were over. But at the time, he postponed things when his wife took ill.

Brandon Flowers has released two solo albums so far.

The first was released in 2010, and the second was in 2015. Both of these records only achieved moderate fanfare for him, which may be part of the reason why he has not rushed to put out a third.

As far as the tour goes, Brandon Flowers has also been very quiet about any plans for a tour. He has enough material to do a solo tour, but most artists don’t tour without new music.

It is also important to note that the current pandemic may have wrecked plans.

Many artists who planned to tour had to either cancel or halt the planning of the tour. There were also no talks of a tour when the latest album from The Killers was released this year.

Who left The Killers?

The Killers have had a few members leave the group over the years, 3 of which left before the 1st album. Guitarist Dave Keuning and bassist Mark Stoermer are still technically with the band but have not performed live in approximately 5 years, and Keuning did not perform on the band’s 2020 album Wonderful Wonderful.

The 3 that left were members early on who left before the recording of their 1st album as the band was still getting settled.

With Dave and Mark, who obviously played a huge role in The Killer’s success and sound, their loss is hard not to notice.

After all, Dave wrote the song Mr. Brightside in its entirety.

And it’s even stranger that he is still technically listed with the band despite not doing anything in years.

Dave stopped touring with The Killers in 2017 and didn’t play on the band’s 2020 album Wonderful Wonderful.

Bassist Mark Stoermer did play on the newest release (taking over guitar from Dave), but he stopped touring with the band in 2016.

But, as I mentioned, there were also 3 other members who left the band early on also.

The three members who have fully left The Killers all did it relatively soon after they made it big. Matt Norcross (drums) and Dell Neal (bass) were original members that departed in 2002. Brian Havens (drums) was added in 2002 but left the same year.

None were still in the band when they recorded their debut album Hot Fuss in 2003.

Is Dave Still in The Killers?

Guitarist Dave Keuning is still officially in The Killers. He has been on hiatus from The Killers since 2017 but does not seem to have officially left. He is not credited on their latest album as having contributed any music in any form. However, this may be changing.

In January of this year, there was a picture of Dave in a recording studio with the band.

It seems that despite having just released a new album, the band is hard at work on a new project. Dave recently did an interview with Rolling Stone where he discussed his status with the band.

And he also mentioned why he decided to leave and then return.

Dave stated to Rolling Stone, “I just … we were kind of at a stalemate. We have broken that stalemate a little bit now, and I’ve been recording on what will be the next record.”

He also said that he did not record on their latest album because he felt that the recording schedule was too busy. So it sounds like maybe he’s back. Will he hit the road to tour again?

We’ll have to wait and see.

Why did Mark Stoermer leave The Killers?

Bassist Mark Stoermer did not leave The Killers, but he did stop touring with them in 2017. But he joined the band for their 2019 Jimmy Kimmel appearance, and he plays on the 2020 album Wonderful Wonderful.

Although for most of that record, he is playing guitar instead of bass due to the absence of guitarist Dave Keuning.

Figuring out why a group member left a band is always difficult.

It seems that Mark decided to cease touring with The Killers because he wanted to focus on solo work.

He has released four albums.

Also, touring is a very time-consuming aspect of being a musician. This is because the time on the stage is small compared to the traveling.

But he also joined Smashing Pumpkins for an album and tour in 2014 and 2015.

Mark’s latest solo album was released in 2017, and Brandon Flowers has publicly supported his endeavors over the years in interviews. This is important because it shows band unity.

Brandon Flowers Talks About The Killers' Early Days

Conclusion

Being in a band is difficult for most people. This is because group members can’t be their true artist selves. When you are in a band, it’s about the lead singer mostly.

This is probably a big part of why Brandon Flowers never left and why they are still a band. There have been members to come and go through the years, but there has not been a great deal of public drama.

But really, at this point, it’s almost like The Killers have become a Brandon Flowers solo project since aside from drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr., he’s the only consistent member.

So why leave if it’s mostly your thing anyway?

It is also unique to have former members of a band return after they have left. This was the case for Dave.

As The Killers continue to record new music, fans are hopeful that the lineup can remain the way it is for the time being.

Photo which requires attribution:

Brandon Flowers by vagueonthehow is licensed under CC2.0 and was cropped with a text overlay added.

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