Thursday 7th November 2013 by Andrew Trendell | Photos by WENN

Tags: The Killers

The Killers paid special tribute to their UK fans with a one-off gig at London's Hammersmith Apollo last night (Wednesday 6 November). 

The sold-out and relatively intimate show was their first UK gig since they played Wembley Stadium this summer, and saw Brandon Flowers and co tear through a hit-packed 16 song set to promote their upcoming Direct Hits best of compilation.

"There's something in the air tonight," Flowers told the crowd. "We've been coming here for ten years, and you were the first ones to make us feel worth it. Damn! You gave us the confidence that we could do anything."

He also added the line "coming back from London Town" to the track 'The Way It Was'. 

Opening with new track 'Shot At The Night' before the audience exploded in adulation for the classics 'Somebody Told Me' and 'Smile Like You Mean It', the band delighted with an expertly crafted flow of indie pop classics that also took in their cover of 'Shadowplay' by Joy Division and a more stripped-back semi-acoustic version of 'Read My Mind'. 

Despite rumours of the band's demise, The Killers were clearly in high spirits and in fine form - avoiding any mention of their future from the stage but often joking around with each other and engaging in banter with the extremely exuberant crowd. 

The band previously cast a shadow of doubt over their future with members admitting that they were exhausted and 'fed up' with touring, while Flowers added that he'd be putting his 'heart and soul' into his next solo album. 

The Killers played:
1. Shot At The Night
2. Somebody Told Me
3. Spaceman
4. The Way It Was
5. Smile Like You Mean It
6. Shadowplay
7. Human
8. For Reasons Unknown
9. From Here On Out
10. A Dustland Fairytale
11. Read My Mind
12. Runaways
13. All These Things That I've Done
Encore:
14. Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
15. When You Were Young
16. Mr. Brightside

Direct Hits is released on Monday 11 November.