The Killers recall Ronnie Vannucci Jr.'s "close shave" with death at Manchester gig

6 June 2020, 18:12 | Updated: 6 June 2020, 18:16

The Killers reveal Ronnie's "close shave"

See Brandon Flowers and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. describe the incident which nearly saw the drummer in a dangerous onstage accident.

The Killers have revealed they once almost saw their drummer crushed under heavy chains.

Brandon Flowers and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. spoke to Radio X on FaceTime recently, where they talked about everything from their life in lockdown, to our upcoming Radio X Home Shows gig and their Caution single.

Asked by George Godfrey about their worst gig ever, their drummer replied: "The first thing that pops to mind is, it wasn't a bad gig, and I think it was in Manchester...

"There was all this stage rigging and there were these heavy chains that are used to pull up a truss with lights and things, and the chains have to be, the linkage have to be really heavy and they sit in these baskets. And for whatever reason the chain was spilling over the basket and it came down inches away from my left and scared the s**t outta me."

Asked if it was a close shave, Vannucci Jr. replied: "Yeah, it was a close shave," before Flowers joked: "Well, not close enough, obviously".

The sticksman added: "I would've been toast, like dead, if it would have come any closer".

Watch our interview with them above.

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Meanwhile, Radio X are set to play out The Killers' 2009 gig at The Royal Albert Hall this Friday. The rockers were set to bring their Imploding The Mirage Tour to the Emirates Stadium, London on the same night, so instead we're treating you to a throwback gig.

After playing out epic shows from the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Foo Fighters, DMA'S, Noel Gallagher, Muse, Florence + The Machine, Sam Fender and Stereophonics, and Radiohead, we're now giving you the chance to experience the Las Vegas band at the career defining moment.

Listen to Radio X via Global Player

The gig, which took place on 6 July 2009, saw the band play tracks from their 2008 Day & Age album as well as their debut Hot Fuss (2004) and its follow-up Sam's Town (2006), so you can expect to hear everything from Human to When You Were Young and of course Mr. Brightside.

Listen to The Killers 2009 gig at The Royal Albert Hall this Friday 5 June from 8pm.

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