Robbie Williams’ 25 Years of Hits tour
Universal Pixels (UP) is proud to provide kit and crew for Robbie Williams’ 25 Years of Hits tour, which visited arenas across the UK and Ireland in late 2022 before a European leg in 2023.
Showcasing the latest album, XXV, which features many of Williams’ greatest hits re-recorded and newly orchestrated courtesy of Dutch orchestra the Metropole Orkest, the tour warranted an eye-catching and dynamic video setup.
Tour Director Ade Bullock and Production Manager John Lafferty brought UP into the fold once again, renewing a relationship that has also been tried and tested in the past with Show Designer, Paul Normandale.
“UP always provides excellent service, which is why I’ve used them on numerous projects for many years now,” says Normandale, who wanted to reflect Robbie’s 25-year career as a solo artist in a simple yet effective way that would feel timeless over the next few years.
Normandale began with the idea of Williams taking control of his career and music, which was translated via the use of many of the artist’s own paintings and artwork for some of the visual content. He also thought it was important to provide Williams with access via the central walkway to the heart of the crowd, and have a clean, uncluttered stage. Using a 25m wide rear video screen at the upstage edge, this provides clear sightlines.
UP provided 270sqm of Leyard CLM10, which was configured as the 25m wide x 8m high upstage screen. A key piece of the elegant video design was the transparent screen on the risers, which, thanks to Kinesys motors, could move and provide moments of separation and depth, as well as an interplay with the visuals on the other screens.
In association with All Access Staging, a further 25sqm of Leyard CLM6 was built into the risers to produce a neat solution with frosted panels diffusing the Leyard 6mm LED product.
UP also provided a camera package based around a Grass Valley Kula 2ME 3G PPU, 5 x Sony 4300 Camera Channels, and 4 x Panasonic HE145 Robocams, while the video screens were fed by a pair of disguise GX2C media servers.
Video Director Jon Shrimpton comments: “I like things a certain way, and I know that UP will create it for me in the perfect bespoke package.”
Production Manager John Lafferty agrees: “UP are my video vendor because they’re very flexible and adaptable to the tour’s needs. After Robbie’s initial London opening, we had to make some quick changes to make the show flow better, video wise. It was a tight turn around, but UP came through for us, without hesitation.”
Photo by Belinda Enthoven