The UK now has itself a new most-streamed song in Spotify history… except it’s not new at all, it came out all the way back in 2003.
Yes, it’s official – ‘Mr Brightside’ has now topped the music platform’s all-time streaming charts.
To some, this may be shocking – and borderline criminal – information, but to all those who find themselves eagerly-awaiting the point in the night when DJs at nightclubs, wedding receptions, or general family functions inevitably end up blasting out The Killers’ smash-hit single, then this probably isn’t news at all.
If anything, rather than being annoyed by the fact, you’re probably a happy contributor to the more than 1.8 billion Spotify streams the song now has globally.
Taken from the American indie rockers’ debut studio album, Hot Fuss – which was released in June 2004, and shot straight to the top of the UK album charts – ‘Mr Brightside’ is undeniably one of the band’s most well-known songs.
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If we’re honest, it’s probably the most well-known, isn’t it?
The lyrics of the song are said to depict a true story of lead singer Brandon Flowers’ jealousy and paranoia when he walked into a bar in his Las Vegas hometown and found his girlfriend cheating on him.
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“I was asleep and I knew something was wrong,” Flowers said in an interview with the BBC back in 2001, “I have these instincts. I went to the Crown and Anchor, a bar in Vegas, and my girlfriend was there with another guy.”
Mr Brightside by The Killers is now officially the UK’s most-streamed song of all time / Credit: YouTube
The song has already topped a couple of lists and claimed quite a few accolades in its time.
These include being named ‘song of the decade’ by UK radio stations Absolute Radio and XFM, as well as being chosen as Rolling Stone’s 48th best song of the 21st century, and ranking ninth in Total Guitar magazine’s ‘Greatest Guitar Riffs of the 21st Century’ round up.
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But the title of the UK’s official most-streamed song of all time on Spotify is one we’re sure the band will be shouting about for a long time.
20 years of Mr. Brightside. Sounds as good as the first time we played it every time we play it. pic.twitter.com/gVXJqCl7Kx
Mr Brightside’s current most-streamed crown comes after the song also previously broke chart records back in 2021 by spending a whopping 260 non-consecutive weeks in the Top 100 of the UK’s singles chart.
The news that’s presumably made The Killers’ – and their bank balances’ – day comes as Spotify celebrates in 15th anniversary this month, and has revealed what are the biggest artists and songs during that period in the UK to mark the occasion, Music Week reports.
Elsewhere on Spotify’s roundup lists, Ed Sheeran took the crown as the most-streamed UK male artist on of the last 15 years on the platform, while Dua Lipa claimed the female-equivalent title.
Featured Image – YouTube
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New data estimates that 7.3m Oasis fans are set to miss out on 2027 tour tickets
Emily Sergeant
New data has revealed that as many as 7.3 million Oasis fans could be set to miss out on tickets to the band’s 2027 tour.
In case you need bringing up to speed a little, it was announced earlier this week that, following the unprecedented success of the reunion tour, Oasis Live ’25, last year, including five nostalgia-drenched gigs at Manchester’s Heaton Park, Oasis would be hitting the road once again in 2027, and this time around, they’re going BIG.
We’re talking 11 nights at the Etihad Stadium and a return to the iconic grounds of Knebworth for four special shows there too, kind of ‘big’.
The iconic Manchester band will also be taking to a range of other world-famous stages across the globe, including five nights at Glasgow’s Celtic Park, and major cities like Barcelona, Amsterdam, Paris, Rome, and Las Vegas.
But despite the elevated number of dates the Gallaghers and co will be performing, some new data has unfortunately revealed that millions of fans may still not be lucky enough to snag a ticket.
The ticketing system for Oasis Live ’27 is not what it was for the last tour, nor will it be similar to many other tours of a similar scale in the past either, as this time, the band and their promotors are taking necessary measures to ensure ‘genuine fans’ get their hands on the tickets and that dynamic pricing doesn’t creep in.
Instead of going into detail on that now though, you can read our full guide on how to get tickets for the Manchester and Knebworth shows here.
Experts at online ticketing platform TicketSource have analysed the scale of demand for Oasis tickets by comparing the 10 million fans worldwide who queued for the initial release of 1.4 million tickets for their 2025 tour, with the newly announced 2027 tour dates and stadium capacities.
With an estimated 2.67 million tickets available across 38 dates and 11 locations between 21 May and 19 September 2027, Oasis could still face huge demand from fans hoping to see them live.
But research reveals the band would need to play 112 Wembley-sized shows to accommodate everyone who tried to get a ticket in 2025.
The 2027 tour would accommodate just 26.7% of those who tried to get tickets last time, meaning almost three-quarters (73%) of them could miss out, leaving a shortfall of more than 7.3 million fans.
Fingers crossed you’re among the lucky lot that secure tickets, though.
Featured Image – Joshua Halling (Press Image – Supplied)
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Iconic Manc movie 24 Hour Party People is set to return to cinemas for its anniversary
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most iconic movies is set to return to the big screen next month.
Remastered in 4K and returning to UK cinemas to mark 24 years since its original release, Michael Winterbottom’s 2002 biographical comedy drama film, 24 Hour Party People, tells the story of Manchester‘s popular music community from 1976 to 1992 – specifically about Factory Records‘ founder Tony Wilson.
The film begins with the punk rock era of the late 1970s, before moving through the 1980s into the rave and DJ culture, and of course, the ‘Madchester‘ scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The narrative largely follows the career of Tony Wilson, played by Middleton-born actor Steve Coogan, while also covering the careers of the major Factory Records artists – especially Joy Division and New Order, as well as A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, and Happy Mondays.
If you haven’t seen 24 Hour Party People before, it’s a dramatisation based on a combination of real events, rumours, and urban legends, as the film is sure to make clear.
Coogan is joined by a cast by a mixture of big names and, at the time, rising stars like Paddy Considine, Shirley Henderson, Lennie James, John Simm, Ralf Little, Andy Serkis, Sean Harris, John Thomson, and even Peter Kay, alongside cameos from other figures connected to the Manchester music scene.
Before it returns to cinemas, the film will first open music and media festival/conference, Beyond The Music, at MediaCity in Salford on 6 October.
The screening at the festival will also be followed by a Q&A with Coogan, Winterbottom, and producer Andrew Eaton.
24 Hour Party People will then be re-released in UK cinemas from 9 October, and you can check your local cinema for screening times and book tickets online now.
Emily Sergeant -
12th October 2023 
