When The Killers emerged with Hot Fuss, in 2004, the immediacy of the quartet’s songs helped to disguise what a strange band they were. Four wide-eyed Las Vegas boys from good Mormon stock, The Killers had no interest in the decadence of their hometown, longing, instead, for life in the rain-soaked north of England in the miserable early Eighties.

Their kindred spirits were misanthropes like Joy Division yet they had such a knack for radio-friendly choruses that their new wave songs, all of which were swathed in synths, always ended up sounding like chart-bound smashes. In that respect they weren’t dissimilar to New Order.

The Killers became (with Kaiser Chiefs and Kasabian) part of the revolution that saw indie surpass pop as teenage Britain’s soundtrack of choice. In 2006 The Killers mov