BRITANNIA ROW PRODUCTIONS NEWS
MAY NEWS
Def Leppard & Journey started their massive co headline US Tour this month with the first show on 21st May in Hartford, Connecticut. Both bands brought the house down with performances only legends could have delivered.
Britannia Row are supplying crew & the speaker system - L Acoustic K1, K1SB, KS28, K2, KARA, ARCsII & LA12X, and custom amp dollies.
The tour visits 50 Arenas & 10 Stadiums across North America from May 21st through October 7th.
This large scale 58 city tour will also include stops at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Wrigley Field in Chicago and Fenway Park in Boston. The last time these two acts shared a bill was in 2006. 12 years later the collaboration promises to be even more spectacular!
APRIL NEWS
Britannia Row crew and equipment are on the road this month with singer/songwriter Bryan Ferry, who has just commenced on his first UK tour since 2015. Bryan Ferry's career has spanned over forty years and has produced an extensive catalogue of songs from his time as front man of Roxy Musc and his solo career.
We headed out on Dua Lipa's self titled arena tour which travels through Europe this month. The singer/songwriter is touring for a year, her biggest tour to date. Dua Lipa was named the most streamed woman of 2017 in the UK by Spotify. In February 2018, she won two Brit Awards for British Female Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act.
Investing in the training and development of our staff has long been a high priority for the company. Britannia Row apprentices and freelancers were given the opportunity this month to develop their skills as they attended an in-house training session to undertake L-Acoustics level 1 training.
The Level 1 training provides fundamental knowledge and practical methods for the configuration and operation of L-Acoustics systems. Participants learn to identify the elements of a K system, and understand how they complement one another as well as prepare and install a K system so that it is ready for operation.
Attending Level 1 training modules is indispensable for any technician or engineer wanting to work with L-Acoustics Systems.
Freelance Sound Engineer Ben Philips ran the session at Britannia Row's premises in Twickenham. The post training reviews said it all - the training was effective and increased confidence for all the attendees.
Luca Consonni - It was a real pleasure being part of this training. From my perspective it was spot on as offered both an insightful overview of L’Acoustics workflow and practical experience under the supervision of a well experienced engineer, eager to give you tips you only get to learn from on-site work.
Tomas Nunes - I found it very explanatory and accessible to people with distinct differences in knowledge. Ben Philips experience with the equipment really makes the difference, I felt much more confident to fly any box after this training while gaining interest in the system design and prediction using Laccoustics free platform SoundVision.
Miguel Mota - I went to the L'acoustics training at Brit Row more for a recap, as I was already familiar with the equipment we went over. Am glad to say it was more than just a recap, as I learned more efficient ways to fly the K-series and useful combinations of cabinets for different purposes. What really made the training for me though, was the Soundvision basics, learning from an engineer who has used the software so often. I feel like I can walk into a venue now and, after measuring it, build my PA and do the acoustic prediction and system optimization.
Am definitely looking forward for the next one!
Mario Bianchi - Level 1 training with Ben was excellent. It really gave me a better understanding of L’Acoustics products, both on a theoretical and practical level.
I can now say that I understand L’Acoustics speakers more and ultimately this training has allowed me to deploy their products more effectively.
Tobias Dracup - I enjoyed the lectures. I learnt a lot and the hands on demonstrations definitely helped me grasp a better understanding on designing an effective system
Jonatan Santonja - It was an exciting experience to get hands on time actually rigging speakers with different cabinet arrangements, after spending a couple of years in the warehouse maintaining the equipment.
Ben showed us how it gets done when you are on a tight schedule and have to get the speakers up safely and quickly. Hopefully we will have the training for the next level soon.
Harry Garcia - “L’Acoustics Level 1 delivered by Ben Phillips is some of the best system tech training I’ve received, and has given me a practical understanding of system design, rigging, amplification and control, not to mention the confidence to go out and work with L’Acoustics in the professional arena.”
MARCH NEWS
Britannia Row has been touring with Harry Styles for his debut solo tour Harry Styles - Live on Tour. The tour started in September 2017 in San Francisco and is currently running through Europe. Harry's first solo tour out of One Direction has been received as a huge success by the audiences and the media and has seen Harry proving his 'rock' prowess and credibility as a solo performer.
Grammy, MTV and Emmy Award wining American singer songwriter Pink is also currently touring having just kicked off the tour this month in Pheonix in the U.S. The Beautiful Trauma World Tour is the seventh tour for Pink and is in support of her album of the same name, Beautiful Trauma. Her 84 show tour runs through until September.
Depeche Mode continue touring with their Global Spirit Tour, the ongoing worldwide tour in support of their album, Spirit. The 2017 European stadium tour travels to 32 cities in 21 countries across Europe. This being Depeche Mode's 18th tour since 1980 - when Britannia Row began working with the band!
FEBRUARY NEWS
February is notoriously the month for Award shows and Britannia Row have been at them - both behind the scenes and on the receiving front.
The BRIT Awards hosted at London's O2 Arena and screened live on ITV were back for another year to celebrate the best in British music. Jack Whitehall hosted the evening with performances from Rita Ora and Liam Payne, Sam Smith, Kendrick Lamar, Liam Gallagher and the Foo Fighters.
This year's show marks 23 years of the special relationship that is the Brits and Britannia Row.
A major winner on the night winning the Brit Award for 'British Break Through Act' and 'Best Female Solo Performer' was Dua Lipa who Britannia Row have recently toured with.
On the receiving front - Britannia Row had a great time at the annual TPI Awards in London.
A very healthy haul of awards included.
Simon Thomas winning ‘FOH Engineer of the Year’
Omar Abderrahman winning ‘Production Manager of the Year’
Mikey Gibbard winning 'Monitor Engineer of the Year’
We also collected the ‘Live Production of the Year’ award for the ‘One Love Manchester’ Concert.
Once again this is all testament to the fantastic global team we are all part of.
Britannia Row are out with American DJ/production duo The Chainsmokers Alex Pall and Andrew Taggart, who take their Memories: Do Not Open arena tour to Europe this month. The string of shows kick off February 10th in Austria and end March 10th in Denmark.
Stops along the way include the Ziggo Dome in Holland and Tele2 Arena in Sweden, The Chainsmokers will continue to make trips to Las Vegas as part of their 3 year Wynn residency.
JANUARY NEWS
Britannia Row have been immersed in the worlds of fast cars and eye popping circus shows.
Fast and Furious Live arrived at London's O2 Arena. The all action live show full of stunning car chase effects and smoke celebrates 17 years of Fast and Furious films.
The show tours across 14 countries and 23 arenas.
Ovo is the touring circus production by Cirque du Soleil, which premiered in Montréal, Canada, in 2009. Ovo's creator and director, Deborah Colker, took inspiration from the world of insects and created it as a celebration of movement. Ovo is currently running at the Royal Albert Hall. Britannia Row have had a long relationship with the spectacular Cirque Du Soleil shows.
The 2018 Young Voices series of concerts is now touring across the UK, Britannia Row have provided a K1, K2 system again and a team of engineers and technicians to look after the tour.
For the past 20 years, Young Voices has staged the largest children's choir concerts in the world. Over 2 million children have taken part in a Young Voices concert who believe passionately in inspiring the next generation to find their love for music.
2018 will be the largest tour to date with over 150,000 children taking part.
The 2018 BRITs are coming! Emma Willis announced The BRIT Awards 2018 nominations live on ITV on Saturday 13 January at the BRITs launch with performances from British recording talent - Liam Payne, Paloma Faith, Clean Bandit, J Hus and 2018 Critics’ Choice winner Jorja Smith.
This year marks 23 years of Britannia Row supporting the BRITs. The 2018 Brit Awards will be held on 21 February 2018 at the O2 Arena in London.
On 20th January Andrea Bocelli, performed to 13,000 fans at the Antwerp Sportpaleis, the largest concert hall in the country which was almost sold out but for a few chairs. He was accompanied live by the choir Fine Fleur and the Antwerp Philharmonic Orchestra under the musical direction of Carlo Bernini. Bocelli who has recorded fifteen solo studio albums, was given no less than two standing ovations at the end of his show.
DECEMBER NEWS
Streamed to the globe in 8 languages! The Clash Royal World Championships took place at the Copper box Arena on the 3rd of December. Britannia Row supplied live audio crew & equipment for the event. The games were all played on iPhones or iPads. The popular mobile game saw over 28 million initial players whittled down to 16 finalists from around the world, and after all the excitement the grand prize winner was announced - Mexico’s SergioRamos.
Britannia Row were contracted again to provide the PA system for the screening due to our history and successful delivery of many past premiers at the Royal Albert Hall.
The last few premiers have comprised of either a Dolby 5.1 or 7.1 system, which consists of 3 main hangs (L-C-R) of K2 with KS28 sub bass and a surround system consisting of distributed X8’s.
This premier was different as it was screened in IMAX where the essential difference from Dolby, other than channel labelling allocations, is the surround system needing to be a single point rather than distributed. This proposed a challenge for us due to the geometry of the venue but we achieved the surround required by providing 2 hangs of KARA flown at the rear of the hall. This solution was devised by Britannia Row, Sound Designer Colin Pink and in liaison with IMAXS’s team from Canada.
As well as having the producers and director of the film on stage at the introduction, we also had an army of Storm Troopers in costumes from the film, which created a very special event for the audience and fans alike.
Our end client was very happy with the result and we look forward to a continued working relationship with them regarding future premiers where the audio has to be right in what is otherwise a difficult venue to create clear and concise audio in.
NOVEMBER NEWS
This month Britannia Row have been at the movies! We provided an L Acoustic K2 system for the premier of Murder on The Orient Express at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The film directed by Kenneth Branagh is based on the 1934 by Agatha Christie and stars Branagh as Hercule Poirot, with Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi, Leslie Odom Jr., Michelle Pfeiffer, and Daisy Ridley in supporting roles. The film is the fourth adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel.
The 2017 MTV EMAs were held at The SSE Arena in Wembley on 12 November 2017. The host of the ceremony was Rita Ora, with voice-overs provided by Capital FM DJ Roman Kemp. This was our 21st EMA, with our largest crew ever lead by Pete McGlynn. The performance area covered the whole of the arena floor. Multiple hangs of L Acoustic K2 & KS28 gave us even coverage of all raised seating. We also flew Arc in fills. RF is always a challenge on the EMAs and this year no exception. Thanks to Sapna Patel and her RF coordination and the support of Sennheiser, we delivered on all counts. Digico were also a great help with both Technical support and an onsite presence.
We continue touring this month with Jamiroquai who are performing throughout Europe in support of their 2017 album Automaton. Britannia Row has worked with the band for over 23 years!
We are also on the road with Royal Blood this month, the British rock duo who since 2013 have had a meteoric rise in popularity with big names such as Rock legend Jimmy Page attending their gigs and known to be a huge fan. Royal Blood play 3 nights at London's Alexandra Palace. The first show kicked off with a sell out crowd. Britannia Row provided the main PA consisting of K1, K1SB, K2, KS28s….. enough sub to rattle north London. It was a great show. Phil Jones at FOH did a fantastic job and the System deployed by Johnny Kyrle was full and punchy. Just right for the band to give their London followers a rock show to remember!
Depeche Mode are currently on the road with their Global Spirit Tour, the bands ongoing worldwide tour in support of the group's 14th studio album, Spirit. The 2017 European stadium tour travels to 32 cities in 21 countries across Europe. This being Depeche Mode's 18th tour since 1980, Britannia Row have been there throughout this time!
Kasabian are back on the touring scene, they play 12 shows in November and December, performing in Cardiff, London, Glasgow and more, starting on Friday 24th at Metro Radio Arena Newcastle.
This month Britannia Row got Christmas underway! - providing sound crew and equipment for the Christmas lights switch on in both Richmond and Twickenham. See our community news for more details.
OCTOBER NEWS
On the 5th October Britannia Row were part of a special evening. The Amy Winehouse Foundation Gala held at The Dorchester is an annual fund raising evening to support a host of projects run by the foundation, including youth music project Amy’s Yard.
Radio 1 DJ Clara Amfo and DJ Trevor Nelson hosted the evening which included performances from Emile Sande, Elli Ingram, girl band M.O and Cassidy Janson. The gala also featured an auction, hosted by patron Jon Snow, to raise money for the foundation and its projects.
Britannia Row were fortunate to have worked with Amy throughout her career up until her last show.
Another show supporting good causes was the Radio 1 Teen Awards, a music event exclusively for youngsters aged 14-17.The daytime event includes musical performances and awards given in music, film and TV categories.It also celebrates several inspirational teenagers from across the country, this includes those who have overcome illness or helped to make a positive change in their community.
On the 14th October Britannia Row were with Italian classical singer song writer Andrea Bocelli who performed to a sell out crowd at Amsterdam's Ziggo Dome Arena.
CalJam, the brainchild of The Foo Fighter’s inimitable front man, Dave Grohl, took place on the 7th October and featured The Foo Fighters, Liam Gallagher, Royal Blood and Queens of the Stone Age. It took place in front of a crowd of over 50,000 in Glen Helen, a spectacular outdoor arena in the California Hills. The one day festival saw Britannia Row deploy an L-Acoustic K1 system shipped from London, with K2 delays in the field. The original Caljam (California Jam) was co-headlined by Deep Purple and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, held at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California, on April 6, 1974.
This month Britannia Row have once again supplied equipment and crew for the NFL London fixtures. The thrilling drama of the world's greatest American football competition returned to the UK for matches at Twickenham and Wembley Stadium. British fans of NFL were treated to six matches between eight of the league's best teams.
On tour this month and for his debut tour is Harry Styles. Britannia Row joined him as he kicked off his shows in Paris on the 25th October, then Harry is heading to Germany and on to the UK before a further Germany show and then out to Italy, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. The tour in support of his 2017 Eponymous album began in September in San Francisco and will play over 80 concerts through to July 2018.
SEPTEMBER NEWS
September kicked off with some special and emotive events. Britannia Row supplied crew and equipment for Game 4 Grenfell, the charity match played on 2 September to raise money for those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, which happened three months previous. It was played at Loftus Road, which is located only a mile from Grenfell Tower.
Also related to recent news was the reopening of the Manchester Arena, which opened its doors on Saturday 9th September for the first time since the terrorist attack on 22 May that killed 22 people. The city’s mayor, Andy Burnham, spoke to 14,000 people who attended the We Are Manchester benefit concert and the poet Tony Walsh gave a reading of This is the Place, his homage to the city of Manchester. Noel Gallagher, with the support of our crew and equipment, performed on what was a special and poignant evening, at which Noel was seen to shed a tear.
At Britannia Row we have our own superstars - and one such person is Technical Head Jerry Wing who this month celebrates 25 years with Britannia Row! Congratulations Jerry!
Throughout September the Foo Fighters have been continuing on their world tour, the ninth tour for them in support of their ninth studio album Concrete and Gold. The tour runs through to March 2018.
Britannia Row are the audio providers for the NFL International series in London
September 24, 2017 Baltimore Ravens at Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium
October 1, 2017 New Orleans Saints at Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium
October 22, 2017 Arizona Cardinals at LA Rams at Twickenham Stadium
October 29, 2017 Minnesota Vikings at Cleveland Browns at Twickenham Stadium
This month saw another very special anniversary, Mike Lowe celebrated 30 Years with Britannia Row.
Mike was presented with a very special custom made award to celebrate the occasion!
Britannia Row designed the sound - both heard and what was seen, at the Versace Versus Spring/Summer 2018 fashion show at London's Central Saint Martins.
The 'wall of sound' consisted of 28 K1, accompanied by 66 x KS28. Luckily for the audience, they were just for show.... the real sound was provided by distributed stands of hidden Kiva II!
AUGUST NEWS
Britannia Row have been working with Amy MacDonald, who after an extended absence from the live stage, filled her diary for 2017 kicking off with a lengthy tour of Europe and the UK in the Spring, following up with a round of festival appearances from May through September.
We have been in rehearsals with Harry Styles who has been preparing for his debut tour in support of his first solo album. The tour is scheduled to begin in September 2017, in San Francisco and will play over 80 concerts in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australasia.
Harry has also taken part in a one-off special Harry Styles at the BBC which saw the One Direction star perform a number of tracks from the debut self-titled solo album.
In addition to performing, Harry was also interviewed with his friend Nick Grimshaw, who hosted the hour-long special, to talk about his career and life to date, being a solo artist and the start of his acting career.
The recording took place at the BBC in Manchester on August 30th and will air on BBC One, although an exact date and time is yet to be announced.
For 2017 it has been an emphatic trip through the arenas of North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand for Hans Zimmer whose show received huge plaudits at Coachella earlier this year. The Hans Zimmer show is a remarkable one with eighteen-piece orchestra, up to 32 voices in the choir and a core band of twenty-seven, most of whom are multi-instrumentalist.
The Jockey Club Live is a live music promoter company, who work alongside The Jockey Club (the largest racecourse group in the UK) to produce large scale outdoor concerts at major racecourses.
Since The Jockey Club Live launched in 2014 it has promoted over 85 concerts with a combined attendance of over 700,000.
Between 19 May and 26 August 2017, the company staged 21 events across 8 racecourses, which Britannia Row were audio providers on this summer The shows included performances from:
Kaiser Chiefs, Olly Murs, Clean Bandit with Louisa Johnson, Jess Glynne, Little Mix, The Jacksons, Sir Tom Jones, Culture Club,Texas, James, Chase & Status
Depeche Mode along with our crew and equipment have continued on the Global Spirit Tour, the ongoing worldwide tour in support of the group's 14th studio album, Spirit. The summer European stadium tour will see the band play to more than 1.5 million fans in 32 cities in 21 countries across Europe. Throughout August Britannia Row toured with the band who played shows in West Valley City, Denver, Clarkston and Tinley Park
Depeche crew: Richard Trow, Antony King, Terence Hulkes
Creamfields the British dance music festival, now in it's 19th year was back over the weekend of 25th to the 27th August with a lineup that included The Chainsmokers, Sigma, Danny Howard, Lost Kings, deadmau5 & Eric Prydz (Exclusive Live Show), Armin van Buuren, Tiësto and many more.
Liam Gallagher has been performing across a number of festivals this summer ahead of his Autumn UK Tour which kicks off in October.
Britannia Row have also been out this month with Two Door Cinema Club, Duran Duran, Nick Murphy (formerly Chet Faker) and Mike and the Mechanics.
JULY NEWS
As summer 2017 gets in to full swing so does life at Britannia Row. We joined Clair Global on U2's European Tour with Britannia Row equipment and crew for Noel Gallagher who is supporting the tour. The tour, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of classic album ‘The Joshua Tree’, plays London, Berlin, Rome, Barcelona, Dublin, Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels in July and August.
One of a kind Cornbury Festival came to a close this year after a 13 year run. Cornbury Music Festival began in 2004 and has seen appearances from Amy Winehouse, Blondie, Elvis Costello and Van Morrison. Set in the beautiful Great Tew Estate in the heart of the Cotswolds the festival is a lovingly crafted, top notch, very English open air party.
For this closing year the Cornbury fans saw performances form The Kaiser Chiefs, Canadian singer Bryan Adams, the Pretenders, Jools Holland and many more and a finale of fireworks on the last night to mark the occasion.
An emotional goodbye gathering from all the team behind Cornbury
The big stadium tours in Europe this month included Depeche Mode, Robbie Williams and Hans Zimmer.
Other acts touring with Britannia Row in July were Foo Fighters, Mike & The Mechanics, Jamiroquai,Amy Mc Donald, Leftfield, Liam Gallagher, Mumford & Sons, Cliff Richard, Royal Blood, Bryan Ferry, The Offspring and Two Door Cinema Club.
Other Festivals we have been involved with alongside Cornbury include WOMAD, House Festival and the Somerset House Summer Series.
JUNE NEWS
Phil Collins has been touring this month with his 'Not Dead Yet Tour' through the UK, Germany and France and gears up to perform at Hyde Park's British Summertime Festival.
Robbie Williams has also been out this month with his 'The Heavy Entertainment Show Tour' which began in June with two performances in Manchester and continues in the UK before it reaches, Ireland, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland and Russia. Erasure is the opening act at all the concerts.
The Foo Fighters headlined this years Glastonbury, two years after they were scheduled to perform on the Pyramid Stage, when in 2015 they were forced to pull out of performing at the festival after Dave Grohl broke his leg in Sweden.
The phenomenal One Love Manchester concert came together in a few short days following the terrorist attack at the Ariana Grande gig at Manchester Arena on the 22nd May.
Ariana Grande's Clair Global touring PA system and audio crew provided the live sound for the concert together with equipment and audio technicians and sound engineers from Britannia Row Productions, with support from both Digico and Sennheiser.
The show was broadcast live worldwide. The BBC was the host broadcaster.
Ariana was joined for this prominent and emotional concert by Justin Bieber, Coldplay, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Liam Gallagher, Pharrell Williams, Take That, Niall Horan, Little Mix, Robbie Williams and the Black Eyed Peas.
It was a big weekend for Britannia Row Productions in the North West with Phil Collins at the Liverpool Echo Arena on Friday 2nd June, Robbie Williams at the Ethiad Stadium Manchester on Saturday and the One Love concert at Old Trafford on Sunday. Also on Sunday 3rd June Britannia Row was at the Olympic Stadium in London with Depeche Mode.
MAY NEWS
Tottenham FC left their home ground of 118 years, White Hart Lane. Britannia Row was there to supply the audio for their epic closing ceremony.
Continuing in the sporting world Britannia Row also supplied control and monitors and radio equipment and crew to the Women’s FA cup finals and the Men’s FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.
We have been touring in Europe and the UK in May with Jamiroquai, Phil Collins, Paul Rodgers, Kasabian, Hans Zimmer and U.S singer Anastacia who embarks on her ‘The Ultimate Collection Tour’ for a run of dates throughout May and June. Bryan Ferry’s long awaited UK / European tour started in Milan on the 11th May. Amy McDonald also embarked on a UK / European tour which started at the Hay Festival on the 25th May.
Leftfield kicked off their UK tour with 3 Brixton shows. Depeche Mode have been selling out European Stadiums throughout May. Royal Blood embarked on their USA & Canada tour, the UK leg commenced in Cambridge on 17th May. Simple Minds has been touring Europe and the UK.
We are currently in the U.S with Mumford & Sons and the Chain Smokers.
In London legendry Eric Clapton who over 50 years since making his debut at the Royal Albert Hall, returned for three shows accompanied by his band members Paul Carrack, Steve Gadd, Nathan East, Chris Stainton, Sharon White and Michelle John.
During May Britannia Row had a number of artists in rehearsals. Robbie Williams who is set to embark on his Heavy Entertainment Tour on the 2nd June with 8 shows in the UK and Ireland before taking it to Europe throughout the Summer. We have also been in rehearsals with Liam Gallagher ahead of his June tour and Eddie Vedder ahead of his June European tour kicking off in Amsterdam on the 29th May.
We have supported a number of shows in the Roundhouse where amongst them English synth pop duo Erasure performed on the 29th May. The Erasure duo formed in 1985 and are singer and songwriter Andy Bell and songwriter and keyboardist Vince Clarke.
Two Door Cinema Club were at London’s Excel for 3 shows in May. American alternative metal band from Sacramento , the Deftones came to the UK also for 3 UK dates - London, Manchester and Glasgow.
American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow delighted her UK fans, showcasing her greatest hits alongside new material on Friday May 19th as part of her "Be Myself Tour" at the Shepherds Bush Empire. She also performed on the Jools Holland Show and the Graham Norton Show.
Leeds band Kaiser Chiefs performed a full headline show, taking centre stage at Aintree Racecourse on that same night.
Award -winning pop opera group IL VOLO, one of the biggest names in the classical-crossover genre with a sound that combines traditional opera, pop, and classical symphonic music, performed at the Royal Albert Hall on 23rd May.
Trailing his latest album, The Search for Everything, american singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer John Mayer packed out London’s O2 Arena on the 12th May.
What a great month of music and entertainment May was!
