Why is Mr.Brightside so popular in the UK?

Posted by TrumanB-12@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 29 comments

So I moved here back in September for uni, and one of the most perplexing things about your country is the sheer popularity of this song. The Killers are a reasonably popular band worldwide, but the level of enthusiasm you Brits have for this song is unparalleled. Every single time I've gone out to a club, this song has been played at least once. It's the one song literally everyone knows all the words to, the one song you can expect loads of shrieking to ensue in the first 5 seconds, the one song everyone will break out in a frenzied dance to, and the one song you can expect a number of people to start making out to...I've never witnessed anything like this before. And then there's the astonishing fact that on New Year's, the song was trending #1 on Spotify... So yeah, why the love?

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29 Comments

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wardyms@reddit

It's anthemic and feel good. Like a modern day Don't Stop Me Now by Queen.

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SeerUD@reddit

I really don't like the song, it's not a happy song really. It's catchy and all, but the lyrics...

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Left-Area-9409@reddit

True. Maybe cause Brits are so used to being let down

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deleted_by_reddit@reddit

It's goes summer of 69, my sex is on fire, Mr brightside and don't stop me now on the mix cd in our local club

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wardyms@reddit

In between, Kooks - Naive, Reef - Place your Hands, and Bon Jovi - Livin on a Prayer.

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deleted_by_reddit@reddit

Living on a prayer is there as is build me up buttercup but no Kooks and reef was only in my student days with baywatch

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StonedPhysicist@reddit

Our student club's anthem was, interestingly, You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon. Ahh, good (though sparse) memories.

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Mred12@reddit

Ours was: CALL ON MEEE CALL ON ME, CALL ON MEEE CALL ON ME, CALL ON MEEE CALL ON ME, CALL ON MEEE CALL ON ME,

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Left-Area-9409@reddit

Eric Prydz

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Glorygreatestireland@reddit

Feel good? It's a song about a guy who walked into a bar to see that he was getting cheated on

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wardyms@reddit

Thanks for the reply 4 years later.

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Glorygreatestireland@reddit

You're welcome 105 days later

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MtCarlmore@reddit

This country likes music you can sing when you're drunk. Also, you could try to stop going to such shit clubs and you won't hear it. Student club nights all play the same thing because it's the music your peers knew when they were kids, and nostalgia is the easiest buy tactic for a DJ.

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TrumanB-12@reddit (OP)

>try to stop going to such shit clubs I'm open to suggestions (my enthusiasm for clubbing has been slowly drained by my flatmates, who aren't exactly diverse in their selections). I live in Swansea. I've been told Sin City is great but other than that, I haven't really had any recommendations.

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OhTheCamerasOnHello@reddit

Yep, well done, we'd all rather go to bars that play songs that nobody knows.

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deleted_by_reddit@reddit

we like shouting and pretending we're singing. This song is perfect for that. I reckon if a student played this really loudly in his bedroom in a street of student housing, after two minutes the entire street would be pogoing in the middle of the street and shouting their heads off.

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VulgarSwami-@reddit

Will try tonight and report back

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Anametios@reddit

any update?

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Beforemath@reddit

I’m worried about him guys

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lHave69Frosties@reddit

6 years ago, did you like die?

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mosleyowl@reddit

Still pogoing

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Goteamtom1@reddit

I reckon it didn't go to plan..

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Least_Maintenance_59@reddit

There's something about Brightside that makes me want to kill. Again. and again. Tuneless drivel.

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V8boyo@reddit

FWIW - it's still being played.

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rawcane@reddit

Along with Common People and Livin on a Prayer it taps into the innate Brit psyche around identifying with and supporting the underdog. Combine that with slightly quirky clever lyrics and an anthemic tune and you have a guaranteed Brit classic

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Musicals4412@reddit

I find it weirder, considering that The Killers are an American band, and Britain considers it Mr. Brightside a British song.

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caetanolevante@reddit

Coming out of my cage and I’m doing just fine gotta gotta be down cos I know it all. It started out with a kiss how did it end up like this? It was only a kiss. Typed it all on predictive text.

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DubiousVirtue@reddit

Makes more sense than a Trump tweet.

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lacavelli@reddit

So edgy