Pagliocca wanted to embrace good production values and was prepared to allocate a decent budget on lighting and sound. O'Neill was given a blank canvass in terms of design, and has produced an elegant lighting design to match and complement the contemporary interior created by Burns Design, also based in Glasgow.
The Classic Grand is located in Jamaica Street and houses two spaces (250 downstairs/550 upstairs), which present live music and club nights. The site has been a nightclub for some years, but the building dates back to the early 20th century when it originally opened as a picture house in about 1915; the upstairs space is built into the original circle. The interior has been kept true to the history of the building, showing off its art deco features with a modern twist. In this latest incarnation, the intention is for it to be active as both a serious live music and performance venue as well as for the club nights, and this dual functionality also had to be catered for in the lighting design and installation.
Flashlight has been supplying lighting, sound and AV to Pagliocca's various entertainment ventures for the past 15 years. "I wanted to put a bit of 'wow' back into the clubbing environment," says O'Neill, who has used a wide variety of kit in his installations over the last few years. "While also ensure that fixtures were positioned in sensible places so they could access the stage".
He first used Robe in 2002, when it was launched as an own brand, and says: "The gear is good, the range is broad, the back-up (from Robe UK) is exceptional and the price it right - you can't ask for much more in a fixture - and there's nothing to compete!".
Over the dancefloor he's rigged four ColorSpot 575 ATs - the first time that Flashlight has used anything of this size in a nightclub installation in the City. O'Neill is delighted with the results. He thinks the optics are crisp and clear and that it's a powerful, smooth fixture: "The 575 is a beautiful luminaire, and I intend to specify it into any future appropriate projects," he says.
There are also four Scan 575 XTs in each corner of the room, used to shoot beams and effects across the space, and for throwing gobos onto the dancefloor and walls. Six ClubScan 250 CTs and four ClubRoller 250 CTs are rigged down each of the two lengthways sides of the room. Everything is controlled through a Robe DMX Control 1024 desk, which O'Neil says is "ideal" for clubs.
(Lee Baldock)
