When you discover the dark side of The Killers' debut album

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Written, voiced and edited by Frank Furtado

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There is a secret story within Hot Fuss, the debut studio album by The Killers. A three-part tragedy presented out of order, hidden behind ambiguous lyrics and with one part left missing for years. A trilogy of tracks that together, reveal a memoir of murder. The murder of a woman named Jennifer at the hands of her ex-boyfriend. A classic tale of a romance gone bad.

Murder is a morbid interest of frontman Brandon Flowers, one he describes originating from Morrissey’s “Sister I’m A Poet,”

“I love the romance of crime,

And I wonder: Does anybody feel the same way I do?”

Flowers certainly felt the same way, letting that idea seep into his songwriting. For example, while touring Hot Fuss through Scotland, Flowers would hear the news on Jodi Jones, a 14 year old girl who was murdered by her boyfriend two years prior. The tragic story became the inspiration for the song, “Where is She?” Written from the perspective of Jodi’s mother, the song was heavily criticised by the Scottish press, leading The Killers to respectfully shelve the song, and it never seeing an official release. Flowers has called it “a great song”, saying “If I never would have said anything about it...maybe that song would be on Sam’s Town right now.”

However there was a murder story that did make it onto their albums. The story of Jennifer bears a striking similarity to that of Jodi’s, murdered at the hands of her ex-boyfriend. Jennifer’s story was intended to be the backbone of Hot Fuss, but when it came time to publish the record, the first song in the series failed to make the cut. The album wound up opening with the final part, “Jenny Was A Friend of Mine” and the central piece, “Midnight Show” was placed just before the album’s closer. The first part, titled, “Leave The Bourbon On The Shelf,” would only find a release three years later, on their rarities compilation Sawdust.

Now with all the evidence gathered and the story complete, let’s crack open this cold case and investigate The Killer’s Murder Trilogy.