Brandon Flowers, Bruce Springsteen bond at U.K. awards

Bruce Springtsteen says of the Killers, “They came out of Las Vegas, which is a strange place for a band to come from – most bands end up in Las Vegas, they don’t come out of Las Vegas.”

Brandon Flowers has certainly come out of Las Vegas. He wears a State of Nevada necklace in case anyone forgets.

Flowers was honored by Springsteen himself Thursday, with the Special International Award at the The 2025 Ivor Novello Awards at the century-old Grosvenor House in London.

The award recognizes top international songwriters and composers. The Ivors are to the U.K. what the Grammys are to the U.S. The Special International Award is presented to artists with worldwide impact.

Springsteen told the crowd he didn’t learn of the Vegas rock band from radio play or a streaming service. The Boss’ introduction was from his own family.

“The first time I heard the Killers and the songs of Brandon Flowers, I was walking past my high school-aged son Evan’s room,” Springsteen said from the stage. “I was just passing by, and the song I was listening to through his door just stopped me. I popped my head in and said ‘Who’s that?’ And he said ‘That’s the Killers, Pop.’”

The song was “Somebody Told Me.”

“I was standing there, and I heard that classic line … ‘Well somebody told me you had a boyfriend/Who looked like a girlfriend/That I had in February of last year,’” the “Born to Run” rock star recited. “And I said ‘That’s a clever line.’ Took me a minute to figure out, and then I said ‘That’s a (expletive) clever line.’ ”

Flowers obliquely referred to his Vegas upbringing in a text Thursday.

“It’s such an honor for this desert rat to be awarded by The Ivors Academy,” said Flowers, seemingly forever young at age 43. “And to receive it from Bruce is something I will carry with me forever.”

Earlier, from the stage, Flowers shared a Boss anecdote.

“When he’s not baptising us in his rock and roll, or speaking truth to power with that unwavering grace of his, when he’s doing all those things, he’s a cold caller. He calls you with no warning out of the blue and I still get a little bit nervous, but I always pick up the phone,” Flowers said. “Every time I do, the cynical part of the brain expects there to be some sort of ask at the end of the call, like ‘Hey Brandon, there’s a charity event in Jersey, I’d love for the Killers to come play for free’ or ‘It’s my niece’s birthday and she’s a big fan, could you do a little ‘Brightside’ for her on FaceTime?’”

Flowers shared, “But it never comes. He’s just being Bruce Springsteen, checking in on his brother Brandon. He doesn’t need to do this for me tonight.”

Springsteen’s 2022 appearance with the Killers at Madison Square Garden was released on Record Store Day on April 13, under the title, ‘The Killers & Bruce Springsteen Encore At The Garden.” Just 5,000 copies of the 12-inch vinyl record were pressed. The band also shared the official YouTube footage of the performance.

Springsteen mentioned that collaboration, and others, in his speech.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.