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The Killers Celebrate England Victory With Electric 'Mr. Brightside' Live Performance

Patrick Andres

Brandon Flowers of The Killers in London on July 10, 2024.
Brandon Flowers of The Killers in London on July 10, 2024. / Chris Phelps
In this story:

if you think Americans love "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers, Brits really, really love "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers.

The pulsing slice of 2000s alt-rock has spent 408 weeks on Great Britain's main singles chart, the longest run by any song in the history of recorded music. It is as ingrained in the nation's musical DNA as any songs by British acts—"I Want to Hold Your Hand," "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction)," etc.—are in America's.

And on Wednesday, it soundtracked a moment for the ages.

While performing at O2 Arena in London, The Killers put the closing seconds of England's 2-1 win over the Netherlands in the European Championship semifinals on the big screen. Upon the final whistle, the Las Vegas band launched directly into... well, you know.

With the win, the English advanced to meet Spain in Sunday's final. They will seek their first major men's trophy since 1966, provided the Spaniards don't implode their mirage.

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Patrick Andres

PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .

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