The Killers: Brandon Flowers chooses Edinburgh barman and drum teacher to play for The Killers at Falkirk gig

Leith drummer teacher and barman Kyle Grieve was living the dream at Falkirk Stadium earlier this week when he found himself taking to the stage to pick up the sticks for his chart-topping heroes, American rock band The Killers.

Let us know what you think and join the conversation at the bottom of this article

Drum teacher Kyle, who also plays drums with local bands Posable Action Figures and Retro Video Club, fulfilled a long held ambition on Tuesday when The Killers' frontman Brandon Flowers picked him from the crowd to join the band on stage for the song For Reasons Unknown, after spotting him in the crowd at the previous night's gig.

Kyle, who was one of around 25,000 who packed the stadium to watch Monday's gig, explains how he caught the band's attention.

Kyle Grieve with Brandon Flowers and The Killers at Falkirk Stadium

He says, “I knew that on the song For Reasons Unknown the band usually get someone up from the audience to play drums so I made a sign that read, ‘Can I play drums?’ and held it up.”

Kyle admits he never dreamed the band would take him up on the offer.

He continues, “Brandon saw the sign and told me, ‘If you want to get up here you need to mean business’. So I wrote a second sign for the next night that said, ‘Tonight, I mean business’.

“When he walked out on stage Brandon saw it right away and pointed at me and invited me up on stage.

Kyle Grieve on the big screens drumming for The Killers at Falkirk Stadium

“I was shaking when he called me up, my stomach was in knots. I was four rows from the front and one of the crew took me over the barrier - we had to run around to the back of the stage. When I got there the drummer, Ronnie Vannucci Jr, was waiting for me and Brandon Flowers came over to say ‘Hello’. Ronnie gave me the sticks and asked, ‘Can you actually play the drums?’”

The Killers quickly discovered Kyle could indeed drum.

Kyle adds, “It's one of their easier songs but it's one you can nail and show off a little bit on. I had a wee practice run through of it in the morning just in case, but I know all their songs anyway, I'm their biggest fan, I've been wanting to do that since 2004 when they put their first album out.”

Kyle Grieve with The Killers' drummer Ronnie Vannucci

The 28-year-old reveals, "Brandon came up to me afterwards and said, ‘That was great’. But I could tell from the minute I started playing that he was happy because he was smiling. Ronnie seemed pretty pleased as well, he came up at the end and gave me a big hug and said I could keep the sticks, so I guess I did good.”

The experience has left Kyle determined to do it again... with his own band.

He says, “That's what I want to do with Retro Video Club and, after doing that with The Killers, I'm ready. When I first got behind the drums on Tuesday I didn't look out for the first 10 seconds, when I did it was terrifying... but it was also good, exciting.”

And if The Killers ever find themselves in need of a drummer?

“In the middle of the song, Brandon asked me how much I charged per week. I said I charged less than Ronnie, so..." laughs Kyle - you get the impression he's only half joking.

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription