‘I booked The Killers as a favour to play in a room above a pub’

They’ve headlined Glastonbury twice, performed all over the globe and had several number one albums. But on a foggy Friday evening in November 2003, The Killers found themselves playing a small club above a pub in Lincoln. Little did the crowd know, they were witnessing history in the making.

“I thought, where the hell have you been?” Steve Hawkins recalls of the day a little-known band from Las Vegas landed at his Bivouac club.

The windowless venue was known for sticky floors and black walls, but that night The Killers played an anthemic set worthy of Wembley stadium.

“I watched the sound check and within three seconds I knew this band were going to be absolutely massive,” Steve says.

A crowd of 200, squished inside the venue and illuminated by stage lights, soon became united in their amazement.

“We didn’t know who they were,” Steve explains.

“I remember rushing up to the band afterwards and saying, you are the new Duran Duran,” he adds with a laugh.

Before The Killers became a household name, they paved their way by playing at small venues around the UK.

On that night in Lincoln, they were second on the bill to the alternative-rock band British Sea Power.

Martin Noble, who plays guitar in the critically acclaimed English outfit (now known as Sea Power), says the American musicians were struck by the city’s historic landmarks – and weather.

“They were amazed by the fog,” Martin remembers. “They had never been to the UK before and it was a very foggy day.

“We took them up to see the cathedral and they saw the cobbled streets. It blew their minds.”

The Killers’ 30-minute set that night included soon-to-be-famous tracks such as Mr Brightside and Somebody Told Me, which would become global hits in the following year.

Few in the audience could have imagined the extent of the success that was just around the corner, however.

“They weren’t quite as glamorous as they are now,” Martin laughs. “You could have mistaken them for a band from York.

“We all thought, yeah, they are all right this lot, they might go somewhere.”

Steve ran the Bivouac club, which was based above the Duke of Wellington pub, until 2009.

“I knew the city needed a little venue that nurtured new bands and Lincoln didn’t have one,” he says.

The Killers gig came out of the blue.

“Their booking agent contacted me and said we have got this band, and we know no one has heard of them, but would you do us a favour?” he explains. “I said of course.”

That favour soon became history.

Six months after their performance at the Bivouac, The Killers released their first album, Hot Fuss, which reached number one in the UK and set them on the road to superstardom.

Steve tried to book The Killers for a second time, but was outbid by Leeds University.

Regardless, the Bivouac gained a strong reputation for live music and hosted the likes of The Kaiser Chiefs and the Scottish rock group Biffy Clyro.

Steve’s Friday music nights certainly allowed new talent to grow, even all the way from a tiny stage to global arenas.

For Steve, the memories of the foggy night when The Killers landed in Lincoln will always stay with him.

“The four guys were incredibly professional and within seconds I knew they knew what they were doing,” he says.

“The are the nicest people I have ever had come through my doors at the Bivouac.”

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