A classic is born: The Killers make UK chart history with 'Mr Brightside'

The 2003 song is now the longest-charting single in the UK's top 100 list

Brandon Flowers of The Killers performs live on the Pyramid stage during day four of Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 29, 2019 in Glastonbury, England. Getty Images

American band The Killers' song Mr Brightside has set a new UK singles chart record, having spent more than 260 non-consecutive weeks, or five years, in the top 100.

The song, first released in 2003, initially lasted four weeks in the top 100 UK singles chart but has since re-entered a number of times, says the Official Charts Company. Its closest competitor is Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars, which has spent 166 non-consecutive weeks on the top 100 singles chart.

Mr Brightside is the Las Vegas band's debut single, and was added to their 2004 debut album Hot Fuss, which reached No 1 on the UK albums chart. It is also one of the top 15 most downloaded songs ever in the UK, and was listed at No 48 on the Rolling Stone's best songs of the 21st Century in 2010.

Written by frontman Brandon Flowers following the end of a serious relationship, the song was inspired by an incident after he discovered his girlfriend was cheating on him.

"I was asleep and I knew something was wrong," he told Q Magazine in 2009. "I have these instincts. I went to the Crown and Anchor and my girlfriend was there with another guy."

Flowers said it is still one of his favourite songs.

“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,” he told spin.com in 2015.

The Killers have performed in the UAE a number of times, most recently as one of the headliners of the Abu Dhabi Formula One after-race concert series in 2019.

The Killers performed at the Abu Dhabi F1's after-race concert in 2019. Courtesy Flash Entertainment