EVENT FOCUS: David Gilmour
DAVID GILMOUR FROM FOH
LEGENDARY GUITARIST AND THE FINAL MEMBER TO JOIN PINK FLOYD, DAVID GILMOUR, IS CURRENTLY
SUPPORTING HIS BRAND NEW ALBUM, RATTLE THAT LOCK, WITH EXTENSIVE LIVE SHOWS MIXED BY
HIS LONG TIME FOH ENGINEER, COLIN NORFIELD. IN LATE SEPTEMBER, ON THE EVE OF THE ALBUM’S
LAUNCH, TPi’S KELLY MURRAY VISITED THE TOUR’S MOST MAJESTIC VENUE - THE ORANGE THEATRE
ANTIQUE IN FRANCE - TO HEAR THE DIGICO AND L-ACOUSTICS ENSEMBLE PROVIDED BY BRITANNIA
ROW PRODUCTIONS, THE PA COMPANY THAT WAS BIRTHED FROM PINK FLOYD’S FIRST TOUR...
Sat in the autumn sunshine, sipping an
espresso and marvelling at the hoards of fans
that flood the quaint streets surrounding the
Orange Theatre Antique - one of the best
preserved Roman amphitheatres in Europe
- FOH Engineer Colin Norfield has a thing
or two to celebrate. Not only is it the eve
of David Gilmour’s latest album release (the
following day the album went to No.1 in 16
countries) - an artist he’s been working with
for an impressive 21 years - but it’s also his
65th birthday.
Norfield began his career as a Sound Engineer
with Motown hit makers The Temptations and
went on to work with a multitude of stars ranging
from Toto, to Iron Maiden and ultimate soul diva,
Diana Ross. During his time, Norfield has worked
very closely with audio supplier Britannia Row
Productions, which for his current mix is supplying
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a DiGiCo SD7 and an L-Acoustics K1 / K2 system
depending on the venue.
“I absolutely love Brit Row,” he said with a
smile. “They’re very passionate about what we,
as engineers, do. I worked for Cliff Richard for 26
years and that’s where Brit Row gave me my first
break. Before Mike Lowe [Co-Director of Britannia
Row, alongside Bryan Grant] started working for
PA companies, he was actually a roadie for my
band.”
Lowe added: “Every David Gilmour tour is
extremely special to us. He, along with the rest of
Pink Floyd, was responsible for starting Britannia
Row, 40 years ago this year. Without him, there
would be no Britannia Row Productions. David
sold out to a management buyout in 1984, and
we have continuously tried to live up to his legacy.
It is a great feeling to know that he had the
confidence to keep us as his sound company ever
EVENT FOCUS: David Gilmour
Opposite: Britannia Row supplied audio requirements to David Gilmour’s tour as it has done since the company’s inception.
Below: FOH Engineer, Colin Norfield with David Webster of DiGiCo; The Orange Theatre Antique played host to the L-Acoustcis K2 rig.
since. My personal music tastes are very varied
and David Gilmour is a giant artist within that
spectrum. He is a master craftsman.
“His sound engineer Colin Norfield and I go
back even further. When I moved to London in
1969, Colin’s band at the time, Crew, was one
of the first London bands that I worked for on a
regular basis. As one did in those days, I did the
lot - drove the van, set up the backline and PA,
mixed the band, collected the money, packed
up and took them all home again! Colin is a man
of zany humour and sharp wit and has been a
good friend for over 45 years now.”
CONSTRUCTIVE, PASSIONATE MIXING
Norfield himself is somewhat of a pro audio
legend, firmly ranked in the school of ex touring
musicians turned engineers who mix by ear and
take minimal notice of the latest technology
presented to them. This method holds Norfield
in expert stead to choose the tools of his craft,
and although it may not be commonplace in
younger generations, is invaluable. “I said to
the crew at the beginning of this tour that they
might find the way I do things a bit ‘different’,
shall we say. I’m here to create sound, and the
artistic side of me must create something on the
night. I’m not technically minded at all; I simply
mix as a musician. For me mixing really is a
passion, and in those two hours that I’m mixing,
I can be constructive. For example, I run the
subs on an aux because I can be more creative
with it that way.”
Lowe added: “Colin was a good bass
player, but he gradually moved over to sound
engineering and has has a great ear, musically
speaking. He can talk with musicians about
what they’re playing and gets the very best out
of their live sound. I have seen him more than
once in rehearsals or during a sound check,
offer a different arrangement for harmony parts
to a lead and backing vocalist. Every time I have
seen him do this, his arrangement has been
gratefully adopted as the better option! He is a
fantastic live engineer and probably unique in
his approach, in his musicality and in the soul he
brings to a live performance.”
Norfield has been using solely DiGiCo for the
last nine years; he chose an SD5 last year, and
has opted for an SD7 on this tour. He continued:
“It’s the most user-friendly, fast desk out there. I
can get to two places at once. Even though it’s
a digital desk, it comes at you like an analogue
console; the multiple screens make it very easy
to understand.”
A GREAT OUTDOOR SYSTEM
He continued: “For the main tour we’re using
K1, and a K2 at this venue. It’s a superb system;
it sounds great. I wanted to use L-Acoustics
because I knew we would be playing a lot
of outdoor venues, and it’s a great open-air
system; the throw is unbelievable. It’s very direct
and solid, which is what I need. I have worked
with other systems but for me, this is the bestsounding system for outdoor use.”
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EVENT FOCUS: David Gilmour
Below: System Tech, Chris Keirle, described the tour as issue free while utilising the DiGiCo / L-Acoustics rider; The rather unique FOH setting in France; The venue gained UNESCO status in 1981.
Due to the weight restrictions of the roof
at the Orange Theatre Antique - the incredible
venue was built in the early 1st Century AD, and
in 1981 it became an UNESCO world heritage
site - the main system today is a K2.
The open-air setting is breathtaking,
conjuring up images of historical events,
augmented by the feel good riffs of Gilmour’s
guitar.
“It’s flown slightly wider than I’d like perhaps
like, but we don’t have a choice at this venue.
The venue has been great considering it’s an
processors. The outboard for the SD7 comprises
four analogue and four digital lines running
via an SD minirack. “We’ve had no issues at
all, from start to end, DiGiCo has been very
reliable,” concluded Keirle.
see Gilmour perform new material in an
enchantingly old venue, yet it was the strength
and longevity of the relationships between the
artist, supplier and touring engineers backstage
that really created an atmospheric show on the
surface.
Lowe concluded: “The whole of the David
Gilmour camp is just brilliant to work with everything comes from the top. Phil Taylor,
who has been David’s right-hand man on the
road since before the inception of Britannia
Row, Production Manager Roger Searle, who
I first worked with in 1972, and the superb
Marc Brickman to name just three key crew,
continue to make every David Gilmour a great
experience.”
So, with a wealth of live production expertise
under his favourite DiGiCo desk, will Norfield be
retiring in the near future? “I might cut down my
workload a little bit, but I won’t be retiring any
time soon,” he smiled. “I love what I do and in
a business with a lot of frogs, David is a prince
among men, he’s a rare diamond.”
David Gilmour plays South America in
December before a North American tour begins
in March 2016.
TPi
EVERYTHING COMES FROM THE TOP
The show in Orange was met with monumental
appreciation from loyal fans - some of which
had travelled by plane to France - to see
www.davidgilmour.com
www.britanniarow.com
www.l-acoustics.com
www.digico.biz
“As far as PA systems go, L-Acoustics
is definitely my system of choice, it’s been
designed to have a good thrashing!”
The system comprises 12 boxes of K2 per
side, running in pairs with six KARA utilised
as sidefill. At a more hospitable venue, the rig
would comprise 12 K1 per side and six K1SBs for
the main hang with 12 K2 for sidefill and some
additional KARA as the centre hangs. Stage
monitoring is via d&b audiotechnik M2 wedges,
d&b D80 amplifiers and L-Acoustics LA8’s.
Distribution is though Lake LM26 and LM44
“Every David Gilmour tour is extremely special to us. He, along with
the rest of Pink Floyd, was responsible for starting Britannia Row, 40
years ago this year. Without him, there would be no Britannia Row
Productions...”
Mike Lowe, Britannia Row Productions
amphitheatre. They can be very difficult but
besides the weather this morning, [there was a
slight rain storm] this one has been very easy.”
“We’ve got a really good set of guys out
here with us too,” said Norfield. Namely, FOH
and System Tech Johnny Keirle who is Norfield’s
number one. He said: “I landed in the UK from
New Zealand a couple of years ago and started
working for Brit Row as a freelancer the very
next day. They certainly keep me busy!
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