Culture 3 min read By Lauren Baxter
Brandon Flowers Debuts Unreleased Solo Song 'Diamonds On Black Velvet' in Manchester
The Killers frontman performed the track, originally written for the band's 2021 album 'Pressure Machine,' during his solo tour supporting 'Thrasher.'
Brandon Flowers has debuted a new solo song, «Diamonds On Black Velvet,» during a performance at the O2 Apollo in Manchester. The track was originally written around the time The Killers were working on their 2021 album «Pressure Machine» but never made the final record.
The song is an epic, lovelorn ballad with nods to artists like Roy Orbison. In the tender opening verse, Flowers sings: «Diamonds on black velvet, floating in her eyes/ Falling from her fingers, every moment lingers/ luminescent sky.» He is then joined by backing vocalists for a grand chorus, belting: «Lay me on the altar, baby I’m a thorn, pull me by a string/ Are you coming with me?/ Are we going to shoot through the windows and tear along the night?/ I don’t need to think twice/ she’s all that I wanted and more.»
While the song remains unreleased, some fans were already aware of its existence. Flowers previously discussed it and said it was written around the same time as «Pressure Machine.» Both Flowers and drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. shared their appreciation for the song during an interview with Amazon Music six years ago, and the singer later explained on Instagram Live that it never made the album because it felt «too romantic» to fit with the other songs.
The Manchester show is part of Flowers’ ongoing solo tour celebrating the release of his latest album, «Thrasher.» That record sees the Killers frontman leaning into a country music sound and offering a rare insight into his upbringing in Utah. The tour has already featured several surprises, including a cover of The Coral’s classic «Dreaming Of You» in Bristol and the debut of another brand new track, «A Good Man Is Hard To Find.»
It is not confirmed when «Diamonds On Black Velvet» will be released, but it seems likely that both it and «A Good Man Is Hard To Find» will feature on another solo album from Flowers. He told NME in August that «Thrasher» would be the first of two connected solo albums, with a more «romantic» follow-up already completed and on the way. «It’s maybe not as country but maybe country-leaning; in the same way that Tom Petty is country adjacent, or The Travelling Wilburys,» Flowers said about the upcoming sister record.
«Thrasher» marked the first solo album from the rock icon in over a decade, following 2015’s «The Desired Effect.» In a four-star review, NME praised Flowers as «a much better storyteller than he gets credit for,» adding: «With country music, there’s nowhere to hide, now Flowers is out of his cage and doing just fine.»
Flowers’ ongoing tour continues with shows in Glasgow and Birmingham this weekend before wrapping up in Dublin on Tuesday, October 27. The debut of «Diamonds On Black Velvet» adds another chapter to the singer’s solo career and offers fans a glimpse of the more romantic material he has hinted at for his next record.
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