Reading/Leeds Day 2

Killers, Editors and Mystery Jets all on the bill.

24 August 2008 - The killers headlined day 2 of the Reading festival last night (23rd August).

The band played a mix of classic crowd pleasers and new material including the song Spaceman which is the first time this track has aired in the UK.

Brandon Flowers and co. have been taking a break from live gigs and have hidden away in the studio for the last few months but speaking to the BBC they said how it felt to be back playing in front of thousands of people:

"It's strange. We're going to play a couple of songs from Sawdust and we're going to try a couple of new songs. At first it was a bit striking but we're starting to ease into it."

They also revealed that the new record would probably be released in November and even though it's been in the pipeline for a while they said they'd enjoyed taking a break from the live scene:

"It feels like we've had a healthy break. We haven't played a show since November which is about eight or nine months off. Just enough time to make the record."

"It feels like we've had a healthy break. We haven't played a show since November which is about eight or nine months off. Just enough time to make the record"  Brandon Flowers - The Killers

Editors also took to the main stage at Reading yesterday. Ed explained that is was coming to heavy rock bashes like Reading as a teenager that inspired him to be in a band: "The excitment of a festival was really encapsulated by those big rock bands," he said. "It made me want to be part of it I guess."
 
Editors will play Leeds tonight (24th August) before being airlifted to Manchester to support REM: "This is very much the conclusion of our album tour in the next couple of weeks," Ed explained.

"These are our last home shows. We go on a few dates with REM and then we're finished so we're fully concentrating on the next record."

The Mystery Jets have also been on the festival bill over the last couple of days. They've been taking a break while their drummer Blaine Harrison recovers from health problems.

But in an interview with 6music on site at Reading, it sounded like they'd coped well with having to cancel shows: "I don't think it was difficult at all. For Blaine it was difficult. No one wants to be the party pooper. But he's strong and we all see it for what it is," they said before adding:

"We'll be back and we'll be playing more gigs and in the long run it won't matter."

Elizabeth Alker