She auditioned for iconic Star Wars role, then turned to pop. Now she’s back on tour.

As far as ’80s nostalgia goes, few bands capture the dark synth-driven sound of early MTV quite like Berlin, the Los Angeles-based band whose hits include “The Metro,” “Sex (I’m A),” “No More Words,” “Masquerade,” and of course the power ballad that made many a Tom Cruise fan swoon: “Take My Breath Away.”

This summer Berlin — fronted by powerhouse pop and fashion icon Terri Nunn — kicks off “The Letting It Go Show” nightly for Howard Jones and headliner Boy George & Culture Club. The tour stops at PNC Music Pavilion next Wednesday.

Nunn, 62, spoke to The Charlotte Observer in June about being back on the road, the state of electronic music, working with Giorgio Moroder, and auditioning for “Star Wars.” She also noted that guitarist Carlton Bost (Orgy, Deadsy, Stabbing Westward), who has been with Berlin for almost two decades, is a Charlotte native.

Q. Have you had the opportunity to tour much since the pandemic?

We played the beginning of 2020. We were out on an ’80s cruise and we were the last boat let out. We were hearing what was happening, but we were on the ocean. When we came back, it was like that movie “The Omega Man” when you see him driving through streets in big cities and there’s nobody there. This was Miami. It was so weird.

That was our last show until 2021. They started trying to do shows where people sat in cars. You’d rent a space or bring chairs and sit outside your car. We were in Kansas City in October or November and it was freezing, and we’re looking out at a parking lot. It was awful — playing to machines. I thought, “If this is concerts now, I’m going to get another job.”

Q. Do you have history with Culture Club?

I played with Culture Club two or three times. I think that’s why they called us about this tour. The concerts went well and it all meshed. You’ve got to have that when you’re on the road. Most bands we play with now, there isn’t the same ego and competition as when we were younger. People are more relaxed and appreciative that we still get to do this. We just celebrated 40 years.

Q. Have you noticed that reignited appreciation among crowds since Covid?

It was so striking when we first started playing again. It was like we were The Beatles at every show. Everybody was so happy to be out of their cages, and able to party, and be with other people, and drink, and dance, and have fun.

Q. Are you seeing new generations of fans?

Yes. Bless the internet and streaming. When I was a kid, I didn’t listen to my parents’ music, but I also didn’t have the same access to what they were listening to. Now you can get into anything. Picking a band like Berlin for me (to join) was initially really hard. They were really different. John Crawford started it in 1977 when electronic music was not going on in America. The reason it was hard is that it was a problem for a lot of venues, and audiences were asking, “What is this?” Because it was so new. I bring that up because electronic music now is everywhere. It’s what my daughter listens to. What bands now are doing isn’t that different sonically than what we were doing. That’s one of the reasons parents and their kids are showing up at the shows. The kids are like, “This isn’t that weird.” I took my daughter to see Rihanna and Billie Eilish. They use a lot of electronic stuff and I love it. I think that’s fantastic. It hasn’t changed so much that we are obsolete.

Q. Your single “No More Words” is one of my top-five songs of all time. Can you tell me how that song came together?

John Crawford wrote that song, which was so surprising for a 20-year-old. His lyrics were one of the reasons I wanted to be in the band. He dealt with stuff that was emotional. He got a little deeper with what he talked about than (sex and drugs). You’re saying, “You’re into me and you’re not even looking at me.” That was a new conversation. That song really turned me on. When we first did the song, we had a completely different production. It was robotic. The vocals were kind of inspired by (the monotone, spoken-word style of) the song “Warm Leatherette” (by The Normal).

We asked producer Giorgio Moroder to work with us. He really liked the song, but he didn’t like what we were doing with it. He thought people enjoyed it more the way it ended up. John was initially (tentative). We’re like, “It’s Giorgio Moroder, come on.” He tried it, and people really liked. That’s the reason we got a chance at “Take My Breath Away” (Moroder’s hit from “Top Gun”). He didn’t have any interest in us doing “Take My Breath Away” because, at the time, we had no hits. We were an underground success playing on KROC and they were considered progressive. We hadn’t had a Top-40 hit. He tried a bunch of much bigger stars. The movie producers kept saying, “I don’t like it,” and he said, “Do you guys want to try this?” John didn’t want to do it. But the rest of us were like, “This is a Paramount movie. We need any help we can get here.” And it was great.

Q. You once auditioned for the part of Princess Leia in “Star Wars.” Tell me about that.

At the time I was in my teens and doing episodic television. I did one disco movie. That was the first time I met Giorgio Moroder. He was up and coming and had done Donna Summer’s “Love to Love You Baby.” The movie was produced by Casablanca Records and showcased artists like The Commodores. I played this 16-year-old who was trying to help my friend win a dance contest so we could win Kiss tickets.

That’s when George Lucas brought me in for this new script. He was in his 20s and had done “American Graffiti.” He had some good history. He brought me in to read with Harrison Ford. You can watch the screen test on YouTube. It was so funny, because all of this didn’t exist yet. I was trying to read these lines. “What is a Darth Vader? R2-D2? I don’t even know what I’m saying.” Trying to make it exciting. Lucas was so nice. I still bless him for not giving me the job. If I had done that, there’s no way I would have done Berlin. He introduced me to (Steven) Spielberg, who offered me the role that his future wife (Kate Capshaw) played in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.” But I was going on my first tour. I was terrified, and didn’t know if I could swing it.