‘Class act’: The Killers pause London concert to screen England soccer match for fans

The Killers have been praised for the ultimate “class act” after pausing their London gig for soccer-crazed British fans.

The Killers may be an American rock band, but they know how to keep their British fans entertained.

The crowd at their gig inside London’s O2 Arena last night was left jumping for joy when the band played the last five minutes of the European Championships Semi-Final soccer match between England and the Netherlands on the big screen.

Making the moment that much sweeter was when England Captain Harry Kane scored an equaliser in a penalty before Ollie Watkins kicked the winning goal right on the 90th minute to land the team a spot in the final against Spain.

The Killers perform in London inside the O2 Arena.

Lead singer Brandon Flowers surprised the crowd by stopping the concert to screen the match between England and Netherlands. Picture: Theo Wargo/Getty Images

“Tonight we played for England,” the Las Vegas-based band later captioned a photo shared on Instagram taken from the concert.

As streamers filled the O2 Arena, the crowd erupted with more cheers as The Killers then began playing their 2003 hit song, Mr Brightside.

“What a moment - The Killers show the #England match before tearing into Mr Brightside!” one fan tweeted, while another agreed: “The transition from final whistle to Mr. Brightside is every bit as incredible as that sentence sounds.”

“Are you kidding??? this is INSANE!!! The most British thing ever from a non British band.

kudos, it was such a cool moment!!!” another tweeted.

Streamers dropped onto the crowd as The Killers performed Mr. Brightside.

“Class act, Brandon,” one commented, referring to lead singer Brandon Flowers.

“Will never forget tonight, I’m not sure you will ever hear a better version of Mr Brightside!! Come on England,” another chimed in.

The British public are massive fans of the song, which has become an anthem at weddings, karaoke nights and pub crawls.

Earlier this year, the song became the longest-running Top 100 hit on the UK charts that has never reached number one in the region.

According to the UK's Official Charts, Mr. Brightside has remained in the charts for 408 weeks straight and currently sits at No. 71, despite 21 years since its release.

The British reportedly stream the song 1.8m times a week and in May, the song officially overtook Oasis’ Wonderwall as the most successful single not to reach No 1.

The Killers from left to right: Brandon Flowers, Ronnie Vannucci, Jr., Mark Stoermer and Dave Keuning. Picture: David Becker/Getty Images

“This award means a lot to us, Mr Brightside has been completely embraced by the British public and we can’t wait to celebrate with you all on the road,” The Killers said in a statement at the time.

This week, the popular song was officially recognised by the Guinness World Records as the longest single to stay on the UK singles chart by a group and the most cumulative weeks on the UK tally for one song.

“It’s infectious still to us, I know some people can’t wrap their head around it but you’ll see the response [when you see it live],” frontman Flowers told the Guinness World Records ahead of their London gig.

“It’s tough not to be touched by it or be excited by it and there’s going to be people tonight who’ve never seen it live, there’ll be some people who’ve seen it 45 times. And we just don’t get tired of it.”

Originally published as ‘Class act’: The Killers pause London concert to screen England soccer match for fans