Theatre
'Mr Brightside' hasn't left the UK charts in 18 years.
How did it end up like this? An interactive investigation with karaoke, lip-syncing, and absolute bangers. Tim and Hannah come across a viral video of an Irish bar singing 'Mr Brightside' to their recently departed friend. Reading online comments they uncover stories of incredible people - all united by one song. Together they conduct an investigation into the chart-busting phenomenon and give you an unashamedly good night out in the process.
Presented By
Shepard Tone
Advice
Audience participation
Accessibility
For more information on accessibility and to book tickets, please contact the box office on 0131 510 0395 or
Important Information
Event Information:
Age Category: 14 and above (14+)
Age Category Type: Guideline
Website: www.shepardtonetheatre.com
Venue Number: 61
Venue Box Office Number: 0131 510 0395
Festival URL: www.underbellyedinburgh.co.uk
Babes in Arms: Babies do not require a ticket - Children under 2 years
Booking Fee:
Our handling fee helps cover the costs of selling you a ticket online, such as fees for web hosting and
credit card processing. For Fringe events, the fee is £1.25 per ticket up to a maximum of £5 per order.
There are no performances for this event
You might also like
Theatre
Beg For Me
In this riveting new play by Rosa Maria Alexander, follow how one young man's radicalisation leads him to the steps of the US Capitol. Beg For Me explores the implosive intersection of violent misogyny, the alt-right and digital extremism. One year on from the storming of the Capitol, the US has experienced a "peaceful" transfer of power – but have the forces that brought thousands to protest the results of the election changed? Beg For Me delves into the mindset of toxic male behaviour – with dark consequences.
3 - 29 August 2022, 1:00 pm
Underbelly Bristo Square
Theatre
Finding Melania
Melania – once an enigmatic beauty, now pretty much forgotten – is discovered years later living deep in the bowels of the White House. Holding on to her husband's belief that they will one day return and Make It All Great Again, she welcomes an Audience with Melania and lives out her memories, dreams and fantasies. A dark clown show exploring the grotesque behind the glamour and what it takes to "stand by your man".
16 - 29 August 2022, 10:15 pm
Underbelly Bristo Square
Theatre
Happy Place
But what happens when you find yours occupied by strangers? Follow four individuals on an extraordinary journey in this comedic imagining of a world where happiness is commodified. “Weight of the world getting you down? Get down to your nearest Happy Place and leave your worries at the door. With over seven thousand locations nationwide, we create personalised realities at affordable prices.” Critically acclaimed theatre company Forget About the Dog presents their unique style of highly physical bombastic comedy, packed with puppetry, live music and thought-provoking whimsy. Your Happy Place awaits.
15 - 28 August 2022, 11:10 am
Underbelly Cowgate
Theatre
How to Keep Up With the Kardashians
Following their sell-out shows in Manchester and London So La Flair make their Edinburgh debut with their cabaret campaign against keeping up culture. Based on interviews with women and non-binary people aged 5-60, this is a dance party protest about shaking our asses to the rhythm of our own drums, reclaiming power by redefining beauty and confronting the ugly truth of our obsession with perfection. Expect an epic playlist, belly laughs, brave truths and high vibrations. Sorry Kim, not this time.
4 - 14 August 2022, 2:20 pm
Underbelly Cowgate
follow the herd
Subscribe to receive the latest festival updates
By signing up you agree to the privacy policy..To unsubscribe, click the link in any email you receive from us.
11 September 2022, 21:14 Brandon Flowers and co’s debut single was released in 2003 has spent the equivalent of five years on the charts. But there’s a sad story behind the anthemic tune… These lines are the cue to scramble for the dancefloor at an indie club, the moment you turn up your car radio or the signal to go bonkers at a Killers live show. Mr Brightside was The Killers' debut single released on 29 September 2003 and the second track on their first album Hot Fuss. The initial
single release did little in the charts, but on its re-release in 2004, it hit the UK top 10 and has been hugely popular ever since. It's spent 260 non-consecutive weeks on the UK charts, which amounts to a full FIVE YEARS! Many commentators - including this very radio station - have named Mr. Brightside the Best Song Of The 2000s.
It’s one of the most downloaded tracks in the UK ever. Frontman Brandon Flowers told Spin magazine in 2015: "At first, all I heard was the riff. The lyrics came later. When I first heard those chords, I wrote the lyrics down and we didn’t waste much time.” He went on: “That’s also why there’s not a second verse. The second is the same as the
first. I just didn’t have any other lines and it ended up sticking.” Brandon freely admits that he was inspired by David Bowie’s Queen Bitch in coming up with the vocal line, particular the section that goes: “Now she's leading him on, and she'll lay him
right down…” “I was obsessed with Hunky Dory when I was 19,” Flowers told Rolling Stone. “There’s an urgency to that, and it felt like he meant business, so I was like, ‘All right, I want to do that.'” READ MORE: The very best
lyrics from The Killers But behind the anthemic tune and the stirring choruses, Mr Brightside is actually quite a sad song. The lyric is about a man who is obsessed with a girl that is seeing another man… and the thoughts that go through his head, imagining what they’re doing behind closed doors… Instead of breaking down with jealousy, the protagonist puts on a brave face. He’s Mr. Brightside, after all. The story was based on Brandon’s own experience when his first serious experience ended when he was just a 19-year-old lad in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was living with his sister at the time and was trying to avoid seeing his ex with another man.
“Who would have thought betrayal would sound so good?” he said later. The Killers first got an idea of the song’s popularity when they performed at the John Peel Tent at Glastonbury in 2004. “It went off,” said Flowers. “It looked like footage of the Sex Pistols!” For Brandon Flowers, he made something positive out of something negative: “We’ve never not played that song live, because it’s stood the test of
time and I’m proud of it. I never get bored of singing it.”“Coming out of my
cage / And I've been doing just fine…”
“Now they're going to bed / And
my stomach is sick / And it's all in my head…”
Why are The Killers called The Killers? Find out here