The Killers to headline Reading and Leeds Festivals

The Killers headline The Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury festival 2007, 22.55pm. Pic: Andy Willsher

'We love playing in England,' Brandon Flowers tells NME.COM

Mar 31, 2008
40 Comments

The Killers are headlining this year's Reading and Leeds Festival, NME.COM can exclusively reveal.

The band will play Saturday (August 23) in Reading and Sunday (24) in Leeds.

Speaking to NME.COM, frontman Brandon Flowers declared: "We thought it would be a good opportunity to come over and play some of our new songs. We haven't played the new songs off 'Sawdust' either. We always love playing in England."

NME.COM will have more exclusive line-up announcements throughout today (March 31), plus we will be selling tickets from 7.30pm (BST) tonight - go to NME.COM/gigs for more information.

Meanwhile, check out this week's issue on UK newsstands from April 2 for full interviews and information about this year's festival.

Plus, as we countdown to tonight's announcement, share your rumours and wishlists for this year's festival by commenting in the MyNME box below.

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Comments (40)

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dazza89

Mar 31, 2008

AMAZIN!!
seen them at t in the park last year
highlight of the weekend
cant wait for leeds

IrwinDeep

Mar 31, 2008

I DID hope for either Arctic Monkeys or Muse, but The Killers are extraordinary, and i havent heard from them in a while. I need tickets for this!

TechnodanceaphobicGG

Mar 31, 2008

i like the killers, they're class live

Sme33er

Mar 31, 2008

Im happy with that.
Fingers crossed fro rage now.

im proper excited for this line up now.

alex.b

Mar 31, 2008

ahh well. the headliners mean nothing.

Sme33er

Mar 31, 2008

I love how "irwindeep" was hoping for either arctic monkeys or muse when its been said for months the 3 headliners are american hahah.good times. any more announcements today?

Welshmoron

Mar 31, 2008

I am so glad the killers are headelining Reading and Leeds festivals this year, they are absolutely fantastic and as far as I and my friends are concerned, are the best and most exciting band in the world.

the_royal_wee

Mar 31, 2008

AWESOME! great news NME!

bradpringle

Mar 31, 2008

Glad to hear it, but does this mean another Killers Karaoke Hour? Leeds 2005, Brandon barely sang a word. At least it'll be a good ole sing-song to end the weekend, nice!

bradpringle

Mar 31, 2008

Rumour has it The Killers and the Manics are going toe-to-toe for Sunday night (main stage v Radio 1/NME stage). Choose wisely...

gazmassie

Mar 31, 2008

FRIDAY (MAIN STAGE):The KillersThe KooksEditorsThe HivesNOFXTaking Back SundayGuillemotsMadina Lake The AutomaticThe Young KnivesFRIDAY: (NME/RADIO 1 STAGE):The CribsGallows Art BrutJoe Lean and the Jing Jang JongDuffyFrank TurnerCut Off Your HandsThe CourteenersSATURDAY: (MAIN STAGE):Rage Against The MachineManic Street PreachersBabyshamblesWeezer30 Seconds To MarsLess Than JakeThe SubwaysBritish Seap PowerThe PaddingtonsThe Rumble StripsSATURDAY (NME/RADIO 1 STAGE):The EnemyReverend and the MakersThe Go! TeamThe WombatsAlabama 3The Ting TingsBlood Red ShoesThe BlackoutThe DykeeniesSUNDAY (MAIN STAGE):MetallicaQueens Of The Stone AgeBullet For My ValentineEnter ShikariCoheed and CambriaSerj TankianAlexisonfireFightstarRise AgainstHadouken!SUNDAY (NME/RADIO 1 STAGE):Hot ChipModest MouseJack PenateFoalsThe Hold SteadyCajun Dance PartyDoes It Offend You, Yeah?Operator Please

TomK123

Mar 31, 2008

alex.b knows what he's talking about

underclasshero

Mar 31, 2008

sme33er - i think that more of the lineup is being annouced on radio 1 between 4pm and 7pm tonight so it should be on NME as well :) Be interesting to see how many of the festival rumours are actually going to be true.

jason cook

Mar 31, 2008

Awful news, when are people gonna wake up and realise the killers are just another over-hyped load of tosh,theres far more deserving bands that should of been takin up this slot!!!

villa4europe

Mar 31, 2008

utter shite! unless the third yank act is REM or the strokes the headliners will be a waste of time this year, nme tent all the way

skybluepancho

Mar 31, 2008

lots of bottle throwing at the headliners this year then..

indie_rhi_plop

Mar 31, 2008

hmm.saw them at leeds 3 yrs ago i think it was and they weren't amazing. think i will be at another tent when theyre on!

face12

Mar 31, 2008

saw that one coming but not for saturday, thought it would be friday. and gazmassie, what a shout, one correction though, swap rage and metallica, as huge and as awesome as metallica are, i still dont think they top rage, although that may be a biased opinion :P i would put slipknot in there somewhere just for the new album at some point soon, not really a fan as such but would love to see em, never been in a mosh thats truly challenging since killswitch engage at leeds 06

culture_slut

Mar 31, 2008

i love the killers, but ive also seen a rumour that manic street preachers are headlining nme stage that same night. It is going to be deadly hard to chose between the two... i love them both so much :(

skybluepancho

Mar 31, 2008

villa4europe knows what he's talking about.the strokes should be deffo headliners, maybe kingsof leon.RATM and Metallica are strong rumoursas the other headliners.what?. that's worse than jay-z at glastonbury to be honest.why are festival's going american, its a britishfestival. let's head to the radio 1 stage.

Rich Yeah!

Mar 31, 2008

Saw the Killers headline at V last year, It was immense!, I'm gonna be desvestated if i cant get tickets tonightBring on the Orange Organics!

Chezza81

Mar 31, 2008

I'm soooooo excited I feel sick!!

horrorsobsessed1

Mar 31, 2008

Why arent the horrors in itthey're not over-hyped crap like the killers

s1a2r3a4h5

Mar 31, 2008

Grrr..I wish I could go.I hope they'd do a couple more gigs cause they're supposed to be doing a mini tour while they're in the UK :)

The Runner

Mar 31, 2008

I heard a rumour Nickelback could be on the sunday... that would be pretty sweet. Target practice.

KAYROBERTS

Mar 31, 2008

I regret not seeing THE KILLERS headlining Glastonbury last year - have seen them live at NottmThey will be fanbloodytastic at this festival and Im not going to miss this one!!!

CleverBzz

Mar 31, 2008

Not Long Till tickets Cant Fecking Wait Woooo

clarityscars

Mar 31, 2008

what is the point of going to a festival to throw stuff at the bands? Grow up and let the real fans get the tickets instead or go see a band you like instead.

Hannah_Smith_

Mar 31, 2008

Skybluepancho-whats wrong with American people headlining festivals. There are so many good amercian artists as well as british-festivals are normally the best way to see some of them as they do not tour in the UK that much. The Strokes wouldn't headline they haven't had an album out in years, and Kings of Leon played 2nd from headline last year, so thats unlikely too.And personally, I think Jay-Z is an AMAZING headline for Glastonbury. He is an amazing hiphop artist and something really interesting to introduce to people who might not normally listen to him. If they can get Shirley Bassey to play why not Jay-Z? Just because he is a hip-hop artist people are rallying against him.And Killers-meh. So average not impressed as a headliner

judelacey

Apr 1, 2008

some people are crazy, the killers are incredible. saw them at v fest last year and it truly was the happiest day of my life. if i dont get tickets to see em on saturday ill be devastated, no joke. the killers are the greatest band man. so excited!

wilko2205

Apr 1, 2008

OMG WHY HAVE READING AND LEEDS PICKED A BAND THAT ISN'T MY FAVOURITE! THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! THE FESTIVAL SHOULD BE ALL ABOUT ME!guys, relax! there's plenty of other tents

misslis

Apr 1, 2008

'i'm so happy i could shit'

mattyd31

Apr 1, 2008

gdgd now rage lol

springer

Apr 1, 2008

I'm gutted- was hoping for Arctic Monkeys.

Rory426

Apr 1, 2008

"Rumour has it The Killers and the Manics are going toe-to-toe for Sunday night (main stage v Radio 1/NME stage). Choose wisely..."The wise choice here would be the (formerly-known-as) Carling Stage...

danidan

Apr 1, 2008

Why oh why can't I live in England? All we have in the US is festivals with audiences that are too self-conscious and "cool" to jump. At least I'll be able to watch the videos online, I guess... And the Killers are awesome live- whoever is dissing them obviously hasn't yet experienced their concerts, not to mention their festival performances.

;panzy;

Apr 1, 2008

Everyone knows that the line up goes a little bit like this:(Reading, headliners first)Friday- Rage Against The Machine, Queens of the Stone Age, FeederSat- The Killers, Bloc Party, BabyshamblesSun- Metallica, Slipknot

foreverwar

Apr 1, 2008

And yet another website crashes because of everyone trying to buy tickets.That was unexpected - my arse.

blo0m

Apr 2, 2008

It's gonna be huge. Festivals are awesome in England, and The Killers feel good there, with people singing along. And as long as they feel good, they'll play good :). I've been watching all the videos from last year's festivals and I'd literally kill somebody to get there. Or not :).

horrorsobsessed1

Apr 2, 2008

Slipknot would be fantastic to see live.Arctic Monkeys or Muse would have been better :]Killers :{ not really great.Why did they win that NME Award for Best International Band? Total crap.Within Temptation would be good to see live too.