BRANDON FLOWERS

I romanticize. I live with the ghosts of Elvis and Frank Sinatra. It seems so glamorous. They were American men who don't exist anymore. But there are ugly things about them, too.

I live a normal life. But I'm always thinking about what I'm going to do next, musically. 'Do I need a fresh producer? What was Peter Gabriel doing when he was 32?'

U2 have a lot of religion, also people like Johnny Cash and Elvis. Those people weren't shy about it - it's nice there are people who've come before that were open about it.

I grew up with 'best-of' cassettes. My first Smiths record was 'Hatful Of Hollow,' and I had hits albums by Elton John and The Cars.

Bands that say they don't care about how their records sell are liars.

In 50 years, I don't think you're gonna look back at 2006 and say, 'The good old days.'

I believe in God. It's a big part of my life. You can bring it up and talk about it without being 'Christian Rocker.'

Dance music cannot compete with a really great rock n' roll song. There ain't no DJ that's gonna play something that can take 'Mr Brightside' or 'Don't Look Back In Anger.'

I think people become reliant on coffee. And that can't necessarily be a good thing.

It's seen as dirty to be ambitious. What if U2 weren't ambitious? We wouldn't have that gift we have from them.

There's always an excitement around the Strip whenever something new being built. It was always the biggest and the best hotel or, you know, over-the-top things. And so, family would be coming in from out of town, and it was such a thrill to be showing them this, you know, erupting new volcano or whatever it was.

I was so young when the Killers started. I was 21. I'm proud of those songs, but there's no way I would write 'Somebody Told Me,' as I get older. Especially after having kids.

I went to high school with girls that would daydream about what strip club they wanted to work at. That's one of the sad things about Vegas.

I think of talent as being God-given. I know that contradicts what a lot of people believe, but that's how I see it. I think the Beatles were meant to be, you know? So when I listen to Paul McCartney, I think, 'Here's the person that God gave the gift of allowing him to write 'Let It Be.'

I've always had this thing about it not really mattering where you're from, because there's always been this big cloud over America saying you have to live in L.A. or you have to live in New York to make it. I always knew it didn't matter as long as you had the songs.

I understand what songs like 'Mr Brightside' mean to people. They will last forever.

People misinterpret my emotions towards Nirvana because I've said things about how something happened with grunge that took a little bit of fun out of things. It's no offense to Nirvana; they were one of the greats, obviously. But something died there, too, and we haven't quite gotten the groove back.

The mustache - I was never happy with the fullness of it. I was a bit too young. Maybe I'll bring it back in my mid-thirties.

I have the same thing every day. I find it comforting. I have a banana, but I can never eat the whole banana. And I'll drink a couple of Actimels. And some kind of cereal with almond milk. And then after that, I have a Coke.

When I was younger, I was chubby. It gave me a terrible sense of self-image, and I guess I carry that around with me still.

'Hot Fuss' was all based on fantasy. The English influences, the makeup - they were what I imagined rock was. I'm a dreamer, you know? So I dug into that dream and made 'Hot Fuss.' But hearing people call us 'the best British band from America' made me wonder about my family and who I was.

When the Killers first came out, a lot of people thought we were English, and it touched a chord in me, because my roots are very American.

I'm not sure how young kids get to the point where they're memorizing and knowing songs, but I knew the words to 'Missing You' from John Waite probably from when I was three years old. For whatever reason, that was the song that I gravitated toward when it was on the radio and I was driving around with my mom.

At home, I'm not a rock star. I wear dad-appropriate attire. I drive a truck. And we go out to the mountains to light fires and have barbecues. Even then, The Killers are usually in the back of my mind.

'Human' was controversial within The Killers way before it was controversial to the rest of the world! It caused some problems within the band. Not to throw anybody under the bus, but it was pretty much me and Dave against Mark and Ronnie for a little while. We were standing up for the song.