The Killers singer Brandon Flowers has told Radiohead’s Thom Yorke to go back to writing “pop songs”.

Flowers has been unimpressed by Yorke’s move into more experimental music in past years, because he thinks he’s wasting his gift for writing popular songs.

He tells The Observer, “He should feel grateful that's he's (been) given the gift to write pop songs - which he needs to write again!”

Flowers, who is currently promoting his band’s second album Sam’s Town, has also laughed off worries from the Pet Shop Boy’s Neil Tennant that he himself is moving away from his pop roots.

Tennant expressed concern Flowers’ new facial hair signals “I mean than pop”, but the frontman dismisses the notion.

He explains, “I've never been able to grow a moustache before! I'm upset that Neil doesn't like it. I do feel like we're definitely still pop. And we've never been ashamed of that. This is just a phase.”