Lighting designer Tim Speechley was responsible for the visual element of the performance by the nine-strong vocal group and he hit upon the idea of using the band's LP covers as an image. He ordered a number of coated polyester backdrops, emblazoned with images of the group's LP covers, which themselves told the story of Ladysmith's illustrious heritage at the heart of the anti-apartheid struggle.
"When I was planning the look, I realised that they had released about 40 LPs during their career and some of the covers were very impressive," he explains. "There was some discussion with their record company, who felt that some images needed to be larger than others, so I placed the designs in an offset and apparently random manner, which worked."
Working with Sunbaba's panels, Speechley was able to rig the individual banners each night around a central projection area, which could be lit in different ways to give the headline act and support act completely separate visual identities.
(Jim Evans)
