Brandon flowers on his own

Brandon Flowers going solo has always been an interesting proposition, begging the question: when it comes to The Killers and everything they’ve done, how much of their sound is down to him?

First album Flamingo didn’t do much to help answer that question, with half of the album feeling like Killers-lite, and the other half spiralling off into a muted (yet dance-y) world of Fleetwood Mac, Kate Bush, and so on. His latest album, The Desired Effect, wanders even further down the road of 80s soft rock, arguably drawing a much clearer line between The Killers and Flowers as a solo artist. Compare Battle Born (The Killers’ last album) and The Desired Effect, and you’ll find two very, very different beasts.

Of course, regardless of that sonic divide, the lead singer of any popular band going solo comes with certain expectations. You only need look at Gerard Way’s recent(ish) solo tours, and how they sold out almost instantly on the back of his work in My Chemical Romance to find proof of that. Should you need further proof, simply turn up to any of Way’s gigs. If the sheer quantity of people wearing My Chemical Romance shirts don’t convince you, nothing will.

It’s no surprise, then, that Flower’s first slot at the O2 Academy, Brixton sold out in less than a minute. A second date was added, and sold out a minute after that went on sale. Obviously.

"Flowers strides out in a glittery jacket, and all hell breaks loose."

The stalls of the Academy fill out rapidly. The support act get a moderate reaction, although the loudest whoops are reserved for the moment where they thank Flowers for giving them the support slot. They disappear, then after a longer wait than expected, the lights dim, and Flowers’ supporting band take to the stage. It’s all moody lighting, and a hell of a lot of cheering, whooping, screaming. Then Flowers strides out in a glittery jacket, and all hell breaks loose. A brief moment for him to acknowledge the audience, then he kicks right off into Desired Effect opener, ‘Dreams Come True’.

It’s followed quickly by second track (and lead single) ‘Can’t Deny My Love’, suggesting this might be a straight run-through of the new album (don’t worry, it wasn’t). Throughout, Flowers hardly ever stands still, moving the length of the stage repeatedly. Everyone in this room has paid to see them, and everyone’s going to get a chance to. He hops up onto the monitors, lapping up the excitement of the crowd, holding the microphone out to let the crowd fill the gaps he leaves in the chorus. He’s loving every minute, and so are the crowd.

Flowers doesn’t talk much through those tracks and next song ‘Crossfire’, the big hit from Flamingo. There’s the traditional “Hello London”, but that’s pretty much it. ‘Magdalena’ gets his first little speech of the night, explaining the context behind the song. ‘Hard Enough’ is the first quiet moment of the night, before Flowers drops his trump card. Gerard Way opted not to play any of My Chemical Romance’s songs during his first UK tour. Flowers is less concerned about any of that.

He gives a short spiel on how this tour has given him a chance to look at Killers songs anew, reworking them into something new, something different. The crowd, predictably, goes bananas. With that, an acoustic(ish), moody version of ‘Jenny Was a Friend of Mine’. It feels like it’s been stripped out of a Western, a dark, country-esque version of the classic. And it’s wonderful.

"The crowd know every word, and this new spin on the song goes down just as well."

‘Jenny’ is quickly followed up by the punchy, irresistible ‘Lonely Town’ and the driving ‘I Can Change’ (both from the new album), before The Killers rear their head again in the shape of ‘Read My Mind’. The crowd know every word, and this new spin on the song goes down just as well, if not better, than ‘Jenny’. After the euphoria of that, ‘Swallow It’, one of the more minor songs from Flamingo feels like a bit too much of a come-down. ‘Only the Young’ doesn’t quite manage to salvage the drop in mood, before the Jacques Lu Cont remix of ‘Mr. Brightside’ storms in to wrap up the main set. It takes a few moments to recognise the song, but as soon as everyone does things go absolutely haywire. There’s nothing quite like it.

The encore proves to be special for different reasons, as Flowers talks about the influences behind The Killers, and how no-one ever seems to acknowledge The Pretenders as one of those influences. So he promptly introduces Chrissie Hynde for a cover of The Pretenders’ ‘Don’t Get Me Wrong’, followed by a duet with her on his own ‘Between Me and You’. There’s another speech, discussing the twelve years that Flowers has been performing on stage, and thanking the person who’s “been sharing [him] with [the audiences] for all these years,” his wife, who he eventually coaxes on stage with two of his kids. It’s a cute moment, leading nicely into ‘Still Want You’.

The high of that song then slows, slipping into closer ‘The Way It’s Always Been’. It feels like an odd lull to end on, but it’s the way The Desired Effect bows out. It makes perfect sense for Flowers to take his leave on the same note.

Brandon Flowers' album, The Desired Effect, is out now.