The Killers have apologised for bringing a Russian drummer onstage at a concert in Georgia. The band were playing a gig in Batumi in Georgia – a former Soviet state that was invaded by Russia in 2008, and is still partially under occupation – when frontman Brandon Flowers invited the man to play drums with them during ‘For Reasons Unknown’.
“We don’t know the etiquette of this land but this guy’s a Russian,” Flowers told the crowd, which responded with a mix of jeers and boos. “You OK with a Russian coming up here?”
The Killers Met With Boos After Inviting Russian Drummer Onstage
Flowers attempted to quell the crowd’s anger after the song was finished. “You can’t recognise if someone’s your brother? He’s not your brother?” He asked the crowd. “We all separate on the borders of our countries? … Am I not your brother, being from America?”
“I don’t want it to turn ugly. And I see you as my brothers and my sisters,” Flowers added.
A number of people reportedly left the concert after the incident in protest.
The band has now apologised for the incident, telling the “good people of Georgia” that it “was never our intention to offend anyone”.
“We have a longstanding tradition of inviting people to play drums and it seemed from the stage that the initial response from the crowd indicated that they were okay with tonight’s audience participation member coming onstage with us,” the band wrote in a statement released on Wednesday, 16th August.
“We recognise that a comment, meant to suggest that all of the Killers’ audience and fans are ‘brothers and sisters’ could be misconstrued. We did not mean to upset anyone and we apologise. We stand with you and hope to return soon.”
In 2022, The Killers cancelled a gig at Moscow’s Park Live Festival over the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Further Reading
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