Neil Morrissey gets help from SCV and LiteStructures

9 October 2003

UK - When television star Neil Morrissey was challenged to help a worthy cause for an upcoming ITV series With A Little Help from My Friends, pro audio distributor SCV London and staging and trussing specialist LiteStructures were among the companies he called on to help him complete the task. The voice behind Bob the Builder chose to help children's charity 'Kids Company' renovate a derelict community centre and wanted it to have a stage, so that kids could follow in his footsteps.

Morrissey called SCV London's marketing director, Steve McDonald, and asked him for a Fostex VF-160 Digital Multitracker for free. Steve was more than happy to give the Men Behaving Badly star the equipment to assist the charity, which works with deprived children. The Fostex VF-160 will be used to teach youngsters the elements of sound recording.

Morrissey also put in a call to LiteStructures' managing director Adrian Brooks to provide a stage for the centre. While Brooks was surprised to receive the call from Morrissey, he was only too pleased to help. To make the most of the space, the 6 x 4m stage needed to be demountable, so LiteStructures supplied LiteDeck staging, complete with handrails and steps, as it can be stored easily when not in use. AstraLite was fixed in place on the ceiling to form the lighting grid and, with Triple E's Unirail fitted, it also formed the support for the wool serge house curtains from J&C Joel Ltd. LiteStructures also provided on-site staff for the two-day installation. Morrissey was thrilled with the finished result, saying: "You've been a great help - it's a fantastic piece of kit. Thank you so much."

With A Little Help from My Friends goes out on Saturday nights from 18 October.

(Lee Baldock)