UB40 – “Who Are You Fighting For” Tour 2005-2006

After several successful concerts in the UK, UB40 are now embarking on a world tour in 2006. Dan Hardiman, lighting designer with Total Herbal Confusion Ltd (THC) is specifying Martin Professional MAC 2000 Wash and Profile units using local production.

Hardiman explains, “I had to find fixtures that could cope with the brightness of the large hi-res LED screen, that were also reliable. The MAC 2000 Profiles had proved themselves on the last two Moby tours and we had a large stock of custom gobos we could load them with. The MAC 2000 Wash units were also used on the previous UB40 tour (Homegrown) as specials, and they proved to be ideal due to their punch, and awesome beam-shaping capabilities that gave them great definition over long distances.”

PRG Europe Ltd supplied the lighting fixtures to THC, which included 32 x Martin MAC 2000 Profiles and 34 x Martin MAC 2000 Washes.

Hardiman talks in more detail about the lighting, “The colour wheel of the MAC 2000 Profile units was great for introducing more dynamic effects into songs. I am currently using MAC 2000 Performance's to uplight my set here in New Zealand (supplied by Spotlight Systems) and am finding the gobo animation feature very striking for uplighting my letters; they create great movement as uplighters, as this accentuates the gobo animations.”

One of the challenges of the tour was to integrate a large Sony Jumbotron video screen with a vibrant light-show, without either losing its impact. Dan explains, “The MAC 2000 range was ideally suited to this task and provided the perfect solution. The high lumen output of the MAC 2000 Wash, combined with its unique zoom capability enabled defined colour washes, and ariel patterns to be achieved at high trims.”

The main challenge Hardiman had to overcome was to find a way of operating the light-show, whilst calling follow-spots and a manned camera show. This was overcome by THC using its Automated Spot-Calling system. The product uses a pre-recorded vocabulary that is assembled into commands that can be recalled and triggered. This system enabled Hardiman to automate the "spot-calling" and the camera set-up commands, so he could concentrate on the overall look of the show, and its operation.

The MAC 2000 profile complimented the wash lights perfectly, as this provided Hardiman with a universal colour palette for all fixtures. Again, the high lumen output and Zoom of this unit ensured that the units still stood out where required.

Hardiman concludes, “UB40 play shows to large audiences in destinations around the world that most of us only read about in holiday brochures. I specify Martin MAC 2000 units for their unparalleled brightness & ability to perform indoors & outdoors in the most demanding conditions. This is the only line of work where a beach on a tropical island can be considered demanding!”