Las Vegas band reveal first track taken from new collection titled Direct Hits 2003 - 2013
Michael Baggs

20:02 16th September 2013

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The Killers have premiered new single, 'Shot At The Night', after a number of cryptic messages on social networks. Listen below.

'Shot At The Night' is taken from the band's upcoming collection, Direct Hits 2003 - 2013 and is believed to have been produced by French band, M83, best known for their 'Midnight City' hit.

The track bears a classic Killers sound, with Brandon Flowers' mournful vocals sitting atop a rock beat merged with electronic production.

Listen to 'Shot At The Night' below

In early September 2013, the band took to Twitter to reveal plans to mark the 10 year anniversary of their first performance in London, although did not specify how they would be marking the event. They teased fans with the announcement, writing: "Big News Coming Soon..." and later following with "September 16th, the 10 year anniversary of our first show in London... #ShotAtTheNight''.

They later shared a morse code message on their Facebook page, which, when decoded read 'The Killers Shot At The Night.'

Below: the 20 defining moments of The Killers' career so far

  • 1. In July 2003, Brandon Flowers, Dave Keuning, Mark Stoermer, and Ronnie Vannucci Jr sign to UK label Lizard King Records after disinterest from American labels.

  • 2. Zane Lowe plays ‘Mr Brightside’ on BBC Radio 1 in August 2003. The band begin performing shows in London.

  • 3. ‘Mr Brightside’, a song in inspired by an unfaithful ex-girlfriend of Flowers, has a limited release in September 2003.

  • 4. Autumn 2003: A level of buzz now surrounds the band and Island Def Jam signs them in the US.

  • 5. Hot Fuss is released in the UK in June 2004 and is a huge success. The album reaches No.1 and goes seven times Platinum.

  • 6. Singles from the album ‘Somebody Told Me’, ‘Smile Like You Mean It’ and ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’ are further hits.

  • 7. The band are nominated for three Grammy Awards in 2005, with Hot Fuss up for Best Rock Album and ‘Somebody Told Me’ nominated for two awards including Best Rock Song.

  • 8. Brandon Flowers promises second album Sam's Town will become of the best albums of the past 20 years. However, it receives a mixed response from fans and critics when it is released in October 2006.

  • 9. Late 2006: The lead single from Sam's Town, 'When You Were Young', goes Platinum in the United States.

  • 10. The band win two Brit awards in February 2007 for Best International Act and Best International Album.

  • 11. They headline Madison Square Garden and Glastonbury Festival for the first time in April and June 2007 respectively.

  • 12. The band release a collaboration with their hero Lou Reed of The Velvet Underground, called %u2018Tranquilize%u2019. The song is taken from, Sawdust, a compilation of B-sides and rarities and is released in November 2007.

  • 13. Day & Age, the band’s third studio album, is released in November 2008, with the lead single, ‘Human’ going Platinum, although the album sells disappointingly compared to previous releases.

  • 14. In the summer of 2009, they headline American festivals Lollapalooza and Coachella for the first time. In July, they perform at London’s Royal Albert Hall over two days. A live concert DVD, Live from Royal Albert Hall, is released and goes Platinum.

  • 15. After two years of taking the Day & Age tour worldwide, the band announce a hiatus.

  • 16. During this time, lead singer Brandon Flowers releases a solo album, Flamingo, which reaches No.1. Lead single Crossfire enters the top 10.

  • 17. In June 2011, the band headline Lollapalooza and Hard Rock Calling in London for the second time after a year-and-a-half%u2019s break.

  • 18. In June 2012, fourth studio album Battle Born is released and goes straight to No.1.

  • 19. June 2013: Following on from the success of Battle Born, the band play to their biggest crowd yet, the 90,000 capacity Wembley Stadium at a critically-acclaimed headline show.

  • 20. A picture containing six lines of morse code is tweeted by the band. Fans translated the code to 'The Killers Shot At The Night' - suggesting a new track or album is on the way. Brandon Flowers is due to appear on BBC Radio 1 on 16 September, and will premiere the new single.

  • 21: On September 16, 2013, exactly ten years after their first ever show in London, the Killers released "Shot At The Night", the first single off their first greatest hits compilation, Direct Hits

  • 22. The Killers release their greatest hits album Direct Hits in November 2013. Of the album, Brandon Flowers said: "This record feels like a great way to clean everything up and move onto the next thing." Watch this space.

Issue Two of the Gigwise Print magazine is on sale now! Buy it here.

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