Bruce Springsteen made a shock look on the 2025 Ivor Novello Awards, the place he honoured The Killers‘ Brandon Flowers with a touching speech and the Particular Worldwide Award.
The ceremony befell on the Grosvenor Home in London final evening (Might 22) and celebrated its seventieth 12 months, the place it noticed 22 songwriters and composers accumulating awards over 14 classes, with over 70 per cent of winners being first-timers.
On the ceremony, Flowers was offered with the Particular Worldwide Award, which was delivered to him by The Boss himself, who’s within the midst of his UK and European tour. Earlier than handing the award over to the Killers frontman, Springsteen shared a speech about his pal and collaborator.
Springsteen stated in his speech: “I haven’t been to Sunderland so I’ve obtained my voice tonight. The primary time I heard The Killers and songs of Brandon Flowers, I used to be strolling previous my excessive school-aged son Evan’s room. I used to be simply passing by, and the music I used to be listening to by his door simply stopped me. I popped my head in and stated ‘Who’s that?’, and he stated ‘That’s The Killers, pop.’”
“I used to be standing there, and I heard that basic line from ‘Anyone Advised Me’: ‘Effectively any individual advised me you had a boyfriend / Who regarded like a girlfriend / That I had in February of final 12 months’ and I stated ‘That’s a intelligent line’. Took me a minute to determine, after which I stated ‘That’s a fucking intelligent line’”.
“What actually synched the entire deal was it was tied to this huge hook. It was just like the earworm of all earworms, that from right here on in, you’d be singing someplace in your head for the remainder of your life. So for the following week, I discovered myself going ‘I had a boyfriend then had a girlfriend someday round February’… I didn’t have the lyrics precisely proper, however they melody stayed in my head perpetually.”
Springsteen continued: “I purchased the file, ‘Scorching Fuss’, it’s crammed with catchy lyrics, huge hooks. ‘Mr. Brightside’, ‘Anyone Advised Me’, ‘All These Issues That I’ve Achieved’, simply nice, nice songs. It got here out June fifteenth, improbable time to return out as a result of it made it the summer time file of all summer time information.”
“After that got here ‘Sam’s City’. ‘Sam’s City’ was an enormous, large change for Brandon and The Killers. They actually went in direction of heartland music, they’d an excellent file known as ‘When You Have been Younger’ and albums crammed with extra terrific songs. They got here out of Las Vegas, which is a wierd place for a band to return from – most bands find yourself in Las Vegas, they don’t come out of Las Vegas.”
“They’d nice information all the best way, as much as the current ‘Strain Machine’, which is certainly one of my favourites. They use distinctive voices in between songs to inform tales about poverty and opioid dependancy and home abuse and suicidal ideation. It truly is a one-of-a-kind file, and has a music ‘Quiet City’ that i hope certainly one of nowadays we’ll get to sing collectively,” Springsteen added.
The Boss concluded: “I’ve been fortunate to seem in a video, ‘Dustland’ with Killers and Brandon, and I additionally shared the stage with them at Madison Sq. Backyard. Brandon has one of the stunning, pure voices in all of rock ‘n’ roll, they’re merely probably the greatest reside acts working on the market proper now. They’ve obtained that nice bass flip that has that contact of electro-pop that will get individuals dancing. I gotta fuckin’ determine that shit out. Love you Brandon!”
After a brief video package deal, Brandon Flowers walked onstage to obtain the award. In his speech, Flowers returned the favour to Springsteen, thanking him: “He has been a real inspiration for me, and he has given me kindness upon kindness for 20 years now. I simply wish to provide a bit Bruce anecdote if you happen to don’t thoughts.”
“When he’s not baptising us in his rock and roll, or talking reality to energy with that unwavering grace of his, when he’s doing all these issues, he’s a chilly caller. He calls you with no warning out of the blue and I nonetheless get a bit bit nervous, however I all the time decide up the telephone. Each time I do, the cynical a part of the mind expects there to be some kind of ask on the finish of the decision, like ‘hey Brandon, there’s a charity occasion in Jersey, I’d love for the Killers to return play totally free’ or ‘It’s my niece’s birthday and he or she’s an enormous fan, might you perform a little ‘Brightside’ for her on FaceTime?’”
“But it surely by no means comes. He’s simply being Bruce Springsteen, checking in on his brother Brandon. He doesn’t want to do that for me tonight, so that is one thing that I’ll carry with me perpetually. Thanks.”
Springsteen has been vocal about his admiration for The Killers for a number of years now. In 2020, he hailed them as “a hell of a band” in a chat with Flowers himself: “Just lately after I caught you, it could have been Glastonbury, the band was so good. You guys have developed such an unimaginable reside present. Actually one thing to be pleased with.”
A 12 months later, they teamed up on ‘Dustland’, a rework of The Killers’ 2008 observe ‘A Dustland Fairytale’, this time that includes Springsteen. Then, in October 2022, Springsteen made a shock look at The Killers’ sold-out Madison Sq. Backyard present, the place they carried out their collaboration in addition to his hits ‘Badlands’ and ‘Born To Run’.
Earlier this 12 months, it was introduced by The Killers that the that 2022 encore efficiency could be made accessible to followers as a part of Document Retailer Day 2025. It was titled ‘The Killers & Bruce Springsteen Encore At The Backyard’, the 12″, and solely 5,000 copies had been made. Final month, they shared official footage of that very same MSG efficiency to have a good time the 2025 version of Document Retailer Day.
The Killers and Springsteen’s 2021 collab ‘Dustland’ scored a four-star evaluation from Mark Beaumont, who wrote for NME: “Because the end result of The Killers’ ‘00s mission to concoct their Nice American Epic, it’s virtually extra concerning the assertion than the music, and Brandon and Bruce becoming a member of forces on this Hollywood remake is extra about uniting generations discovering glory in truck cease tales – at a time when America might do with being reminded why it was price celebrating – than perfecting the “good ladies die” crescendo. Of all The Killers’ current collaborations, it’s the boot that matches them greatest. Now, although, a co-write actually could be the stuff of fairytales.”