The Killers‘ 2003 single “Mr. Brightside” is already the longest-running Top 100 hit in the U.K., but now it has unseated Oasis’ “Wonderwall” as the biggest single that never hit No. 1. Currently, “Mr. Brightside” is on its 408th week on the U.K. Top 100 chart, sitting at No. 71.
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“Mr. Brightside” has more than 5.57 million chart sales currently, which includes 1.066 million sales and 530,340,000 streams. According to a report from The Guardian, the song is streamed 1.8 million times per week in the U.K.
The single was rereleased in 2004 on The Killers’ debut album Hot Fuss, where it reached No. 10 on the U.K. charts. It never climbed any higher, but since then it has barely left the charts. The band released a statement after “Mr. Brightside” was crowned.
“This award means a lot to us, ‘Mr Brightside’ has been completely embraced by the British public and we can’t wait to celebrate with you all on the road,” the band said.
Additionally, surpassing Oasis with this honor is an interesting development, mostly because an Oasis track was the primary inspiration for “Mr. Brightside.” According to an interview with Brandon Flowers in The Guardian in 2019, “I wanted to write an answer to Don’t Look Back in Anger, which is a strange aspiration for a 20-year-old.”
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The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” Surpasses Oasis’ “Wonderwall” as the Biggest Hit to Never Reach No. 1 on U.K. Charts
Brandon Flowers explained the meaning behind “Mr. Brightside” in that interview as well, claiming it was about a break-up with a woman he once went to an Oasis show with. “The wound was raw,” he said, at the time, “so it was cathartic for me. There was still something really romantic about it: it was before phones. I actually put pen to paper and we were able to turn that into something universal. To make betrayal sound so good was just a lucky thing that I stumbled upon.”
The Killers are currently slated to headline multiple festivals, as well as touring their recent greatest hits album, Rebel Diamonds. They will be at the Boston Calling Festival on May 26, then at the Governor’s Ball Music Festival on June 8 in Queens, New York.
After that, they’re heading across the pond, hitting Dublin, Glasgow, London, and Manchester before heading to Spain for the Mad Cool Festival. They return to the U.S. in August to play Lollapalooza and Outside Lands, then head to their hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada for a run of shows celebrating the 20th anniversary of Hot Fuss.
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