The Killers’ Brandon Flowers addresses ‘impossible situation’ of Russian faux pas at Georgia gig-Tori Brazier-Entertainment – Metro

The Killers sparked backlash after inviting a Russian fan on stage at a gig in neighbouring Georgia (Picture: Getty)

The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers has said that the band was ‘sad’ at how a gig in Georgia played out when they were booed for bringing a Russian fan on stage.

Videos from the concert show Flowers, 42, inviting a fan on stage to play the drums as he says: ‘We don’t know the etiquette of this land, but this guy’s a Russian are you okay with a Russian coming up here?’

Later, the lead singer suggested the crowd were ‘brothers and sisters’, which was not well-received by a lot of fans, who walked out in protest before the end of the show.

Georgia borders Russia and tensions have been exacerbated by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last year, which prompted a number of Russians to emigrate to Georgia.

Reflecting on the gig in a new interview, Flowers, who performed alongside Sir Elton John at this year’s Glastonbury Festival, shared: ‘I had to calm an impossible situation.

‘We want our concerts to be communal and I had no idea words I was taught my entire life to represent a unity of the human family could be taken as being pro-Russian occupation.’

Singer Brandon Flowers admitted he had ‘no idea’that his words could be interpreted as ‘being pro-Russian occupation’ (Picture: WireImage)

‘We’re sad how this played out,’ he added to The Sunday Times.

Following the gig, the band posted a statement to their social media, which read: ‘Good people of Georgia, it was never our intention to offend anyone!

‘We have a longstanding tradition of inviting people to play drums and it seemed from the stage that the initial response from the crowd indicated that they were okay with tonight’s audience participation member coming onstage with us.

‘We recognise that a comment, meant to suggest that all of the Killers’ audience and fans are ‘brothers and sisters’ could be misconstrued.

‘We did not mean to upset anyone and we apologise. We stand with you and hope to return soon.’

Londoner Joe Stanley, who is half English and half Georgian, and attended the gig on August 15, told Metro.co.uk: ‘This is the first concert of The Killers in Georgia, and I don’t think they grasped the geopolitical tensions in the region – the audience was a mix of Russians, many of who are now in Batumi, and Georgians at the venue.’ 

‘Almost half the concert walked out and boos accompanied every other song. A number of people did stay though, and the concert closed out like normal,’ he revealed. 

The Killers headlined Reading And Leeds Festival this bank holiday weekend, where – in the same move – they made one fan’s dreams come true by inviting him up on stage to play the drums with them.

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