From The Killers to Green Day: 5 bands from my childhood that still make music today

Rock legends, indie pioneers and pop galore 
Nostalgia: The Killers formed in 2001
Anton Corbijn
Safeeyah Kazi13 January 2018
The Weekender

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Music has been a prevalent form of time-mapping for centuries, a moment or memory can be pinpointed by a single song.

It is often you’ll hear someone talking about music in a nostalgic sense, they’ll frequently declare it something they ‘used to listen to’ when they were ‘younger’.

Here are five bands which spanned my formative years that are still making music today:

1. The Killers

Mr Brightside American rockers The Killers first splashed on to the scene with album Hot Fuss in the early 2000s, starting out with a kiss which ended up leaving Mr Brightside with over 66 million streams to date, an amount that has enabled the song to spend more weeks in the Official Singles Chart Top 100 than any other song.

Somebody Told Me, Human and When You Were Young also saw success in the charts at the time. Fronted by Brandon Flowers, the band have drifted between genres dabbling in dance, pop, electric but are still deemed rock at their core.

Pledging to stamp themselves as the American U2, their 2017 release of Wonderful Wonderful saw them work with Irish producer Garett “Jacknife” Lee, who had worked with the Bono-fronted band previously. Something clearly worked as the band tasted their first experience of a number one spot with the 2017 release.

2. Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band

Although not technically a band, but often renowned for collaborating with one, Dancing in the Dark legend Bruce Springsteen made his debut in the industry as a New Jersey working-class-rooted young man.

Now famously known as The Boss, Springsteen began to enjoy success off the back of his third studio album, Born To Run, which peaked at number three with its flawless guitar riffs, impeccable story-telling and a reach for the all-American dream.

Springsteen’s true breakout moment came off the back of 80s release of Born in the USA. The album included hit track Born in the USA, which, although widely-misinterpreted as an anthemic declaration of a patriotic love for the States, exposed the flaws of the American dream.

Dancing in the Dark followed a similar wave of success as a single from the album, with more self-conscious, dark lyrics penned in an upbeat fashion, a trend that was soon to define The Boss.

His 2014 album High Hopes saw him dominate the charts with his tenth UK number one, putting him alongside The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, U2 and Jay-Z for the most chart-topping albums. Springsteen has since seen success in his Broadway show, with fans declaring him the ‘American poet of the time’.

3. Green Day

1980s punk-rockers, Green Day, revived the punk vibe from the 70s and presented it to an all-new audience.

Their third album, Dookie, which included what is now alluded to as a cult classic, Basket Case, sold over 10 million copies, paving the way for hardcore, metal and alternative music.

Their imprint on the musical timeline later saw them win a Grammy for 2004 album American Idiot, which kicked off an aggressive rock-opera era.

The band, fronted by Billie Joel Armstrong, became more ambitious releasing three albums back to back, appropriately titled Uno!, ¡Dos! and ¡Tré! Their hard work soon saw them claim their spot in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.

Their 2016 release of Revolution Radio stole the UK number one spot. The band has since released a compilation of their greatest hits throughout the years.

4. Coldplay

The 90s-formed British rock band changed their name several times, from Pectoralz to Starfish, before deciding on their iconic name, inspired a book of collected poems.

Fronted by Chris Martin, Coldplay has sold over 90 million albums worldwide to date.

The English rockers dropped first album Parachutes in 2000, which peaked at number one in the UK and later went on to become eight-times platinum.

Parachutes brought renowned singles Yellow and Trouble, which shot to success and later became benchmarks for the group.

Their 2005 release of X&Y, their third studio album, and home to their iconic crooner Fix You, became one of the best –selling albums of the year. Coldplay since collaborated with Beyoncé on Hymn for the Weekend, which has over 800 million Youtube hits and more recently with The Chainsmokers on Something Just Like This, which has reached a staggering 900 million views.

5. Busted

Last to make the list is everyone’s favourite wedding crashers who gave us a glimpse into the year 3000.

The Essex trio hashed out two studio albums in their early career, Busted and A Present For Everyone, before splitting. Their early efforts featured popular singles, Thunderbirds, Year 3000, When I Crashed The Wedding and What I Go to School For. As a collective they have sold over five million albums worldwide and claimed two Brit Awards. Remaining members James Bourne and Matt Willis joined Mcfly to create a “supergroup” as McBusted in 2014.

In 2015 events took an unexpected turn and Charlie Simpson re-joined Busted, bringing the original line-up back together. The band has since released their third studio album Night Driver in 2016, owing much of their success to their early days.

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