“You owe it to your audience”: Johnny Marr and Pharrell Williams convinced Hans Zimmer to go on tour in North America again

Hans Zimmer announced a North American orchestral tour yesterday (14 March), his first in seven years.

However, it wasn’t off his own back; he was persuaded by an iconic indie guitarist and one of the world’s most influential producers. Yep, Johnny Marr and Pharrell Williams convinced him.

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According to the Associated Press, Marr and Williams got him to tour North America again. Zimmer says himself that they told him, “‘You have to look your audience in the eye, you can’t hide behind the screen forever. You owe it to your audience.’”

Zimmer’s upcoming tour will be his first since the iconic composer worked on the scores for Dune 1 and 2. It’s set to feature Zimmer and his band with a full orchestra, and if his European concerts are anything to go by, the tour will include suites for movies including Dune as well as The Lion King, Interstellar, The Dark Knight, Pirates of the Caribbean, Gladiator, and The Last Samurai.

While he may have needed nudging to finalise this North American tour, he seems happy to return, describing the US as “welcoming and kind and exciting,” and explaining that he’s already toured across Europe, “we’re pretty good at it,” joking that American fans have an advantage as a result.

He says, “I’m thrilled to return to perform in North America with my wonderful band and excited to share this phenomenal show. I love this feeling of uniting my family of extraordinary musicians with you, the audience. Just an unbelievable group of talents, who in my opinion, are some of the best musicians in the world.

“But nothing would have meaning without the good grace and support of you, the other part of the family – the audience. Ultimately, the music connects us all, and I promise you this: we will always play our best, straight from the heart.”

Zimmer’s US tour will begin on 6 September in Duluth, Georgia, and end in Vancouver on 6 October. Among the cities he’s visiting is New York City – he’s playing Madison Square Garden on his 67th birthday, 12 September.

You’ll be able to buy tickets for the tour on 22 March at 10 am local time on Zimmer’s website.