'I booked The Killers as a favour to play in a room above a pub'

They’ve headlined Glastonbury twice, performed each implicit the globe and had respective fig 1 albums. But connected a foggy Friday evening successful November 2003, The Killers recovered themselves playing a tiny nine supra a pub successful Lincoln. Little did the assemblage know, they were witnessing past successful the making.

“I thought, wherever the hellhole person you been?” Steve Hawkins recalls of the time a little-known set from Las Vegas landed astatine his Bivouac club.

The windowless venue was known for sticky floors and achromatic walls, but that nighttime The Killers played an anthemic acceptable worthy of Wembley stadium.

“I watched the dependable cheque and wrong 3 seconds I knew this set were going to beryllium perfectly massive,” Steve says.

A assemblage of 200, squished wrong the venue and illuminated by signifier lights, soon became agreed successful their amazement.

“We didn’t cognize who they were,” Steve explains.

“I retrieve rushing up to the set afterwards and saying, you are the caller Duran Duran,” helium adds with a laugh.

Before The Killers became a household name, they paved their mode by playing astatine tiny venues astir the UK.

On that nighttime successful Lincoln, they were 2nd connected the measure to the alternative-rock set British Sea Power.

Martin Noble, who plays guitar successful the critically acclaimed English outfit (now known arsenic Sea Power), says the American musicians were struck by the city's historical landmarks – and weather.

“They were amazed by the fog,” Martin remembers. “They had ne'er been to the UK earlier and it was a precise foggy day.

“We took them up to spot the cathedral and they saw the cobbled streets. It blew their minds.”

The Killers' 30-minute acceptable that nighttime included soon-to-be-famous tracks specified arsenic Mr Brightside and Somebody Told Me, which would become planetary hits successful the pursuing year.

Few successful the assemblage could person imagined the grade of the occurrence that was conscionable astir the corner, however.

“They weren’t rather arsenic glamorous arsenic they are now," Martin laughs. "You could person mistaken them for a set from York.

“We each thought, yeah, they are each close this lot, they mightiness spell somewhere."

Steve ran the Bivouac club, which was based supra the Duke of Wellington pub, until 2009.

“I knew the metropolis needed a small venue that nurtured caller bands and Lincoln didn’t person one,” helium says.

The Killers gig came retired of the blue.

“Their booking cause contacted maine and said we person got this band, and we cognize nary 1 has heard of them, but would you bash america a favour?” helium explains. “I said of course.”

That favour soon became history.

Six months aft their show astatine the Bivouac, The Killers released their archetypal album, Hot Fuss, which reached fig 1 successful the UK and acceptable them connected the roadworthy to superstardom.

Steve tried to publication The Killers for a 2nd time, but was outbid by Leeds University.

Regardless, the Bivouac gained a beardown estimation for unrecorded euphony and hosted the likes of The Kaiser Chiefs and the Scottish stone radical Biffy Clyro.

Steve’s Friday euphony nights surely allowed caller endowment to grow, adjacent each the mode from a tiny signifier to planetary arenas.

For Steve, the memories of the foggy nighttime erstwhile The Killers landed successful Lincoln volition ever enactment with him.

“The 4 guys were incredibly nonrecreational and wrong seconds I knew they knew what they were doing,” helium says.

“The are the nicest radical I person ever had travel done my doors astatine the Bivouac."

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