Although it never topped the charts, The Killers' “Mr Brightside” is a UK record
Two decades after its release, the signature song of American alternative rock has been anointed as the biggest single of all time failed to reach UK No.1.
The Killers were originally discovered by and signed to UK indie Lizard King, and embraced by the Brits as their own. “Mr Brightside” was originally released in 2003 as a limited edition of 500 CDs and was reissued in May 2004, reaching No.10.
The track failed to set the charts on fire, but has proved slow, clocking up 408 weeks on the Official UK Singles Chart – nearly eight full years.
Since its release, “Mr Brightside” has amassed 5.57 million combined units, including 1.066 million sales and 530,340,000 streams, the Official Charts Company reports, good enough for third place on the list of the greatest songs of all time , behind Elton John's “Something About the Way You Look Tonight”/”Candle in the Wind 1997.” This streaming tally sends it to No. 5 on the list of most streamed songs of all time in the UK Kingdom
The biggest week (across all formats) for 'Mr Brightside' in the UK was July 2019, when it racked up 17,700 chart units following the Las Vegas act's headline act at Glastonbury festival, while its biggest sales week was in 2012, when the single was purchased and downloaded 125,200 times.
On its 20th anniversary, “Mr Brightside” eclipses Oasis' 1995 ballad “Wonderwall” for the unusual honor. “Wonderwall”, taken from the Manchester rock band's second album (What is the story) Morning Glory)reached No. 2.
The OCC crunched the numbers and stated that “Mr Brightside” is actually gathering pace. Last year saw the track generate its highest volume of streams, with 79.97 million streams, OCC reports, and in 2024, combined weekly sales and streams were up 23% year-over-year.
The Killers will split the hits for the Rebel Diamonds tour of the UK and Ireland this summer, which includes 16 arena shows.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/the-killers-mr-brightside-uk-chart-milestone-1235676925/