Liberty Financial spends big money on The Killers, Veronicas at 25th anniversary party
The US rockers were flown into Melbourne for a one-off private gig with millions were also spent on their support act. Here’s what happened inside the secret show.
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It’s the battle of the squillionaire loan merchants.
Liberty Financial, a major sponsor of the Essendon Football Club, secretly flew US hitmakers, The Killers, into town for a one night-only show at Richmond’s Burnley Circus Park on Friday.
And if the $2 million-odd price tag wasn’t enough, The Veronicas were also flown in from LA as the support act.
Insiders say the cheque was in excess of $3 million. Page 13 thought such celebrity extravagances were only for Saudi princes.
The private show for staff, family friends and the mortgage banker’s besties was in celebration of its 25th anniversary.
The Killers, from Las Vegas, and fronted by singer Brandon Flowers, played a scorching 11 song set at the private gig for 1500 people, which translated into the hottest ticket in town.
The show, with full production and confetti cannons, included hits Human, Somebody Told Me, When You Were Young, and the blistering encore, Mr Brightside.
Flowers made a quick reference to the party host and compared the finance company’s milestone to The Killers racking up 20 years as a band.
Otherwise, banter was kept to a minimum as the band powered into cuts like For Reasons Unknown, Caution, Read My Mind, Spaceman, Shot At The Night, Smile Like You Mean It, and All The Things That I’ve Done.
The exclusive show was produced by Chris Mitchell and Garrath Holt, with their newly formed company Greenfields Group, and they’re also partners in Velodrome Events and Northcote Theatre.
Meanwhile, The Veronicas — Jess and Lisa Origliasso — read the room with precision, and asked for financial advice. “Show of hands if you’re good at maths,” Lisa said. “Jess likes to spend all her money on Prada, Yves Saint Laurent, and Gucci — and I bought a house.”
The eye-watering sum for The Killers comes just a month after Robbie Williams was privately flown into Melbourne for well over a million dollars to perform at a one-night-only gig for rival wealth management company La Trobe Financials 70th anniversary at Crown Palladium.
It’s the ultimate one-up.
When The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers was asked why they decided to make the long trip to Oz he didn’t mince his words: “Money!”
Flowers said, “We’re playing a one-off private gig. There’s no other word for it. There’s no glorified word for it.”