Touring in the US “not viable”, say The Chemical Brothers
“I’m apologetic to the people who do want to see us that it is increasingly difficult for us to get to America, because we have had the times of our lives playing there.”
Credit: Getty / Pablo Gallardo
Iconic British dance duo The Chemical Brothers have highlighted the rising costs of touring, bleakly admitting that taking their stage show to the US is “not viable”.
The Galvanize creators make the comments during a recent interview with Billboard in which they discuss their new album, For That Beautiful Feeling, how the Covid-19 pandemic affected its creation, and what keeps them inspired after 34 years.
“The costs have gone up so much,” band member Ed Simons says. “It’s just not really viable at the moment… I’m apologetic to the people who do want to see us that it is increasingly difficult for us to get to America, because we have had the times of our lives playing there.”
The pair go on to say that while there was “a debate that raged over Zoom,” sadly neither the duo nor their team could come to an agreement to tour the US in the way that the pair would have wanted – that is, with the live gear rig, large LED screens and animations that have become a mainstay of their live shows.
Speaking about their massive stage production, The Chemical brothers go on to tell Billboard why they made the decision to include all the theatrics.
“[The production] originally came from the fact that we didn’t want to inflict [audiences with] just the two of us awkwardly standing with the synthesisers,” says Simons, “so we wanted a big back job, but it’s just grown and grown, and now we’ve got these 40-foot clowns voicing the words.”
Buy For That Beautiful Feeling now via The Chemical Brothers’ website.
