LED screen, drapes and special FX specialist S+H Technical Services supplied its Glux 10mm LED screen to the recent UK tour by iconic rock band 10cc which played key cities around the UK.
The tour’s production manager Dave Cobby also looks after the video elements on the road, and he specified the screen returning to S+H, the Ilfracombe, Devon based company which has supplied previous 10cc tours including the 2016 40th anniversary celebration of seminal album Sheet Music.
Dave has worked with the band since 2006, and this time around took on both roles. “It’s always a pleasure doing business with S+H’s Terry (Murtha) and the team. We get a great deal and the 10mm screen is exactly the resolution and quality that we need”.
The screen was configured as a continuous 8-metre-wide by 5-metre-high surface upstage. The requirement was for a lightweight and easy to rig solution that was adaptable and practical for a variety of venues on the itinerary, that could be rigged quickly and easily.
“It is one of the most handle-able and reliable screens I’ve encountered,” stated Dave who was assisted in the rigging and positioning process by LD Martin Bell.
Used only in three songs, the screen had maximum impact, and the rest of the time was absorbed magically into the background. You would not have known it was there! “This is another great advantage of this type of screen” commented Dave, “you can get a proper blackout!”
The band’s video content was designed and created by 10cc founding member Kevin Godley (who was not on the tour). It featured during the intro “Son of Man’ and “Somewhere in Hollywood”, a moody number that seems to take on new relevance in the post-Weinstein era – where Godley sings the lead vocal and appears to be floating above the band on the screen.
The third section of video plays out during their worldwide hit, “I’m Not in Love”.
Dave used a MacBook Pro for playback, connected directly to the screen’s scaler and processors, and he sat stage left in the wings to operate during the show.
S+H’s Terry Murtha comments: “We love being involved with music shows and especially with a band like 10cc, and we are really happy to continue our working relationship with them”.
S+H has a stock of this and other LED screen products which are constantly out on corporate shows and live events as well as for some music-based clients like this.
The relationship with S+H had started when 10cc first started using video on tour, and at that time, it was co-ordinated and run by Ian Holmes of XIVIX. “The screen and S+H as a supplier worked well for us, so we stayed with a winning combination” says Dave.
Although 10cc have not released any new music since 1995, there is still an enormous interest in their legacy of work and in the current touring version of the band led by Graham Gouldman, also one of the founders back in 1972. They continue to play sold-out live shows throughout the summer in the UK and Europe, and Gouldman also has his successful solo career running in parallel.
Every member of the original 10cc was a multi-instrumentalist, singer, writer and producer and Sheet Music, the second of 11 album records, was in the UK charts for an incredible six months in 1974 and is generally considered to be one of THE most influential studio albums of the 20th century.
Photos: courtesy 10cc production