UK - Popular Northern Irish band Two Door Cinema Club continued the latest UK leg of their Beacon world tour with a very cool lighting design by Squib (Chris Swain) which included 32 x Robe LEDBeam 100s and 10 Robe MMX Spots, all supplied by rental company Siyan together with the rest of the lighting rig.

Squib has worked with the Band - whose lively mix of rocky electro pop has fed their hyperactive career trajectory - since 2010. They are a hard-working live act. Squib's first gig for them was at London's Heaven venue, mid-way through the cycle for their first studio album Tourist History, which segued almost immediately into Beacon.

He is a relative newcomer to using Robe fixtures, and it was the latest Robin series that caught his eye and encouraged him to look further at what the brand had to offer.

This was the first full production leg of the Beacon

UK - David Whitehead, founder and majority shareholder of Stage Electrics passed away suddenly on Monday 18 February after a courageous fight against cancer.

"David was diagnosed with cancer 15 months ago and met the challenge of his illness with the same blend of determination and optimism that was his hallmark in business. Since stepping down as managing director of Stage Electrics he has devoted time to ensuring a secure future for his company and its employees," says the company. "His majority ownership passes to his family, however David has made sure Stage Electrics is in safe hands with strong management in place led by managing director Dan Aldridge and chairman Trevor Smallwood."

David founded Stage Electrics in Exeter in 1979 and built the company into the nationwide multi-discipline organisation it is today. Leading the company as managing direct

USA - Chauvet Professional Legend 412 pixel-mapping moving yokes flawlessly performed during 168 shows next to up-and-coming country singer Justin Moore, as the opening act for Eric Church's tour.

Lighting designer Sooner Routhier specified 44 Legend 412 fixtures placed in custom-made wood carts behind the singer and symmetrically on the left and right side of the stage. "We needed to make sure that the floor package we used was easily configurable to accommodate the many different stage sizes," Routhier said.

"It needed to expand and contract based on the various widths. Luckily, the lighting company - Special Event Services - had some custom-built carts that they modified in order to pack lots of lights into small spaces." These props allowed the tour to set up a floor package and tear it down in record time for festival and opening act situations. "

UK - Confirming the show's position as the premier event for entertainment technology in the north of England, PLASA Events is delighted to report that all exhibitor stands for PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013, taking place on Tuesday 30 April and Wednesday 1 May at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, are now sold out.

In a further indication that this year's show will be the best yet, organisers report a 30% increase in visitor registrations. New exhibitors joining the show this year include Autograph Sales, HD Pro Audio, Pearce Hire and Unusual Rigging, among others. A full list of exhibitors and details of the Professional Development Programme can be found on the PLASA Focus website.

Another exciting new development is the first ever PLASA Riggers' Forum for the North, which will take place on Tuesday 30 April. Building on the success of the PLASA Riggers' Forum in London in September, t

USA - Super Bowl XLVII was a memorable game, but the full Super Bowl experience started well before kickoff with a pair of live pre-game concerts broadcast on VH-1 and CMT where grandMA2 light consoles played a key role.

VH-1 and the NFL joined forces to celebrate the Super Bowl with Train headlining The Best Super Bowl Concert Ever on Friday night. CMT and the NFL partnered the following evening on a Crossroads special starring superstar country band Rascal Flatts and iconic rock band Journey. Both concerts were held at The Sugar Mill in New Orleans, which seats 4,000-5,000 fans.

Atomic Lighting of Lititz, Pennsylvania provided a pair of grandMA2 light with grandMA2 fader wing for the concert series. PEDG was the production design team collaborating. Bob Pederson was acting lighting designer on the broadcast truck.

The grandMA2 light was selected by programmer

UK - A troupe of Clay Paky Sharpys has added high-impact layers to pop princess Cheryl Cole's visuals-led tour.

Lighting designer Peter Barnes - dubbed the UK's 'guru of pop lighting' - specified 14 Sharpys rigged on the back truss on drop-bars and ten on the stairways, all mimicking the shapes of the LED screens on stage. A further ten Sharpys were positioned on a flown box truss just in front of the FOH position.

"The Sharpys were the only fixture I knew would give strong defined beams powerful enough to be visible against the intensity of the LED screen that made up the pyramid shaped fascia to the set and the backdrop," says Barnes. "They were also small enough to be placed on the stairs without being a hazard to the dancers."

HSL supplied the Clay Paky Sharpys and the tour was project managed for HSL by Mike Oates.

"The Clay Paky Sharpy is a real wor

USA - Grammy award winning vocal group Little Big Town is on the road with Bandit Lites for The Tornado Tour. Comprised of Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Jimi Westbrook and Phillip Sweet, the country music group has been unstoppable, with their first platinum single Pontoon racking up accolades, including the CMA Award for Single of the Year and the Grammy award for Best Country Duo/Group performance.

Raj Kapoor worked closely with Little Big Town to design a stunning set that did the word justice. The design features the remains of a theatre, with tattered legs and borders hanging across the mid stage.

While the name of the tour and album inspired the set design, lighting designer Chris Shrom worked with production manager Chris Diener on the production details during Rascal Flatts' Changed tour that they wanted to bring to Little Big Town's show.

South Africa - For nearly two decades, South Africa's longest gospel movement, Joyous Celebration, has spread the word through powerful musical worship.

On 15 December 2012, the 17th Joyous Celebration DVD was recorded at Rhema Church in Johannesburg.

This respected project was made possible with the help of a technical team comprising of different companies.

ATTV provided and managed all the visual graphics and final DVD editing while sound, staging and six Clay Paky Sharpies were supplied by Sound Headquarters. The lighting rig and screens was supplied by EPH Productions. The entire show attended by 5000 audience was recorded on HD cameras; supplied by Malaphati. Wizardry Group was briefed to supply a lighting system that needed to look good on any camera from any angle and to keep the set alive.

It was also Wizardry Groups' responsibility to integrate all the video imag

Europe - Apollo Design Technology has announced a new partnership with Production Resource Group. PRG UK is now producing Apollo Standard patterns for distribution in the Europe Union countries.

Apollo president, Joel Nichols states, "Both companies have enjoyed a mutual partnership for years. I am looking forward to working with PRG and being able to service their client needs."

Milad Khouli, Sr. international account executive commented, "PRG is a well-established company dedicated to providing high quality, high resolution gobos using the latest technology. This venture provides Apollo with the opportunity to solidify their presence in the European market."

Kevin Blair, head of PRG Technical Services said, "The introduction of Apollo products into the UK and EU markets will offer our clients an extended range of designs coupled with our continued

Norway - Lighting designer, Trond Dybfest of Trondheim Lyd Lysverket recently chose a Jands Vista L5 console to control lighting for award-winning neo-classical duo, Secret Garden's latest tour.

With over 3m international album sales and a Eurovision Song Contest win under their belt, Secret Garden have been touring relentlessly for over 15 years, covering a huge portion of the globe.

The first time Trond tried a Vista he was immediately drawn to its powerful, simple operating system, which he found to be extremely intuitive. Since then, he has become a keen Vista user, specifying a range of Vista products across his busy schedule of tours and productions.

Trond chose the new, flagship Vista L5 console to control lighting and media on this tour knowing that the software's simple, powerful and visual interface would provide him with the flexible, reliable and consistent contr

Germany / China - GLP has appointed Guangzhou Ruisheng Lighting & Audio Equipment as their exclusive distributor for China, Taiwan and Macao.

Ruisheng has offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu and with nearly 70 employees has set course for becoming a leading supplier of international professional lighting and audio systems in China.

Michael Münz, general manager of GLPs Asia Office in Hong Kong, said, "Since we started GLP Asia two years ago we have really been able to grow our business all across Asia. Our products are now used on stage with some of the most famous artists in the Peak Tower, right here in Hong Kong."

Munz will work closely with the staff at Ruisheng to ensure the highest level of customer service and support, adding "Together with Ruisheng, I look forward to building the GLP brand to great success."

CEO of GLP GmbH, Udo

Japan - Momoiro Clover Z, one of Japan's most popular girl-groups, performed their largest concert to date at the Saitama Seibu Dome in front of a 37,000 audience, and lit with nearly 400 Robe moving lights in a design by Hirotaka Kojima from lighting company JSS.

The show - also broadcast in several movie theatres around Hong Kong and Taiwan - was the final date on their 2012 Summer Dive tour and was performed in-the-round.

The epic set lasted four hours and contained 26 pumped-up numbers. The lighting design had to keep pace with all the action onstage and so Hirotaka Kojima needed plenty of flexibility and multiple options in his lighting rig, which was supplied by Tokyo based rental company, M-Tech Style.

M-Tech Style's Yo-Ichi Ashikawa recommended the Robe fixtures to him as the best choices to promote the cheerful, up-beat summer party vibes embraced by Momoiro

Sweden - Rental company Musiklagret is located in Borås about 60km north of Göteborg and has been operating for 30 years, run by Benny Werner.

Working in all areas of technical production - corporates, live events, rock 'n' roll touring - and as well supplying lighting, sound and video to these productions - Musiklagret (The Music Warehouse) is also a successful music store.

There are now over 30 Robe moving lights in the company's hire stock, the latest being Robin 600 LEDWashes, which were purchased last year.

The first investment in Robe was eight years ago - Wash 250 XTs - which are still in active service today. These were followed by ColorSpot 575E ATs and then ColorSpot 700E ATs, all purchased through Robe's Swedish distributor, Bellalite.

Says Werner, "Our Robes have been totally reliable and we are very happy with them. The price is good and we receive exce

UK - Richard Martin Lighting (RML) has announced the recent purchase of the Robe Robin MMX WashBeam available for hire here now.

Says RML, "Due to the fact that RML have remained a moving light specialist for almost 30 years, we have continued to remain at the forefront of moving light technology and the purchase of this latest product for our already extensive inventory is no exception.

"The MMX WashBeam uses internal motorized barndoors for creating unique shapes and chases. The module consists of four individually controllable blades and is rotatable by 180°."

(Jim Evans)

Europe - Paris, Bergamo and Madrid were the three cities lighting designer Luc Lafortune visited during his recent cycle of conferences. His Art and Poetry in Stage Lighting events were highly successful among professionals and amateurs alike. Luc Lafortune is considered one of the most creative and innovative lighting designers in the world of show business. His name is inextricably linked to the Cirque du Soleil, whose image he has helped to create since 1984.

The conferences were centred around two of the Cirque du Soleil's most successful shows: Kà and O. Lafortune got right down to the roots of the creative process through thorough artistic and philological analysis. He explored the contents of each show and the message every scene was intended to conjure up, before moving on to the search for inspiring graphic effects and colours which leads as a conc

Europe - Martin Professional is offering budding lighting designers and technicians the chance of a lifetime via a Young Lighting Designer Contest for Prolight + Sound. The contest kicks off now! Young lighting professionals can register online to put their talents to the test. The prize? A brand new Martin M2PC lighting controller!

The winner of the Become a Star- Young Lighting Designer Contest 2013 will also be invited to spend a day with the Martin Professional family at Prolight + Sound, getting an up-close look at the latest in Martin innovation and making all-important contact with employees, lighting designers, customers and other lighting professionals.

But that's not all! On the evening of 11 April, the winner will be Martin's special guest at an exclusive Martin Professional VIP party at Frankfurt's premiere live music venue, Gibson Club, Germany's most innov

UK - West London UK based rental company Entec is enjoying a busy start to 2013, with recent projects including the supply of lighting equipment and crew to LD Tony 'Beamer' Austin for the recent UK leg Paloma Faith's Fall From Grace tour.

Entec has worked with Austin and Faith's tour manager Pete Hillier on many previous occasions. Last year they supplied kit for a couple of high profile one off shows for the talented and critically acclaimed Paloma Faith in Ipswich and also at the Larmer Tree Festival in Wiltshire, co-ordinated by production manager John Gray.

Austin was very pleased to be working with Entec again. "They are the ideal combination of a slick, smooth and efficient rental operation with a great family atmosphere and a real passion for their work," he comments.

He also used the opportunity to test out some Martin Professional MAC Viper profile

UK - James Thomas Engineering has announced the appointment of White Light as exclusive distributor of their new JT30 & JT40 truss products. The two truss products mark a new direction for James Thomas.

Paul Young explains, "We have gone to great lengths to take all the good features of existing truss products of this size, eliminate the flaws, and add our own innovative edge to create a new range of products that are competitive in value, stronger than many of those currently available, and with a far greater ease of use."

He continues, "White Light is a fantastic company which matches our ambition for these products so we feel the chemistry and the timing are perfect for this alliance."

White Light sales director Peter Threadgold is equally excited about the partnership saying, "The JT30 & JT40 are both excellent products. This addition complements

In The Money - Madonna has beaten Bruce Springsteen and Pink Floyd founder Roger Waters to be named the highest-paid musician in 2012 by trade publication Billboard. The 54-year-old singer has topped the annual rundown of the top money-makers for the second time in five years. Her 88-date MDNA world tour, 2012's most successful, helped her take home $34.6m (£26.1m), Billboard said.

Concerts account for 68.9% of the total revenues for the 40 artists on the list, which estimates annual earnings. According to the figures, compiled using Boxscore concert data and Nielsen SoundScan sales information, Bruce Springsteen came a close second. He earned $33.4m (£25.3m) after touring to sold-out stadiums and arenas on the back of his number one album Wrecking Ball.

Strong merchandise sales helped with his earnings, with Springsteen's live shows making up 92% of

UK / USA - Are you a student looking to get a jump on your career and make connections in the industry? Then the ETC LDI Student Sponsorship colud be the solution you are looking for.

You can apply now for ETC's LDI Student Sponsorship, which awards deserving students an all expenses paid trip to the LDI 2013 tradeshow, to be held in November 2013, in Las Vegas.

Entrants must be master's or PhD candidates, or in their final year of university (or equivalent) study, and studying lighting design, theatre technology or a related field. The application - available at www.etcconnect.com/LDISponsorship - takes about 15 minutes to complete. All applications must be received by 10 May 2013.

ETC will choose six finalists: five from North America and one internationally. Recipients each get round trip airfare, hotel accommodations, meals, a full LDI conference pass and exclusive swag,

UK - The Guildhall is Portsmouth's premier entertainment venue, playing host to everything from orchestral concerts, comedy, rock concerts, dance and exhibitions. In addition it houses the city's Council chamber, as well as being home to numerous local groups and services. The original Guildhall was completed in 1890 having been designed by Leeds architect William Hill but during the Second World War it was extensively damaged and had to be rebuilt. Portsmouth Guildhall was re-opened in 1959 by HM the Queen.

Drama by Design were engaged by Portsmouth City Council to design and specify a new house lighting system for the Guildhall, which was supplied by Hawthorn Theatrical Ltd and installed by local contractor ICE Electrical.

The management of the venue wished to expand its range of use, particularly during the day, to include conferencing and similar events. Previous complaint

Romania - Combining a mixture of bowling, billiards and darts within a full nightclub ambience in Bucharest's Sun Plaza Mall, the popular Oxygen Club has recently invested in eight of PR Lighting's XR 200 Beams.

With the new Philips Platinum 5R beam moving head at the heart of this new automated stage light, the fixture has a highly developed optical path, and offers enormous brightness in a compact form factor. It was the impressive output to size ratio that attracted club owner Ion Tanasescu, after the venue had been supplied other beam effects from the Chinese manufacturer when it first opened.

The venue itself is different in that it opens at 10am and offers entertainment for all the ages. On weekends the nightclub trades through until 5am.

Activities on offer include 20 top class billiards tables and eight bowling lanes, mechanical and electronic darts, PlayStation/Wii

UK - Three of the lighting industry's brightest sparks have joined the Knight of Illumination panel as judges in the Concert Tour and Events category, previously the Rock Category.

Ryan Hopkins of UK lighting Rental Company HSL will be stepping up to the challenge, along with event technology supplier PRG's senior account manager Scottie Sanderson and Julian Lavender, project director for Neg Earth.

All have strong connections with live events through their work. Ryan as technical director with HSL, Scottie who has been involved in the lighting industry since 1989 working with many high profile artists, and Julian who has worked as a highly valued project and freelance production manager with a number of respected acts. The trio will be tasked with reviewing a wide range of lighting designs by LDs nominated for a Knight of Illumination Award (KOI). All judges say they are thri

UK - MilTec (UK) Ltd reports a busy time at the ISE exhibition in Amsterdam. Partially funded by Intellect, the UK association for the ICT and electronics industries in the UK, it was an opportunity for the company to increase exports of their professional lighting and audio products into Europe and the rest of the world.

Attracting great interest was the new MT3D LED tube system. This consists of a matrix of vertically hung LED tubes, allowing the user to generate spectacular three-dimensional lighting effects using controllers such as ShowCad. The system is easy to install with low maintenance costs. The tubes are available in four lengths from 0.5m up to 2m. Visibility is 360 degrees with a standard linear density of 16 pixels per m. 32 ppm is also available.

"We had a large number of sales and inquiries from UK and overseas distributors," commented sales director

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