Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

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UK - As the year unfolds in Europe Bandit Lites reports that it is very busy with a variety of major projects. Lester Cobrin and the team in Bedford are working overtime to meet the demands.

George Thorogood is out with Ron Norvell at the helm as LD, tour manager Adam Conde and production manager Jeff Pitt. They are carrying VL2500s, Studio Beams, DL2's, a Hog 3, Colorado 3's, Pixel Micros, Color Blocks and Lycian spots.

Peter Barnes is designing Capital FM's Summertime Ball and uses MAC 2000 wash and spots, Hog 3 console, Gladiator 3K spots and Stadium Hazers as part of his kit. Steve Levitt from Production North is producing the event and Bandit is the supplier.

Simon Tutchener has two separate upcoming projects with Bandit. B.B. King and John Mayall have teamed up for a dynamic outing with a system comprising of MAC 2000 washes and spots, grandMA consoles and Lycian 1290

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Russia - The recent Eurovision Song Contest is one of the most-watched television productions in the world, with estimates of some 200 million viewers. When Russia won Eurovision in Belgrade, Serbia last year, Russian show producers were immediately driven to make the 2009 production in Moscow the biggest and most breathtaking in Eurovision history.

The equipment list for the show an astounding 2,000sq.m of scenic LED and a long list of lighting fixtures, including 72 PRG Bad Boy luminaries, first seen at PLASA 2008 in London last autumn. Since the fixture hit the shelves at the beginning of this year, it has been seen on major tours from Oasis to Britney Spears and on television from the Grammy Awards to The Celebrity Apprentice, but in the words of Eurovision production manager Ola Melzig: "We got 72 - eat our dust!"

Two Virtuoso consoles controlled all of the stag

Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

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Turkey - Wireless Solution Sweden AB recently played a major role in the transformation of Genclik Park, a centrally located park in Ankara, once known for run-down restaurants and dingy atmosphere into a safe haven of light, colour and imagination in the capital's city centre.

Lighting designer Duilio Passariello approached this project in 2006 with a brief from the city mayor to transform the site from a dark, uninviting space to one that left visitors with a positive and lasting impression. He turned to Istanbul Telesine and Philips Turkey, who supplied the project with an array of equipment including 165 Martin Exterior 600 outdoor wash lights, 120 Martin Inground uplights, 120 Seasplash LED fixtures for underwater lighting and over 430 ColorBlast LED fixtures accenting the trees surrounding the park.

The fixtures were spread over 12 universes with distances up to 2.2k fro

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UK - Since the end of last year, heavy metal band Saxon have been relying on Electro-Voice microphones. The band's last tour - together with Motörhead - demonstrated that Saxon still has a loyal following throughout the world. On this tour and beyond, front man Biff Byford is relying exclusively on REV wireless and the new PL Series microphones from Electro-Voice.

"The REV wireless system really gives you a lot of freedom and the guitars don't knock the microphone out of your mouth when you trip over the leads," says Byford. "I can actually walk around, which is good especially at big festivals. As headliner we have quite a big stage where we go on ramps and other things, so it's good for that. The REV wireless system with the N/D767 capsule has been really great. We've had no faults at all."

Torben Ibs, the FOH engineer on the Saxon tour comments: "I

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UK - The extensive LED lighting range from Leeds-based manufacturer, Fibre Optic Systems (FOS), has rebranded as Diva. In-house custom manufacturing ensures this UK-built range suits individual needs and requirements and meets close and rapid deadlines - with full service support from the friendly FOS team, says the company.

The Diva range features either Cree or Luxeon LEDs with a spot or a wash lens, and all DMX control is manufactured in the UK. All fittings are available as RGB colour change, single colour or intelligent white, the company says.

The FOS Diva range provided the complete LED lighting requirement within the recent refurbishment of Leeds' Alea Casino, owned by London Clubs international. Supplied by LiteTask, the design specification and installation was carried out by Cannock Electrical. Cannock's Lee Garbutt commented: "The Diva range was recommended by

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South Africa - Robe moving lights were specified by lighting designer Robert Hoey for the 2009 South African Music Awards (SAMA), staged at the Sun City Superbowl in front of a live audience of 5000 and broadcast live on SABC1. The high profile show that honours the best of South African music was produced by Blue Moon and directed by David Bloch, with Strike Productions co-ordinating all the technical requirements.

The eye-catching set was designed by James McNamara and contained gold and silver surfaces and texturing. Hoey took this as his creative starting point and designed an equally attractive lighting show based on asymmetry to match the set. He utilised Robe ColorWash and ColorSpot 700E ATs and ColorWash 2500E ATs. These formed the core of the rig. "They worked really hard providing lots of wow factors and a wide variety of looks," says Hoey.

The Robes were h

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Jordan - An Outline Butterfly line array system was used for the sound reinforcement at the large mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI at Amman international stadium, before 50,000 worshippers. The mass was accompanied by a 50-piece orchestra and a 200-strong choir.

"Due to the importance of this event on an international scale, Events AVP - exclusive Outline distributor for Jordan - was selected to provide the sound systems required given its reliability record and event direction experience," said Sharif Tabbara, co-owner of Events AVP. As an official guest to His Majesty King Abdulla II of Jordan, Pope Benedict XVI's Grand Sunday Mass was master planned and managed by the Royal Protocol Department, who oversaw the overall production and running of the event.

For the acoustic coverage of the venue, Events AVP used a system comprising 100 Butterfly Hi-Packs and 32 S

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UK - A dual Midas PRO6 system provided by Britannia Row has been used for Paolo Nutini's two-week UK tour. The PRO6s were used by Nutini's front of house engineer Graham 'Hutch' Hutchinson and monitor engineer Tom Howat, who was also mixing support band The Panics, plus additional supports appearing on the tour.

As this tour consisted mainly of smaller promotional gigs, the entire control system had to fit into a small trailer being towed between venues by the production's single tour bus.

The PRO6s packed away into 18U and 14U flight cases, sharing just one DL351 stage box, which provided 32 mic inputs and 32 record outputs. Additionally, two AES50 tie lines between the two consoles allowed 48 bi-directional audio channels to be transmitted between the two PRO6 systems. This was the first multiple PRO6 setup to feature a single stage box, demonstrating just how flexible and c

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UK - Sound Technology, distributor of Soundcraft in the UK and Eire, has confirmed Northern Light as the authorised Soundcraft digital console dealer for Scotland.

Soundcraft's digital console range includes the flagship Vi6/Vi4 with VistonicsTM touch-screen user-interface, and the mid-market Si3/Si2. The new Si Series offers advanced digital functionality and high channel count in a chassis designed to plug in place of an existing analogue console with the minimum of ease.

Gareth Collyer, speaking on behalf of Sound Technology said: "With the recent release of the mid-market Si Series, we have consoles designed to appeal across numerous markets, from a variety of installed sound uses to flagship tour rentals. Northern Light's proven experience and success in all these areas is exactly the authorised dealer profile we are looking for and we're excited to be working with t

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Singapore - An extensive ADB Lighting control and dimming system, along with 12 ADB WARP Zoom Profile Spotlights, has been installed at the heart of the lighting rig at the recently-opened Genexis Theatre at Fusionopolis in Singapore.

The iconic Fusionopolis research and development complex houses an array of research organisations, high-tech companies, government agencies, retail outlets, and serviced apartments in one location. Planned by Zaha Hadid, designed by Kisho Kurokawa and developed by the JTC Corporation, Fusionopolis's Phase One contains 120,000sq.m of space, with the egg-shaped, 572-seat Genexis Theatre suspended between three multi-storey towers.

ADB's Singapore distributor, Audio Light Asia, supplied the lighting systems, for which a major requirement was flexibility to cover the many potential configurations of the multi-purpose space. Access to the lighting ri

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UK - In a landmark building at the heart of South East London's thriving arts community is the largest purpose-built contemporary dance centre in the world. Laban is the UK's first conservatoire for music and dance. Electro-Voice ZX Series loudspeakers have been installed throughout the faculty.

Laban's remarkable modern building, situated on a two-acre site beside Deptford Creek, has won many prizes for architects Herzog and de Meuron, who also designed the Tate Modern and the National Stadium for Beijing's Olympic Games. Dedicated to dance, it is probably the largest and best-equipped contemporary facility in Europe, with 13 purpose-built studios, fitted with the latest sprung flooring and large windows for natural light.

The Deptford facility opened in 2002, but the student environment has already proved too demanding for the music playback systems originally installed in t

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Italy - The Baladì Disco has turned the once sleepy Italian town of Torre San Patrizio into a rallying point for people from the entire Marche region. After an extensive and lavish renovation by architect and designer Massimo Cadamuro, the disco now boasts a restaurant, four differently equipped dance floors designed to cater to a variety of musical tastes, and a spacious lounge. One of the Baladì Disco's key feature is its new sound system from Dynacord.

With help from Milan-based specialists dSound PRO, the Baladì management put its faith in equipment from Dynacord - a balanced spread of Alpha Concept loudspeakers, Pl-one, and D-Lite cabinets, and power amplifiers from Dynacord's LX and CL series.

(Jim Evans)

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Italy - On 8 May, a large delegation from the British association of directors of photography (STLD) visited the Italian Public television (RAI) studios, for an interesting exchange of experiences with the company management and their professional counterparts.

The STLD (Society of Television Lighting and Design) visit was made possible by Clay Paky, which has been profitably working for years with the British association and, most recently, has partnered with it in organising the annual competition called The Clay Paky Knight of Illumination. The competition gives awards to the best British LDs in the TV, theatre and live event sectors.

The professional relationship between Clay Paky and RAI is equally well consolidated. It is based on mutual respect that has built up over the years, during which the Bergamo-based company has supplied RAI with the most modern TV studio

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Channel Islands - Since its inception in 1985, the Guernsey Awards for Achievement has focused on celebrating corporate and personal success. Now in its 23rd year, the initiative continues to attract the interest and support of companies and individuals island-wide.

This year's event reached its climax recently at a glittering Awards gala evening, held at Beau Sejour Leisure Centre; attended by close on 800 people it again proved to be the highlight of the Island's corporate calendar.

Production company Joy's were brought in to provide the spectacular projection backdrop. The company fielded Christie's high-definition projectors and Vista Spyder dynamic processing as part of a purpose-designed show, created and produced in Joy's own '3DLive' graphics system.

Joy's supplied an impressive 20m widescreen, centred on the landscape side of the room, and constructed from floor to

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UK - MTFX expanded in to additional new premises earlier this year in order to improve the storage facilities for its extensive range of equipment.

The new unit has meant that all the storage and customer areas have been re-arranged so that they now have a demonstration area for their Aquagraphics water screen where it can be viewed by potential clients, together with storage and a demonstration area for the new high voltage special effects equipment.

There are also larger storage and maintenance areas for the ranges of confetti and special effects equipment enabling them to carry an increased stock holding. All contact details remain the same.

(Jim Evans)

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USA - Technomad LLC reports that the local government for Coweta County Georgia in suburban Atlanta is using three Technomad Turnkey PA systems within its Fairgrounds and Conference Centre. The organisation recently installed two 70-volt Turnkey systems inside the Conference Centre for events covering 6,000sq.ft of meeting and exhibit space, delivering intelligible voice and high-quality musical audio to attendees.

According to Tom Corker, administrative and operations director for Coweta County Georgia, the new Technomad 70-volt systems replaced a poor quality in-ceiling audio system. The decision to upgrade to Technomad was partially based on the longevity of the outdoor Turnkey PA system in operation since 2004 at the W.C. Adamson Horse Arena, an uncovered horse arena show ring with large spectator and concessions areas.

"The outdoor system has been untouched since ins

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Canada - Ross Video has officially announced Blackmagic Design's partnership to expand the openGear terminal equipment platform.

Blackmagic Design manufactures video editing products, converters, and routers for the post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic introduced eight new converters that support the openGear platform at NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) that will be shipping July 2009.

"We are excited to be part of the openGear platform," said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. "Our high quality converters fully support the openGear rackframe standard, making us compatible with a wide range of third party equipment from openGear partners worldwide."

"We are pleased with the addition of Blackmagic Design to the openGear platform," said Stephane Gauthier, marketing product manager - openGear Platform, Ross Vi

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USA - Medialon has been selected to go on tour with Tina Turner, the eight-time Grammy Award winner. The star has recently made her long-awaited return to arenas with more than 80 dates scheduled throughout North America and across Europe.

The mission for Nocturne Productions - the production crew - was simple and challenging at the same time: make the stage show as powerful and exciting as the performer herself.

Tina's Production selected Geodezik - a video content designer and producer company - who put their trust in Nocturne Productions and Medialon to be part of the project for the video installation.

On stage, a large, 27ft high and 36ft wide LSI-Saco V9 LED wall has been specially designed with motion control to split into eight movable sections. An array of 80 Clay Paky Alpha Beam 300 fixtures appears when the LED wall splits.

A single Medialon Manager V5 Show & Me

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Egypt - The Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh, as well as being one of Egypt's top tourist destinations, hosts the region's most sophisticated conference facilities, in the shape of the Maritim Sharm El Sheikh International Congress Center, whose 2,000 main conference hall been equipped with a Renkus-Heinz Iconyx Digitally Steerable Array loudspeaker system.

Since its opening, the Congress Center has hosted numerous glittering occasions, including the International Conference of Foreign Ministers on Iraq Security and the World Economic Forum Conference. At the heart of this gathering place for politicians and power brokers, operated by the German Maritim Hotel Company, is its 2,000 seat main hall, fully equipped for world-wide broadcast and teleconferencing.

With a demand for high speech intelligibility and clear sightlines for TV cameras, its main stage has been equipped with

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UK - The new M-48 personal monitor systems from RSS by Roland have made their debut in the UK, providing direct mix control for band musicians of the Life Church in Folkestone, Kent, and playing a key role in an extensive AV refurbishment being implemented by installer Midas ProSound.

The dynamic Life Church ministry regularly reaches capacity with nearly 800 people attending every Sunday. Growing congregation sizes, and an increasing focus on music and performance in its services, led the Church into consultation with Midas ProSound, the Salisbury-based installation specialists, who helped them draw up an extensive upgrade schedule for all audio and video facilities.

Midas ProSound was able to provide the team from Life Church with system designs and in-situ demonstrations of all the main components save for one: the M-48 personal monitor mixers from RSS which, together with

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UK - 5 Star cases has supplied a flight case solution for the 2009 BBC's Blast on Tour outreach project, which is undertaking a 7 month tour visiting 27 cities around the UK.

Blast on Tour is a programme of workshops and activities supporting the development of creative skills in 13 to 19-year-olds which takes place in and around the BBC Blast Truck and performance marquee 'village' which is established at each new site.

The flightcase project included a selection of standard and custom cases from 5 Star to cover a number of areas in the whole physical Blast On Tour set up, including the first-point-of-contact registration and reception area.

"We needed a special set of cases for this," explains Tony Kavanagh, operations manager for Blast On Tour. "They needed to look good and accommodate all the necessary equipment, tools and mater

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The Netherlands - The recently launched Prolyte Space Roof saw its first use during the Liberation day concerts in Zwolle, the Netherlands.

"Setting up a new roof system with these huge dimensions within four days, without even a trial build, is a daring accomplishment! We would not have taken this risk with any other company than Prolyte," explained the owner of the Prolyte Space roof, Gino Spijkerman of Interstage, shortly before the concert started.

Prolyte engineers Marc Hendriks and Ruud de Deugd were responsible for getting the roof ready for the show. "Ideas and negotiations for this roof started a couple of months back, but coming close to the final building and seeing it all come together, still is a thrill. Even though you are 100% certain of the design and the materials and every detail is calculated through and through, with a roof with these dimensi

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Australia - The Exchange Hotel, built in 1863, has become one of Brisbane's most iconic venues. Located in the centre of the CBD, the building has undergone many changes but none as impressive and extensive as the renovations completed this year. Under the guidance of renowned architects Brand & Slater, the Exchange aims to set the standard for Brisbane establishments. With a multi-million refurbishment, sophisticated ambience, cutting-edge AV equipment and a new and exclusive roof top terrace, the Exchange Hotel is set to revitalize the inner city social scene.

With responsibility for the audio design, JVG Sound Lighting & Visual recommended a Crown driven JBL sound system. "JBL has such a good sound and offers a really competitive price," said Jade Golar, managing director of JVG. "We've been using JBL powered by Crown on quite a few installs. We've also been us

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UK - After two sold-out seasons at the National Theatre, the atmospheric and emotional War Horse, directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, is now playing at the New London Theatre in the West End.

The award-winning hit show is based on a poignant book by Michael Morpurgo and has reopened to resounding success. The book was inspired by a conversation with a First World War veteran in Morpurgo's home village in Devon, and relates the extraordinary journeys of Joey, a horse sold to the cavalry, and his inconsolable young owner, Albert, who sets outs on a mission to rescue his much-loved animal companion from the trenches and killing fields of war-torn France.

War Horse was designed with the drum revolve stage in the Oliver Theatre at the National in mind; however, when the production moved to the New London Theatre, different stage dimensions and dynamics had to

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