Isn’t It Ironic: Brandon Flowers Agrees With “Blurred Lines” Verdict “150%”

Carl Williott | May 7, 2015 1:23 pm
Brandon Flowers' "Lonely Town" Video
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Brandon Flowers is never one to pass up an opportunity for a good pull quote (back in 2006, he famously said Kanye West makes him “ill,” and recently echoed that sentiment). So when NME asked him about the recent “Blurred Lines” copyright verdict, which ruled Robin Thicke and Pharrell owe the Marvin Gaye estate $7.3 million, Flowers showed his full support for the ruling and expressed hope that it would stop music’s biting scourge.

Flowers told the British mag he agrees “150%” with the verdict and that there “are so many bands who should get sued.” He added, “I’m so sick of hearing people steal. I hate it. I hear it all the time, but I’m not gonna tell you which bands. I won’t because I don’t wanna start a whole thing.”

No doubt the topic dredged up his old bitterness toward The Bravery, whom he feuded with in the mid-aughts over what he perceived was their trend-hopping imitation of The Killers. Of course, you could also look at this latest quote as a bit of hypocrisy from Flowers, since The Killers emerged with a nu-wave sound that borrowed liberally from ’80s synth-pop (not gonna tell you which bands because we don’t wanna start a whole thing). Not to mention the band’s unapologetic Bruce Springsteen influence, which first appeared on Sam’s Town single “When You Were Young.”

At the very least, this indicates any and all samples and “vibes” on Flowers’ forthcoming solo album The Desired Effect were cleared through the appropriate legal channels.