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Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

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Bandit Lites UK supplied lighting to the European section of Neil Young’s latest ‘Are You Passionate’ tour, which visited Brixton Academy for two nights as part of an extensive European jaunt.

Despite his worldwide profile and his stage presence, Young is relatively shy as a performer, always wearing a hat onstage, and disliking spotlights so LD Keith Wissmar, who has worked with Young for nine years, has his work cut out. The tone of the Are You Passionate tour - a retro Motown style - much softer and more rounded than much of the material that Young has produced in the past, inspired Wissmar to design a pseudo 1960/70’s TV set look into his show lighting, typical of the US Bandstand teenage music shows of that era. Simple in presentation when compared to the slick productions of today, they nonetheless yielded a certain aesthetic charm. Wissmar reproduced this

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The British Airways London Eye was turned Gold between 31st May until 9th June to highlight a charity fundraising initiative over the Jubilee period. Once again, Park Avenue Productions, working with producer Ajay Parekh and lighting designer Paul Cook, called on the services of Vari-Lite Europe. Cook specified a rig of 80 VL5 Arcs at the base of the Eye, to create a gold wash capable of dynamic colour and intense chases in harmony with the many Jubilee beacons being lit around the country.

Paul Cook commented: "The combination of the Whole Hog control system, pre-focusing work in Vari-Lite Europe’s WYSIWYG suite and the use of the VL5 Arcs enabled a stunning sequence of looks to be created with only limited on-site time. The shimmering golden effect was created with complex sequences of fast colour changes. The 10-day run of this event meant that we had to take tidal chang

Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

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A.C.T Lighting Inc dealer, C.I. Tronics of Blumenau, Brazil, recently staged the first in a series of workshops at the highly regarded ‘Chips’ music venue in Porto Alegre in the South of Brazil. The workshop tour is to publicize the Zero 88 Frog range of consoles to Brazilian lighting professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds. The highlight of the workshop was a live performance by a local band with the automated lighting controlled by a Fat Frog console.

The Frog range of consoles offers low cost, high quality moving light and conventional control while maintaining and simple and intuitive operating syntax. Amongst the assorted professionals checking out the range of consoles from the Frog to the Bull Frog were designers from the State Theatre, a large number of representatives of local lighting rental and production companies and music venues, as well a sprinkling

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In conjunction with French company Skylight, Fourth Phase London has taken on board the new CE marked and approved Syncrolite SX3K, to add to its already extensive rental stock. The automated SX3K has been developed to meet the needs of lighting designers, directors and producers of tours, film premieres, festivals and major events. A compact, high-performance fixture, the SX3K is the only 3000W Xenon searchlight that can be either suspended head down from truss, or used on the ground in the traditional way.

The new Syncrolites were specified by Durham Marenghi and supplied by Fourth Phase to bring the Queen Victoria Memorial to life and to back-light its fountains for the Queen's Jubilee celebrations, as well as highlighting performances on two stages each side of The Mall outside Buckingham Palace. Fourth Phase also used the fixtures on the recent Destiny's Child tour. Their next sto

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Over 100,000 Irish fans welcomed their team home from the world cup following their 3-2 defeat in a penalty shoot-out against Spain. A special concert was organized in Dublin's Phoenix Park, where manager Mick McCarthy and the Irish players received a rapturous reception from loyal fans. The event, including a headline performance from Westlife, was put together in just four days by Mikam Sound and Britannia Row with event management from Aiken Promotions.

"We were working against the clock from the moment we received our first call from Aiken on Friday morning and realized that there wasn't enough equipment available in Ireland to handle an event of this magnitude," said sound designer Paul Aungier. "By Saturday lunchtime we had confirmed Brit Row's involvement with their X-Line rig, but it meant the truck would have to set off before we knew the outcome of the match! S

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The Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) and Glasgow City Council have signed the deal awarding the management contract and a 21-year lease of the King’s Theatre to ATG. As a result, the company takes over the operation of the theatre on 28 September 2002, the date of contract completion.

Rosemary Squire, executive director at ATG said: "We are delighted that all the negotiations have been concluded successfully, and we are very much looking forward to taking this historic theatre forward under the guidance of the new chief executive David Williams and his team." ATG’s central aim for the King’s is to present high quality and accessible entertainment. This means programming well-known musicals, popular drama, variety, comedy, amateur productions, work for children and a traditional Scottish pantomime. The autumn season therefore includes visits from West Side

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D.A.S. Audio reinforced its international network recently with a series of seminars and factory visits for clients from around the world. Two important groups of clients from Latin America and France were flown in for a complete factory tour and seminars on products specifics including a presentation of the new self-powered Compact 2 System.

Fifteen guests from part of D.A.S.’s Latin American network representing Venezuela, Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala, Colombia and El Salvador were on hand for the event. Hector Morel, Gonzalo Aguirre and Ramón Franco from the D.A.S. Audio of America office in Miami base chaperoned the very lively bunch. Sennheiser France was also at D:A:S recently with 30 guests from all around the country; the D.A.S. distributor in France brought its most important clients to see and hear what D.A.S. is all about first hand. Many of the French visitors had be

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Very early on the morning of Wednesday, 26 June, an ISCE (Institute of Sound and Communications Engineers) party jetted off to visit DNH's manufacturing plant, situated by the beautiful fishing and holiday village of Kragero in southern Norway. After a cordial welcome from Harald Edwardsen, chairman of DNH and son of the original founder, the group was shown over the production and technical departments. They were able to see at first hand the meticulous way in which raw materials, piece parts and sub-assemblies were fabricated into loudspeakers and associated units, and then each finished item was inspected and tested to ensure performance and reliability within DNH's rigid parameters. Later, the group enjoyed exploring Kragaro and being lavishly entertained at the Victoria Hotel before being coached back to Torp airfield for the return flight to Stansted.

(Ruth Rossington)

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Marquee Audio has installed the sound system in the recently opened Lifthouse - a three-floor restaurant/DJ bar in the Smithfield area of London. The company installed a Bose system on the ground floor restaurant and bar, and specified five F10 Martin Audio Blackline 8" speakers for the first floor lounge and bar. A Pioneer six-disc magazine player was also installed on both the ground and first floor areas.

For the DJ area on the second floor, a combination of F10 Blacklines and Turbosound subwoofers provide the speaker set-up, alongside a pair of Technics SL1210 decks, an Allen & Heath DJ mixer, plus CD player and monitor. The system is controlled and mixed by a Cloud four-zone mixer, backed by a Formula Sound noise level limiter and two Bose Business Music amplifiers. The owners of Lift House contracted Marquee Audio after previous experience of working with them at their Chart

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Cox Audio Engineering’s co-founders - Jeffrey Cox (the company’s COO) and Christian Heil CEO of L-Acoustics - have announced that with immediate effect Cox Audio will now trade as L-Acoustics US.

Cox Audio was founded in 1994 and is based in Oxnard, CA: "We were waiting for the right timing to unify the company names," explains Jeffrey Cox. "On the two sides of the world, we’re pursuing the same goals - we’re teaching the same classes, winning the same battles, dealing with the same concerns and representing the same products. But absolutely nothing has changed with regard to the infrastructure of the company." Christian Heil added: "With this name change, it becomes more obvious to everyone that Jeffrey and I have always pursued the same strategy, resulting in a unified trademark policy for L-Acoustics worldwide."

(Ruth Rossingto

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Following our earlier news piece on Lightfactor’s involvement with the new Madame Tussauds venue in Amsterdam, we have more details on the role the company played in a new exhibition section within the Tussauds attraction in London.

Feel The Goal is based around the goal scored by David Beckham in the 90th minute of last year’s World Cup qualifier against Greece. There are just two figures in the exhibition - Beckham and England manager Sven Goran Eriksson. Lighting is a crucial atmospheric element of the piece as it leads up to the goal, complete with dramatic sound effects and a pulsating floor, replicating Beckham’s heartbeat. The rationale behind Tussauds new exhibition area is to be able to re-theme the space every two or three months, allowing the highlighting of topical issues of the day, and enabling visitors to re-live ‘magic moments’. Dealing wit

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ECA2 were honoured on 13 June this year at the annual awarding of FICHE prizes, organised to recognise French companies in the field of special events. ECA2 obtained the competition's two most prestigious prizes. Firstly, the ‘Grand Prix’ for an Institutional Event, won by the ECA2 evening spectacle ‘Luces y Voces del Tajin’ (Lights and Voices of El Tajin). This ECA2 production, commissioned by the government of Veracruz state, Mexico, took place in March.

Secondly, the ‘Grand Prix’ for a General Public Event - designated by a unanimous jury - for the evening show at Expo 01 in Yamaguchi, Japan, entitled ‘Kirara Starlight Fantasy’. On the same day in Berlin, at the TILE (Trends in Leisure and Entertainment) International Conference, Yves Pepin, ECA2's president and creative director, was honoured with the Award for Product of the Year for

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Leicester's De Montfort Hall is the latest UK live venue to select an Allen & Heath ML5000 live sound VCA console. The console was bought in to form the centre of the Hall's in-house PA system, which is based around Community loudspeakers and Carver amplifiers.

With a seating capacity of 2000, the De Montfort Hall regularly plays host to prominent artists such as recent attractions Louise, Atomic Kitten and Lee Evans (who tend to bring their own PA equipment), and has been part of the UK's well-worn touring circuit for decades. The Hall also provides a high quality venue for regional arts events. With its 16 auxiliaries, 8 subgroups and 8 VCA groups, the ML5000 can be easily configured for front-of-house, monitoring or combined roles to accommodate the varied needs of visiting acts.

De Montfort Hall's Operations Officer, Phil Giddings said of the ML5000: "I'm really impressed wi

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Once again Big Brother mania is sweeping the nation and while Channel Four has made a number of changes to the format, one thing remains the same - Audio-Technica microphones are on hand to capture the nominations, accusations and tears of the nine-week show.

The task of putting together the audio coverage for the show has once again been handed to experienced broadcast engineer, Oliver France, and because of the reliability and sound quality exhibited during Series 2, he has once again specifed A-T mics to occupy every single wired position in the Elstree complex. Inside the house ES933 hanging mics are positioned throughout the bedrooms, kitchen, dinning area, the bathroom of the ‘Poor house’ and above the toilets in both sections. The wet room of the ‘Rich house’ features two AT871WR water resistant boundary microphones and a further ES933. Out in the garden

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Maltbury's range of demountable staging systems can be found behind a variety of theatrical performances, whether professional or amateur. But if proof was needed that they are also ideal for use in more unusual settings, then this is it!

For over 100 years, Woodford Baptist Church in Essex has looked the same inside and out, and, apart from the occasional coat of paint, it has never undergone any major work. But, towards the end of 2001, the congregation decided that it was time for a total modernisation of its church and to make the interior more contemporary and comfortable, stackable chairs replaced pews and a new carpet was laid. In addition, 17 units of Maltbury's popular mid-weight staging, Metrodeck, were bought to create a multi-purpose stage area.

The church had a set of criteria which determined the choice of staging: it was vital it was user-friendly, adaptable, demounta

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Chinese theme parks, national museums and world famous club nights - Opus Audio’s list of clients is certainly impressive and now the company has completed a $100,000 installation at the Hotel Cosmos in Moscow.

Opus, which designs and builds the unique Opus Integrated System has previously supplied and installed sound systems for the V&A Museum in London, a theme park in Beijing and Plymouth Pavilions, but this was the first time the company had ventured on to Russian soil. And, so impressed were the hotel bosses that they have placed an order for a brand new monitor system as well. Managing Director Andy Fox explained the difficulties of installing such a large system in a foreign environment. "Obviously the main barriers we had to overcome were those of language and culture. At the start there was a problem with the type of power supply available to us in Moscow, but we e

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In the three years since they set up their hire and installation company Arranpaul Audio Ltd., Arran Culpan and Paul Rogerson have built up an enviable portfolio of shows, corporate events and fixed installs along the Fylde Coast. The first system Arran purchased from Spencer Brooks was a JBL system - 12 years ago. And he recalled this last month when he returned to Marquee Audio - this time for a Nexo Alpha E/PS8 system and Camco Vortex amplification.

The destination for the Alpha E B1-18 bass enclosures and EM mid tops was the multi-room Tower Ballroom at Blackpool Tower for owners Leisure Parks. "The owners needed the extra bandwidth and wanted to put the old 32ft pipe organ through it," explained Arran. "And so we recommended the Alpha E."

The company specified two Alpha B1-18s and three EMs per side, processed through the dedicated NX-241 system controller. 1

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Duran Audio UK has appointed DL Electronics of Lisburn as the AXYS Intellivox dealer for Northern Ireland. DL Electronics has recently completed its first installation supplying a pair of AXYS Intellivox 4C arrays to St Eugene’s Cathedral, Londonderry.

When he was approached about providing a new sound system for St Eugene’s, David Dalzell of DL Electronics, thought it would be the ideal opportunity to try out the Intellivox, a product he had been tracking the progress of for some time. A demonstration quickly followed. "It is very rare to please all of the people all of the time in this industry, however, on this occasion the architect, client and consultant all quickly agreed that an Intellivox solution was the way forward." Throughout the project DL worked closely with consultant engineers Dellap & Waller, architect Joe Tracey and acoustic consultant Peter Lloy

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In a move designed to enhance both businesses and add value for the end user, design and documentation software specialists Stardraw.com have announced a unique partnership with the audiovisual association, ICIA.

InfoComm iQ, developed, maintained and delivered by the International Communications Industries Association, Inc (ICIA), is an industry-wide product information database for the AV market which offers users instant access to the most up-to-the-minute product information. ICIA takes raw data from manufacturers and re-authors it to be complete, current and comparable. It is then distributed directly and through third party dealer websites. By teaming up with Stardraw, with its own library of over 36,000 high quality symbols from manufacturers, ICIA can now make InfoComm iQ available to a wider audience.

According to Stardraw.com Inc president, Randell Green, the arrangement is

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Action Energy, a Government-backed initiative has been introduced by the Carbon Trust to help businesses and organisations cut their energy costs through the provision of free, professional advice and assistance. As part of the launch, a new £10 million Energy Loans initiative is also being introduced across England and Wales, with the support of Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

With the introduction of the Climate Change Levy in April 2001 (a new tax on energy use in industry, commerce, agriculture and the public sector) and the recent UK government PIU report suggesting that up to 30% of energy - the equivalent of £12 billion per annum - is being wasted, there has never been a more important time for businesses to address energy efficiency. Through Action Energy, organisations from multinationals to small businesses (including not-for-pr

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Martin Professional has appointed a new distributor for Yugoslavia, Sky Music. The company is responsible for distribution of Martin, Mach and Jem products in both Serbia and Montenegro and is headed by President and CEO Milenko Skaric.

(Lee Baldock)

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The Bootylicious world tour of Destiny's Child has just finished its European leg. The high energy show is a dynamic mix of live footage, cut with some playback into a psychedelic rampage of colour, action and excitement. The lighting for the shows was supplied by LSD, XL Video supplied cameras, LED screens and a digital PPU for the tour (with live video directed by Mick Anger), the PA came from Clair Brothers and Star Rigging managed the rigging elements.

(Lee Baldock)

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The good reputation of professional audio systems specialist Shermann Pro-Audio has spread to Thailand where the Crazy Asia live music bar and restaurant in Bangkok has invested in the company's range of products. Shermann's DX-250, DX-150 and BX-115 loudspeakers have been installed at the venue and the sound system is controlled by an XTA DP-226 digital crossover and driven by Shermann DXA-1800 and DXA-2400 power amplifiers.

"The Crazy Asia order is the latest in a long line of contracts secured by our agent in Singapore," said Ken Hughes, owner of Shermann, based in Newtown, Mid Wales. "Our professional audio systems are in widespread use in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and China as well as the UK and Europe."

Designed primarily for users on semi-pro budgets, Shermann's DX-Series has found favour with numerous small and medium sized rental companies. T

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A new company, North American Pro Audio (NAPA), has been formed to provide United States distribution for British audio mixing console manufacturer, Allen & Heath and will be doing business as Allen & Heath USA.

From August 1st, Allen & Heath will be represented by NAPA, ending the UK company's business relationship with Utah-based Harman Music Group. Allen & Heath left the Harman International Industries Limited group following a management buyout in June 2001 but continued to distribute its products through Harman Music Group. Allen & Heath's managing director, Glenn Rogers explains the reasons behind the decision: "This change in distribution is the final step on the journey to full independence which we embarked on with the buyout last year. We're grateful to the Harman Music Group for all the work they have done over the years to support the brand. Thanks to them, we and NAPA

  1. PSL summer of music
  2. Blackout’s Perfect Planning at Tech-Ed 2002
  3. Lighting Up on NASCAR Racing Circuit
  4. Sennheiser drops in on GOSH
  5. JHS Event 2002
  6. ADB system for Graz Stadthalle
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