Twenty years ago, before stadium tours and chart-topping albums, The Killers played an intimate show above a pub in Lincoln that would mark the beginning of their meteoric rise to stardom.
Steve Hawkins, who ran the Bivouac club above the Duke of Wellington pub, received an unexpected call from the band's booking agent asking for a favor to host an unknown American group. Little did he know, he was about to witness music history in the making.
"Within three seconds of their sound check, I knew this band were going to be absolutely massive," Hawkins recalls of that foggy November evening in 2003.
The windowless venue, known for its sticky floors and black walls, hosted just 200 people that night. The Killers performed as support act for British Sea Power, delivering a powerful 30-minute set that included future hits like "Mr Brightside" and "Somebody Told Me."
Martin Noble of British Sea Power remembers showing the Las Vegas band around Lincoln's historic sites. "They were amazed by the fog and the cathedral's cobbled streets. It blew their minds," he says.
The band's professionalism and talent were immediately apparent to Hawkins. "The four guys knew exactly what they were doing," he notes. "They are the nicest people I've ever had come through my doors."
Just six months after their Lincoln performance, The Killers released their debut album "Hot Fuss," which reached number one in the UK. When Hawkins tried to book them again, he was outbid by Leeds University - a sign of their rapidly growing popularity.
The Bivouac continued hosting live music until 2009, welcoming other notable acts like Kaiser Chiefs and Biffy Clyro. But that foggy evening when The Killers graced its small stage remains a cherished memory of a band on the cusp of worldwide fame.
Today, The Killers sell out arenas globally and have headlined Glastonbury twice - a far cry from their humble beginnings in a room above a Lincoln pub.
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