Having worked for the Mean Fiddler Organisation since the age of 19, and been head of music there for over a decade, Phillips wasn't even sure he wanted to take on another venue, until he walked into it. "They had given it a multi-million pound rebirth, and rediscovered this beautiful turn-of-the-century theatre. It rose phoenix-like from the ashes of Camden Palace, which had really fallen into disrepair," he explains. "They had also kitted it out with fantastic sound and lighting systems, plasma screens, and background music systems in the all the bars. It felt like it was just ready to go - and we just had to get the crews together."
Phillips quickly put together a young and energetic team of booking and event managers. "Two of the people I brought in right away were Mark Johnson, who had worked with me at Mean Fiddler, and Marc Smith, to make up the in-house promotion team. They are responsible for turning Club NME from a loss leader to a guaranteed sell-out every Friday, making it probably the biggest indie club in the country. It's worked by having a beautiful venue, with fantastic facilities, and people working in it who love and care for it."
Harman Pro became involved with KOKO at an early stage, determining the possibility of installing a fully integrated audio system, to provide concert and dancefloor sound, and high quality background music in all of the bars and areas off of the cavernous auditorium. The resultant system incorporates products from JBL, Crown, BSS, AKG, and dbx; at its heart is a FOH JBL Vertec line array, flown above the stage.
"What's great about the sound here is that it is never an issue," says Phillips. "It's never mentioned, people are always so pleased with it. When they come in and see it, they are immediately happy because the line array really looks the part. The system also really suits the club nights we do, which pleases the DJs and promoters we work with. Artists only ever bring in their backline - even Madonna. She just flew in from the States, brought her own desks and lights but used the rig, and it just sounded great. That confirmed we really have got it right."
Left and right hangs each comprise seven VT4887 full-range cabinets, and four VT4881 bass enclosures, with four AE Series ASB6128V subs under the stage, the latest Crown I-Tech amplifiers deliver up to 28,000W, and I-Tech's IQ Network provides input stage processing. The network capability enabled the system to be commissioned from a laptop. Recently, the FOH system was upgraded with the addition of side-fills - each with two JBL SRX722 mid cabs and two SRX728 subs - to project additional power onto the dance floor and immediately in front of the stage.
And the continuing relationship between KOKO and Harman Pro provides for support and further development of the system as required. Harman staff can be on-site too, for instance to re-align the system when larger stage sets like Madonna's go in. "The support we get from Harman is brilliant. It's part of the success, choosing a company like that who actually care about it, and continue to care about it."
The booking schedule for 2006 already features major names like The Pretenders, and a 20-week TV album chart show for Channel 4 is currently being filmed. "If people thought 2005 was a good start, wait till they see what we have planned for 2006," says Phillips.
