Indeed it was a chance for recently graduated Entertainment Workshops' apprentice, Phil Smith, to exercise his potential by designing and engineering the live shows for the wide spectrum of venues throughout the tour. Under the guiding eye of MD Paul Byrne, Smith specified lighting fixtures from Prolight Concepts new eLumen8 range as, having trained previously with the units, he knew them to be compact, bright, responsive and efficient.
The specification led Prolight Concepts Ltd, who work closely with EW and also support the Entertainment Workshops charity, to supply the tour, with lighting fixtures from the new eLumen8 range.
The tour sees Cheryl, Jay and Mike hit the road once again, hot on the heels of successful nostalgia festival performances and 30 years on from their Eurovision win. Original members Cheryl Baker Jay Aston and Mike Nolan are joined by new fourth vocalist, Bobby McVay.
Smith deployed Beam 2R's and CM300-ZS washes from the eLumen8 range. The eLumen8 Beam 2R, weighing in at just 12kg, features a Philips MSD Platinum 2R (8000K) lamp and an angle of 2.8°. Motorised focus, eight-facet rotating prism, a gobo wheel with 17 fixed gobos and one customisable bolster the list alongside a 14 dichroic colour wheel (with an additional open) capable of a rainbow effect in both directions.
The eLumen8 Kudos CM300-ZS emits a bright and powerful wash from 19 10W Osram Ostar quad-colour LEDs (RGBW). Featuring an adjustable beam angle from 10° to 60° and a 1000Hz refresh rate alongside a fast and reliable motorised zoom, the Kudos CM300-ZS also boasts four dimming curves for optimum output in a compact 9.2Kg package.
Adding extra punch, Smith enlisted eLumen8 200W COB 3200K Blinders, to bring the look bang up to date. The versatile unit packs individually addressable LEDs as well as dimming, sound, auto and master/slave modes for maximum benefit.
Smith comments: "With only four 2m global truss plinths to play with on a very small stage we needed fixtures that wouldn't sacrifice too much performance space in these smaller venues, but could still perform well in the larger ones. The listed eLumen8 moving head range strikes this balance well."
Paul Byrne, EW Productions LTD MD, adds: "This has proved invaluable experience for Phil and he worked through the specs for each venue methodically, producing a great set for each stop on the tour. The elumen8 range has been solid, consistent and reliable for the duration of the tour so far and we hold high hopes of that continuing through. Of course, we are indebted as always for the solid support of Prolight Concepts and Cheryl, Jay & Mike Formerly Of Bucks Fizz themselves, who are charity patrons of Entertainment Workshops.
"It is thanks to the support of the creative agencies we work so closely with, who understand the importance of what we need to provide at Entertainment Workshops, that we in turn can continue to offer help and support to the young people enrolled at Entertainment Workshops."
Profits from all the work generated by EW Productions Ltd helps to financially support the alternative education facility that is Entertainment Workshops. The organisation provides an opportunity for students from 12-19 to access hidden skills through hands on learning in the areas of production arts and creative media.
(Jim Evans)
