Brandon Flowers 'sad' after The Killers booed for inviting Russian onto stage

28 August 2023 , 00:56

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Brandon Flowers has said "we're sad how this played out" after The Killers were booed on stage

The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers says the band was "sad" after being booed for bringing a Russian fan on stage.

Videos from the concert show Flowers, 42, inviting a Russian concertgoer on stage in Georgia - which was invaded by Russia in 2008 - to play the drums. Flowers told the audience: "We don't know the etiquette of this land, but this guy's a Russian; are you okay with a Russian coming up here?"

Later, the lead singer suggested the crowd were "brothers and sisters", which was not well-received by a lot of fans, who walked out in protest before the end of the show.

Georgia borders Russia and tensions have been exacerbated by Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year, which prompted a number of Russians to emigrate to Georgia.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Flowers reflected on the gig and said: "I had to calm an impossible situation. We want our concerts to be communal and I had no idea words I was taught my entire life to represent a unity of the human family could be taken as being pro-Russian occupation. We're sad how this played out."

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Following the gig, the band posted a statement to their social media, which read: "Good people of Georgia, it was never our intention to offend anyone!

"We have a longstanding tradition of inviting people to play drums and it seemed from the stage that the initial response from the crowd indicated that they were okay with tonight's audience participation member coming onstage with us.

"We recognise that a comment, meant to suggest that all of the Killers' audience and fans are 'brothers and sisters,' could be misconstrued. We did not mean to upset anyone and we apologise. We stand with you and hope to return soon."

The Killers issued a public apology statement after the furore (Instagram/ @thekillers)

The Killers headlined Reading And Leeds Festival this bank holiday weekend and back in 2019 the band performed at Glastonbury Festival where they welcomed former The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr on stage to play This Charming Man.

Russia has occupied 20% of Georgian territory since its 2008 invasion. Georgians have long insisted their grievance is only with the Russian state, not with the Russian people. However, since the start of the war in Ukraine last year, many Russian citizens have headed for the safety in the country, which gained independence from Soviet rule in 1991.

Hannah Roberts