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Vari-Lite inc has recently signed a dealer agreement which bolsters the company's presence in the Florida market. Miami-based Stage Equipment & Lighting, with offices in Orlando and Tampa, will now offer the new Vari*Lite Series 2000 line of automated luminaires in Florida, the Caribbean, Mexico and South America. Rick Rudolph, Stage Equipment & Lighting's vice-president, told L&SI: "This relationship with Vari-Lite will broaden the tool base that we can present to lighting designers who work in this area. It's a wonderfull opportunity for both ourselves and the lighting designers we work with."

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PSL has set up a new audio division, and pledged a multi-million pound investment in a new hire fleet. The bulk of the equipment will be purchased through Marquee Audio, while other suppliers will include LMC, SES, Total Audio Solutions, VDC, Kelsey Acoustics, d&b audiotechnic and Shuttlesound. Gil Rabinowitz (pictured) was brought in to configure an inventory which the company believes will make them competitive in their own right, at the same time offering a resource that will enable the remainder of the Gearhouse Group to quote turnkey packages to conference and exhibition clients.

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Marquee Audio has announced the formation of a new division, which will operate under the supervision of co-director Mark Brown. Marquee Installations aims to respond to increasing retail sector requirements. Brown's roster of licensed-trade contractor clients, which included many of the UK's leading breweries, restaurants and independents, had previously been homogenised into Marquee's general work portfolio, but he now believes he can give greater focus to expanding the business. Marquee Installations will offer a complete turnkey service, combining audio, lighting and visual display integration.

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PSL has announced the signing of a seven-year contract with ExCel, the new London International Exhibition Centre, which makes the company the preferred onsite AV and presentation equipment supplier. PSL will acquire approximately 20,000sq.ft of office and warehouse space onsite, within one of the existing warehouses on the ExCel site for the storage of their AV and presentation hire equipment. In addition, the company has negotiated two additional storage areas - within the Northern and Southern breakout/seminar rooms - allowing them to be the only AV company to service these areas. PSL estimates that it will hold around £1million of state-of-the-art equipment onsite.

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The Queens Birthday Honours list paid tribute to a number of those working on the creative and technical sides of the arts and entertainment industry. Theatre director, and more latterly Oscar-winning film director, Sam Mendes was rewarded with a CBE for his services to drama. Two of the principal talents behind the Dome were also honoured; Timothy Gardom, responsible for the content of the body and faith zones, becomes an MBE, while Mark Fisher receives an OBE for his work as creative director of the Millennium Show staged in the Dome's central arena. Vivien Duffield, a director of the Royal Opera House for 14 years who is credited with raising £100m for the recent £214m refurbishment, was awarded a DBE, whilst Neil Bartlett, artistic director of the Lyric Hammersmith, and Derek Deane, artistic director of the English National Ballet both received OBEs.

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One of London's best-known nightclubs - Tramp - has recently received a new sound system as part of a major refurbishment. Watford-based Stage Two designed the system, based around RCF's ART Series, in conjunction with RCF UK's Andy Austin-Brown. Stage Two's Terry Douris explained that the brief presented difficulties in terms of the small size of the building and the high power required from the system. Four ART 300 cabinets are used, with two situated over the dancefloor and two on the perimeter of the room. In addition, two MSW 8 sub-woofers provide the heavy bass required on the dance floor. The system is controlled by an XTA DP200 digital sound processor, with amplification from InterM M1000 and M700 amps. Meanwhile, four RCF Monitor 5s and four Monitor 4Ts cover the restaurant and reception areas respectively.

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Bob Geldof is planning a major New Year's Eve event in London. Through his company, 10 Alps, he has won the contract to stage a spectacular show in the capital which promises to build on last year's River of Light New Year's Eve celebrations. To help him on his way, he has managed to secure £1.5m of Lottery Funding and is now looking for sponsors to weigh in with their contributions. No details have emerged yet of what's been planned, but we will keep you up to date as we learn more.

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PLASA Publishing has learnt that there has been a second fatal accident at Earls Court. The venue owners have confirmed that the accident occurred at 7.10pm on Friday 23 June and that the individual involved was working for Unusual Rigging, who are contracted to the venue. EC management and the relevant authorities have launched an investigation into the incident. The news comes six months after the death in December last year of a rigger working on a backstage event for the Spice Girls, who fell 80 feet whilst breaking down the after-show party. An investigation into that incident is still ongoing.

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lastminute.com has joined forces with promoter SFX to offer the latter's products to lastminute.com's subscribers. Both companies have been much in the news lately, lastminute for its share issue and SFX for its expanding empire - the company operates and manages 79 venues in the UK, including several major West End theatres. Under the terms of the deal, SFX will market any unsold tickets from its own distribution network on lastminute.com's website. If the new arrangement is successful, the companies plan to extend the agreement into other European countries.

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Just months after buying the chain from First Leisure, Candover has sold its 14 Brannigans bars, along with six other pubs, for £67 million. The new owner is Mustard Entertainment Restaurants, a recently-established venture backed by investment company Phildrew Ventures. Candover secured the Brannigans bars last November, as part of its £210.5 million acquisition of First Leisure's 40 nightclubs and 25 bars. It intends to keep the remaining bars and has also signalled its intention to expand its portfolio of nightclubs.

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Despite the well-publicised financial crises at the Dome, managers and staff are to receive loyalty bonuses totalling up to £3 million. The payments are intended to reverse the exodus of Dome personnel in recent months - over 400 of the 2,000-strong team have already left - and reward staff who see out their contracts. The bonuses seem to go against the grain of recent cost-cutting measures and include payments to four board directors, with former chief executive Jennie Page, also in the line-up for a hand-out. £2 million will be shared between the Dome's 300 managers, while a further £1 million will be split between the 900 hosts who show visitors around.

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High End Systems' new automated luminaire, the Studio Beam PC, has won the award of Best of Lightfair 2000 from Design Journal magazine. Products were judged during the recent Lightfair 2000 trade show in New York City and were chosen based on their form, functionality and design. Studio Beam PC uses a pebble convex lens to produce a unique quality of light unlike the wash or spot fixture. Extremely high-output color mixing coupled with a large zoom range and intense beam shaping give the Studio Beam PC a unique niche in lighting design.

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Sound Reinforcement is the theme of the sixteenth Reproduced Sound Conference, organised by the Institute of Acoustics and to be held in Stratford-on-Avon over the weekend of Nov 17-19, 2000. Presentations will be given by sound designers, tour sound managers, manufacturers and equipment and systems designers. Subjects tackled include the new loudspeaker array technologies, aspects of digital sound processing, control and distribution, designing auditoria for reinforced sound and environmental issues relating to stadium sound.

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The Danish Design Centre, in the heart of Copenhagen, opened its doors to the public in January of this year. The centre aims to be a hothouse for ideas and development in Danish industry, as well as providing, amongst other things, an international exhibition venue for industrial design, public exhibition areas, a shop and café, conference rooms and office space. For the Conference Hall, which will play host to a number of different types of events and will hold up to 200 people, lighting and AV consultants 1001 Watt.dk specified ETC Source Four Jr Zooms which were supplied by ETC's local distributor, Bico Professionel. In addition, 24 ETC Irideon AR6, launched at PLASA last year, were supplied by SFL of Sweden.

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Over 70 people from 51 countries joined members of the Clay Paky and Pulsar teams in Bergamo in mid-May for a conference outlining the long term goals of both companies. In his opening speech, President Pasquale Quadri welcomed delegates and highlighted the continuing growth in sales, ongoing research into ISO 9001 certification and the company's plans for expansion, which include a move to new headquarters. Other members of the Clay Paky and Pulsar teams then took to the floor to cover recent technical and marketing developments, before paving the way for a number of distributors from across the world to outline numerous projects where Clay Paky and Pulsar equipment had been part of the project specification.

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Matrix Audio Distribution is now accessible online via two new websites. One site details the full range of Matrix amplification allowing customers to view the entire range, alongside product manuals and troubleshooting tips, whilst the second site covers the company's recent news and project work.

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The Roald Dahl Revolting Concert, held in Cardiff at the end of May, provided the first opportunity for Show Presentation Services (SPS) to spec its new Barco Dlite 7 LED screen for an outdoor event. Part of the nationwide BBC Music Live series, the 17sq.m screen was used to relay live coverage of the concert to the 3,000 strong crowd.

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In a surprise announcement Jon Miller, managing director of The Sound Company, has decided to step down from running the organisation in order to spend more time on music and theatre production. Whilst he will still take a directorial role in the company, the day-to-day business will be run by Mark Thompson, as sound designer and technical director, with Mich Speller taking over as production manager from Giles Rowland, who is heading off to the computer industry. In the meantime, The Sound Company, which is currently enjoying its best ever year, will continue to offer a sound design and hire service for the theatre industry, whilst expanding into other markets.

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Lighting designer and theatre consultant Richard Pilbrow will join the Broadway Lighting Master Class (BLMC) 2000 faculty from 6-10 December, 2000 in New York City. In his first BLMC appearance, the British-born designer will discuss the influence of European traditions on lighting design in the United States. Tony Award-winning lighting designer Jules Fisher will again head the BLMC 2000 faculty roster, which includes Donald Holder, Tony Award-winning LD of Disney's The Lion King, and Peggy Eisenhauer, Tony Award winner for Cabaret. BLMC is offering discounts for members of ESTA, PLASA, USITT, TEA, IATSE, CITT, ATHE and members of other theatrical education associations worldwide; schools sending two or more students or faculty members receive special prices.E-mail blmc@intertec.com

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Following his epic 480km bicycle ride that incorporated visits to the scenic areas in the vicinity of Beijing - including the Great Wall of China - Lighting Technology Projects' Jonathan Hilton is now busy collecting in over £3000 worth of promised donations for Mencap. Within the sum is £1000 that was sanctioned by director Bruce Kirk on behalf of LTP. Organised by Mencap in the UK, the trip turned out to be a never-to-be-forgotten experience. "I can tell you quite categorically that Chinese bicycles do not have saddles," said Jonathan. "They have a multi-functional device which splits a person into two halves and also acts as a 'no anaesthetic' vasectomy." In his spare time, Hilton is Lighting Technology's product manager for searchlights and Light Pipe and was project manager for one of the company's latest major contracts, the Light Pipe installation on the Mill

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Doulas Sound & Lights Production in Greece and Wang Keum Musical Instruments Co Ltd in South Korea have been appointed as distributors for the full range of Chameleon pro audio products. As well as serving the pro entertainment market, Doulas Sound also has a substantial and growing business in the public sector, especially in 'hidden' speakers for churches. Wang Keum Musical Instruments Co Ltd, based in Seoul, has already taken delivery of a complete Chameleon touring rig, and it is expected that Chameleon will now feature in many installations and concerts planned in the next 18 months. Both distributors will be carrying a full range of Chameleon products.

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LMC Audio London has supplied the Rambert Dance Company with the UK's first Midas Heritage 1000 mixing console. Rambert, the UK's only large-scale contemporary dance repertory company, used the Heritage 1000 at the promenade performances at the new Sadler's Wells. David Kenning, Rambert's sound technician, said: "I am completely bowled over by the console - it's versatile, well laid out, the routing is incredibly easy and the automation is another worthwhile feature."

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An investigation has been launched following the news over the weekend that eight fans had been crushed to death at the Roskilde Festival in Copenhagen. Several others were also injured in the incident which occurred around midnight on Saturday when American rockers Pearl Jam were performing on stage. The front section of the 50,000-strong crowd slipped and the injured were trampled underfoot. Worryingly, the news reports covering the event have, in part, pointed the finger of blame at the sound system, claiming that the rear loudspeakers were not working thus forcing the audience forward. Oasis and the Pet Shop Boys both pulled out of the festival as a mark of respect for the dead, although other bands have chosen to play on. Technical investigations are being carried out and emergency support services have been set up on-site.

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SSE Hire has been servicing Pearl Jam's sell-out European arena tour with a Nexo Alpha PA system. The company is providing all of the input and house side of the show, control, line system and a 36-stack Alpha system with delay hangs where necessary, processed by BSS Soundweb and ably mixed by Brett Eliason. Rat Sound are looking after the monitor side, Karrie Keyes mixing on a Yamaha PM4000 using Crest amplified, Rat wedges and fills. The tour is the fourth American production to be serviced by SSE this year and SSE personnel on the tour include Matt Field, Tom Wiggans and John Gibbon.
  1. Leeds T&CC Closes
  2. Taxing Conferences Hit the Road
  3. Soundcraft Going Live in Mexico
  4. Music Live 2000: Decks, Drums and Rock 'n' Roll
  5. Scéno Plus Wins Awards for Dream Factory
  6. Hacousto Appoints German Distributor
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