As the UK's outdoor event season neared its end, after months of blissful weather, thousands gathered under the shadow of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square to enjoy a free concert, featuring performances by Nitin Sawhney, Morcheeba and headliner David Gray, whose show marked the end of his year-long touring schedule.
Mayor of London Ken Livingstone lined up the acts for Trafalgar Square Live as part of his drive to boost tourism in the city and to showcase the newly-pedestrianised square in central London. With traffic diversions in place to isolate the concert site, over 12,000 people attended, having won their free wristbands in a telephone lottery, and an eight foot steel fence prevented non-ticket holders from seeing the show.
The event production was masterminded by Harvey Goldsmith's company AMP, whose Production Director Steve Allen liaised with the suppliers. I asked Allen how the show first came about. "We were approached by our associate company b-Live in late April about producing the event and Roger Barratt [of Star Hire, now Star VerTech, part of the recently-announced Star Events Group] and I visited the site to see how it might work. It was obvious that the stage would only work in one position, and all the major structural decisions were made on the spot."
Numerous meetings with Westminster City Council, the GLA and b-Live followed, and - naturally - a considerable amount of bureaucracy. "We didn't so much endure problems as much as have to negotiate a number of expected hurdles, due to the nature of staging an event in a busy part of London, and in an unusual venue," said Allen.
"Dealing with the Square management had its moments because they'd just spent a lot of money on refurbishment and putting a big stage on their new stonework did raise a few eyebrows. We had to prove to the Council that we could do the job and that aspects such as wristbanding, traffic and fencing would all be handled smoothly. The show production was the simple part and Roger Barratt's played a blinding role as a technical director and consultant."
The GLA, in partnership with Visit London (the new London Tourist Board), recently launched the Totally LondON campaign to encourage tourism and celebrate the culture of the UK's capital. This was a priority for London's Mayor, Ken Livingstone, whose mission from the start of entering office was to reshape the city from a number of angles. Being a man who is known for his championing of music and the arts, a gig in the Square was high on his wish list.
How did AMP arrive at choosing the three artists? "We looked at several ideas and combinations, based on who was currently touring," commented Allen. "David Gray was very happy to perform for us and his style really suited the occasion. Nitin Sawhney and Morcheeba are also very well suited because of the cosmopolitan nature of the capital. There's nothing too extreme and we all feel it's a good starting point."
Allen's choices of supply firms offered little surprise, with Britannia Row, LSD Fourth Phase, CT Screenco, Star Hire and Eat Your Hearts Out among them. "We're using the usual suspects," he said. "I have my own favourites like anyone else in my position, and it makes my life easier to return to them. I always ask for other people to quote for productions because it helps to keep a handle on going rates, so nothing is cast in stone. But most of the time I stick with who I know and I can't remember a time when I've been let down."
The only addition to Allen's 'A Team' was SSE Hire, David Gray's touring sound company, brought in to support Brit Row at the insistence of the artist's Production Manager, Andy Proudfoot. He explained that Gray's touring production was similar to that seen in the Square, especially in terms of video design.
"It's also the same lighting design that we've employed for our outdoor summer shows," said Proudfoot. "We were staying in the hotel across from the Square last night and watching the architectural lighting being programmed as we were drinking in the rooftop bar - it looked was wonderful, especially the 'dancing' water fountains!"
It was SSE's new touring line array system which secured the Birmingham company's involvement, according to Proudfoot. "We really like the Nexo GEO T system and were very encouraged with SSE's commitment to constantly improving the sound as the tour evolved. When there were hardly any CD18 subs in existence, we took some out and loved them."
While Brit Row provided control and racks, SSE laid on the GEO T rig which consisted of 28 4805 cabinets, 11 2815s and 24 CD18 subs, powered by Camco Vortex amplification. "It was amazing how many people came up to us after the shows in America and complemented us on the sound quality," Proudfoot continued. "It had been a long time since I'd heard comments like that and it says an awful lot about GEO T. It's actually enabled us to play at full strength in sheds and not receive any complaints from noise-sensitive neighbours, because the system is very directional. There are a lot of good arrays out there but this one seems to be a cut above the rest."
He added: "I think the partnership between Brit Row and SSE has worked extremely well on this gig. The systems provided at the FOH riser and for monitoring was of the expected standard. We'd already been using the Innova Son Sensory digital consoles on the tour, which our FOH engineer Yestin specified because he's been recording with them."
Video & Lights
The recently re-branded CT Screenco had previously supplied video reinforcement on the last occasion when Trafalgar Square hosted a concert - in 2001, when REM and The Corrs performed for Nelson Mandela at a show to mark South Africa Freedom Day. This time, CT Screenco provided two of the new Lighthouse LVP-1650 16mm outdoor LED screens in a 5 x 5 panel configuration at stage left and right for the GLA's big day. A three camera (D-30) PPU provided feeds for visiting broadcasters as well as the screens.
Everyone - including b-live's MD and event director Caroline Hollings - was hugely impressed. Said CT Screenco sales director, Mike Walker: "The 1650 provides a fantastic display which redefines the benchmark for outdoor LED screens. We fielded it recently with Jamiroquai at the Le Mans 24 Hours event and we even had European rental companies saying how impressed they were with it."
While the Lighthouse screens relayed images from the PA wings, the upstage centre backdrop, designed by LD Mark Cunniffe, took the form of columns of 25mm LED display - the destination for some striking graphics from Richard Shipman for the chilled performances of Nitin Sawhney and Morcheeba.
Cunniffe's lighting specification included 23 Martin MAC 2000 profiles, 20 MAC 2000 washes, 33 High End PC Beams and a complement of DWE moles, Source Fours, Par 64s and Death Star strobes, all controlled on an Icon desk. David Gray's performance required additional PC Beams, Death Stars and 2-lite DWEs, and control was switched to a Wholehog with a wing.
Star-Struck
The experience b-live has in creating 'brand experiences' meant they were well placed to deal with all of the sensitivities of putting on the event in one of Europe's busiest tourist attractions, as Event Director Caroline Hollings explained: "The planning process with all of the authorities involved in this event was exhaustive, so in addition to using Star Hire and Star Rigging, who we have worked with on previous occasions, we brought in Roger Barrett as Technical Consultant. His input was invaluable in bringing this show to fruition."
Star Hire's crew adhered to a tight build schedule, taking just five days to install the VT20-15 concert stage, front of house tower and site towers in Trafalgar Square. The 48m wide stage front created the impressive image the organisers were looking to achieve, dressed with branded scrims and carefully finished to match into the surrounding architecture.
The new North Terrace position of the stage presented both challenges and benefits to Star Hire. Positioning the stage above the newly built central staircase resulted in the stage floor being unusually high, although this worked with the ground slopes to provide excellent sight lines for the whole audience. The new cafˇ and toilets under the North Terrace meant that the PA and video wings had to be built over them. The unique engineering technologies incorporated in Star Hire's VerTech stage system, combining steel and aluminium components with no additional ballast, gave the necessary strength to weight ratio so that the substantial PA and video screens could be safely supported above the newly built facilities.
Roger Barrett commented: "This was a challenging show for everyone on the production team. Everyone rose to that challenge to create a superb looking and sounding show that gave the people of London a great night. I was particularly pleased that we created a VerTech stage that did what I believe no other stage in the UK could have achieved."
Star Hire and Star Rigging were also asked by Mark Cunniffe to accommodate architectural lighting for the National Gallery, situated behind the stage. As there was very limited space behind the stage, the versatility of the modular VT20-15 proved useful again, as a standard front cantilever roof bay was added to the rear of the roof. This enabled a heavily loaded truss to be flown behind the back wall of the stage above the loading dock. This provided superb coverage of the building, with stunning effects.
Star Rigging's Phil Broad worked with Cunniffe and Barrett to ensure all of the lighting, three large video screens and PA were flown in the stage roof, to complete the relaxed but spectacular ambience achieved during the show. Star Rigging supplied truss and motors and their team of fully trained riggers installed the production equipment professionally to fashion a safe and attractive environment for performers and the audience.
In an earlier conversation, Harvey Goldsmith had suggested that this could be the first of many high profile rock and pop shows at this site. "Yes, it's very possible," said Steve Allen. "The organisation has really come together well and hopefully we're setting a template for some great events in the future - maybe three a year or a series, with possibly a large classical event thrown in somewhere. As long as we can load out without knocking down Nelson's Column, we'll stand a good chance!"
Fortunately I can report that Horatio is still standing tall and proud, and the future of Trafalgar Square as a live music venue is looking very good.
Photography by Leah Shewring
Mark Cunningham & Graham Brown
TRAFALGAR SQUARE LIVE - Key Personnel & Suppliers:
Event Promoter: Harvey Goldsmith C.B.E. for AMP
Production Director: Steve Allen
Artist Liaison: Suzie Pollock
Ticket Distribution: Julie Chennells, Nancy Skipper, Teresa Skiffington, Sofia Berisha
Event Logistics: Roy Morley
Staging: Star Hire
PA: Britannia Row Productions/SSE Hire
Lighting: LSD Fourth Phase
Lighting Designer: Mark Cunniffe
Video: CT Screenco
Video Director: Richard Shipman
Medical Services: Medicman
Comms: Event Communications
Crewing: Stage Miracles
Ambience: GLD
Security: Show & Event Security/Showstars
Power: Power-Tek
Rigging: Star Rigging
Portacabins: W.G. Search
Catering: Eat Your Hearts Out