“I love you Hans,” a voice echoed across the AO Arena before the room fell into total darkness.
The audience went silent as a woman appeared and broke into the spine-tingling main title from Dune.
Looking around, the crowds were completely spellbound – and they would stay way for the next three-and-a-half hours.
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Hans Zimmer wowed thousands of concert-goers at his spectacular live performance at Manchester’s AO Arena on Friday (June 16).
The show came as part of his “Hans Zimmer Live” tour, which will see Zimmer and his band play 32 concerts in 15 countries this year.
The concert, which started at 7.30pm, showcased the film score composer’s incredible collection of global successes – from Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean, Inception, The Dark Knight, Dunkirk, Interstellar, The Lion King and more.
“Manchester, the best party in the world,” beaming Zimmer, 65, told the audience after receiving a standing ovation for a Pirates of the Caribbean medley.
The performance, which felt completely immersive with its incredibly impressive sound and light show, utilised a whopping three hundred instruments.
Early moments from the night included the Wonder Woman theme as real women from the Ukrainian army flashed up in pictures behind them.
We saw tracks from Dune and Interstellar in the second half as well as X-Men Dark Phoenix – with Zimmer stating he still likes the piece despite the movie being a box office flop.
And while he joked he’s worked on many bad films in the past, Zimmer's work has spanned more than 500 projects across various mediums, collectively grossing more than 28 billion dollars worldwide.
On stage, band Odessa Opera Orchestra & Friends were a joy to watch, particularly electric cellist Tina Guo whose passion shone through.
As the night drew to a close, we heard music from Dunkirk – which left me just as stressed as when I saw it in the cinema – and taken on a journey through The Lion King.
The band then played No Time To Die, the orchestra made up of Ukranian refugees, with The Smiths’ Johnny Marr coming out to join his guitarist son Nile Marr on stage.
“I don’t know what it is with this town. I don’t know if it’s in the water, if it’s the love, if it’s the drugs – but you guys are just so amazing. The best spirit. The best everything in the whole world,” Zimmer said before the encore everyone had been waiting for – Inception’s Time. Hearing that piece of music live isn’t something I’ll forget in a hurry.
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