The Prince song Brandon Flowers called “pop perfection”
Prince was a larger-than-life character who existed in a world of his own. While many artists adopt an eccentric stage persona at odds with their true personality, Prince Rogers Nelson was the real deal, as The Killers’ frontman Brandon Flowers discovered when he crossed paths with ‘The Purple One’ in Las Vegas.
In 2007, The Killers had risen to become one of the biggest bands on the planet, and with this prestigious position came forming a friendship with Elton John. When the legendary English singer-songwriter was in Las Vegas to perform a residency, Prince was also in Sin City for a similar money-spinning exercise. To fill his time on a night off, Elton took in a performance with The Killers.
During an interview in 2020 with Minnesotan radio station KMWA, Flowers was quizzed about their relationship with the area. This led to him revealing an anecdote about the city’s favourite son.
It proved to be a night that he’ll never forget, as Prince put on a spectacle with the assistance of a special guest. “We go to see Prince, and midway through the show, one of Prince’s guys comes over to the table and whispers something in Elton’s ear, and Elton just leaves,” Flowers vividly remembered.
Flowers continued: “We don’t know what’s going on, where he goes. Anyway, a few songs later, Elton comes out and does ‘The Long and Winding Road’ by The Beatles, and he kills it. You can tell it’s not his natural place to be without his piano; he just levels the place, and Prince doesn’t come out at all, and then they start playing ‘Crazy’ (by) Gnarls Barkley, and Prince doesn’t come out.”
Flowers described Elton’s cameo as “by far the best song” of the concert, but the moment of the evening still belonged to Prince. After the show, Prince was dressed in red high-heels with a colour-coordinated shirt and beret, as one would expect, before leaving Flowers with a memory ingrained in his mind forever.
“He did that thing where he didn’t look at me in the eyes and all that, then we’re in an elevator, we get off in the floor that’s his floor, and he walks out, then over the top of his shoulder, he goes, ‘Peace’,” The Killers frontman recalled.
While Prince’s performance in Las Vegas was overshadowed by Elton covering The Beatles, during a later interview with The Current, Flowers named a song by the Minnesotan when asked about his current favourite song.
“Oh, well, I’ll tell you right now: Because we’re in Minneapolis, we decided to do something special, and we learned ‘I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man’ by Prince, and it’s just perfect pop perfection, and I would say it’s my favourite song in the world right now,” he revealed.
The Prince track named by Flowers was duly covered by The Killers when their tour stopped by at First Avenue in Minneapolis, one of the venues shown in the iconic concert film Purple Rain. Therefore, it was only fitting that the Las Vegas natives paid tribute when they passed through the city filled with his effervescent spirit.
Watch The Killers perform ‘I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man’ at First Avenue below.
