Who Gear: Stage Lighting

Until 1970

Roger Searle:

Pre-1970 we used whatever we could find that worked in whichever venue we were at. There was no equipment to hire as such!!

Beginning 1970

Roger Searle:

The original Electrosonic desk was purchased in 1970. It always went on stage right as we could not run AC power into the audience. At that time we used to hire lamps from a theatre lighting company in London but they could not supply a suitable portable desk.

We were put in touch with Electrosonic and basically told them to produce a desk that we could “tour.” The desk they produced was a three-preset desk with an electronic cross-fade (i.e., lamp on/lamp off) sequence as well as a mechanical “chase” unit. The desk ran on either three-phase input power of 60-amps/240v per phase or 100amp single phase input.

The change was achieved by a miniature “buzz bar” section on the main input section. The outputs were 18 x 15-amp theatre-style sockets (two per control fader). If memory serves there was a selector switch on each fader which decided preset master A, B or C.

In the early days I used to power this via a 100amp 3ph changeover switch. At a certain part of the show we would throw the switch diverting power from the desk to three 10,000-watt film lamps arranged across the back of the stage facing the audience. Most venues at this time did not have enough spare power for us to use everything at once so it was one or the other. A bit basic but it worked.

We took this desk to the USA in 1971 and on the same tour purchased a load of second-hand Lekos in New York which formed the basis of The Who’s lightshow for some years.

Notes

• 15 June 1970 – Berkeley Community Theater, Berkeley, California

  According to Pete Rudge, Bill Graham suggests using film spotlights at backstage to shine into the audience.

  Eyewitness The Who:

  Peter Rudge: We played in the Berkeley Commuinity Theater with the Jefferson Airplane sitting in the fourth row. It was Bill Graham’s idea to put these big spotlights behind The Who and shine them into the house. We paid for it but it was Bill’s idea and The Who took it with them when they left.

  Pete: Bill did that thing with the Super Toopers for Tommy when we played for him in the Berkeley Community Theater. Fucking great-sounding hall. … suddenly the curtain rose and there was 4,000 watts of light on the band. Of course, we picked up that technique and we’ve used it ever since.

• 25 July, 1970 – Civic Hall, Dunstable

  Concert File: first UK date of of new lighting system:

  The bright lamps at the back of the stage were used on the audience during ‘See Me, Feel Me’ for the first time in the UK at this show. The Who had begun to be billed as “the most exciting stage act in the world” around this time.

• 29–30 August 1970 – 3rd Isle of Wight festival

  Anyway Anyhow Anywhere:

  “I had these 25,000 watt spotlights which operated from the back of the stage,” said [Wiggy] Wolff. “They had their own generator and during ‘See Me, Feel Me,’ we turned them on full into the crowd. All the moths in the Isle of Wight flew into the beams!”

1974

Roger Searle:

I think the desk shown below was manufactured around 1974 when we started to use Bill McManus and his lighting company. I am not sure that this desk ever went back to the UK.

1974 – Electronics Diversified Dimmer light control board

A dimmer light control board reportedly used by The Who and available for auction on eBay in October 2005. Photos and info courtesy the iSold It Store located at: 695 Kidder Street (Store 13) Wilkes-Barre, Pa., 18702, USA. Tel.: (570) 821-5711.

Auction description:

Dimmer Light control board, which was built by Electronics Diversified in conjunction with McManus Entertainment exclusively for The Who. This was first used on tour in support of the Quadrophenia album. This dimmer board controlled every aspect of the lighting for each and every Who concert for many years.

This item is coming from the archives of a local Concert Staging company.

The board measures:

57″w x 17.5″d x 13″h

The case:

62″w x 22″d x 18″h

Thanks to the iSold It Store in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., for the photos and information.

After 1975

Roger Searle:

After that we started hiring lighting from Showco along with audio. Eventually the band entered in to the part ownership of a large Par Can rig (essential equipment in the late ’70s early ’80s). This was controlled by an AVO QM500 desk which also had a “Who” plaque on it. The last time I saw this desk it was installed in a club in Romford, East London. It may now, however, be in the hands of a collector at a company called Litestructures in the UK.

Notes

1975 – First use of lasers:

Richard Barnes: “This tour was the first time they used their $36,000 lasers in the act and the first time lasers had been used in a rock show anywhere.”

The rock group The Who are generally recognised as pioneering the integration of the laser effects with music. John Wolff provided The Who with a few 90-second bursts of laser light from eleven lasers during their performances (Kallard 1979).

For the 31 May, 1976, Charlton gig:

The £100,000 lighting system for the show:

• 30x Par 64 1,000-watt lamps
• 32x Leko 1,000-watt lamps
• Hydraulic “Genie” towers
• Electrosonic control desks
• Electrosonic Dimmer packs
• Strand Patt 765 follow spots
• 38 “00” three-section truss
• Vermet towers
• Ramport Lasers

Miscellaneous

• 16 and 17 December 1982

  The Who employed a special lighting display to illuminate Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto for the Farewell Concert PPV.

• 2006–07

  For the 2006/07 world tour, The Who used a combination of Barco, XL Video and George & Goldberg Design Associates for the video presentation.

Resources

Acknowledgements

• Roger Searle

Manufacturers/Providers:

• Electrosonic
• Electronics Diversified Inc.
• Vari-Lite Inc.
• Showco

Articles

• Interview with Bill McManus on PLSN.com