The Killers say they’ll never get sick of performing “Mr Brightside” after accepting Guinness World Records certificates for the song’s two epic music records.
The anthemic track claimed a pair of iconic titles after spending an unrivalled amount of time in the UK charts.
With a total of 416 weeks as of 4 July, “Mr Brightside” has the longest stay on UK singles chart by a group and the most cumulative weeks on UK singles chart (one song).
That’s nearly eight years!
Guinness World Records Adjudicator Will Munford presents The Killers with a certificate
So, while the US rock band were in London for a string of six huge shows at The O2, we stopped by to present them with official GWR certificates to mark their incredible achievement.
As we caught up with them backstage, they confessed why they’ll never get bored of playing “Mr Brightside”.
Frontman Brandon Flowers told us: “It’s infectious still to us, I know some people can’t wrap their head around it but you’ll see the response [when you see it live].
“It’s tough not to be touched by it or be excited by it and there’s going to be people tonight who’ve never seen it live, there’ll be some people who’ve seen it 45 times.
“And we just don’t get tired of it.”
Drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. added: “We start it and then we enjoy the ride and then one of us has to stop it, it’s one of those kind of songs.
“It’s a highly reciprocal thing that happens and we enjoy the ride just as much as they do.”
The band, which also stars Dave Keuning and Mark Stoermer, first released “Mr Brightside” in September 2003, and it was re-released in 2004.
It was their debut single, from their first album Hot Fuss, and it certainly saw them make their mark on the music industry.
On whether they thought it would stand the test of time the way it has, lead guitarist Dave said: “I think we imagined it but until we got the whole thing started, you never know. There’s no guarantees.”
The hit song has spent a total of 416 weeks in the Top 100 of the UK’s Official Singles Chart across 60 separate chart runs.
“Mr Brightside” has a clear lead over the songs to claim the second and third place spots on the list.
Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved” and Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” have both spent around 200 weeks in the chart, but have a very long way to go before they can rival The Killers’ hit.
It debuted at a peak position of No.10 on 5 June 2004, and 20 years on, the song is as beloved as ever.
And the Official Charts Company confirmed this year that it was the UK’s biggest single to never reach No.1, having sold more than 1 million copies and streamed over 520 million times.
The most cumulative weeks on UK singles chart (one song) title was previously held by Frank Sinatra, whose “My Way” spent a total of 122 weeks in the chart between 1969 and 1972 and again when it was re-released in 1994.
The longest stay on the UK singles chart by a group was previously held by Snow Patrol with their hit “Chasing Cars”, which had logged 75 chart weeks as of February 2008 and had gone on to amass a total of 166 weeks in the Top 100 of the UK singles chart by 4 July, this year.
Guinness World Records Adjudicator Will Munford, said: “‘Mr Brightside’ has filled countless dancefloors and been responsible for many end-of-night singalongs since the mid-2000s.
“It was an honour to present The Killers with two Guinness World Records titles for the song, it is a testament to its ability to be loved across generations and stand the test of time as one of the all-time classics.”
