Universal Pixels (UP) was proud to join forces with Scottish rock royalty Simple Minds for the first time in 2022, providing a video package for the extensive 40 Years of Hits world tour, which consisted of 81 shows (and 2 corporate) across 19 countries.  

In fact, there were 496,000 tickets sold and 56,000 km travelled over 147 days. There were 41 travel days – including 8 ferry journeys and 12 flights – through 19 European countries, with only 8 days of rehearsal time and just 16 days off. This tour was a special occasion.

“We were originally brought in by Robin Scott in late 2019 and completed production rehearsals in February of 2020, prior to the tour’s inevitable two-year postponement due to the pandemic,” explains UP Director, Phil Mercer.

Once production was back up and running, UP was tasked with providing the upstage video screen for the tour, which played a significant part in the overall look of the UK and European arena show design.

UP supplied LED comprising 3 x custom onstage carts with 25mm ROE Vanish (currently out on the festival dates), 15 x small flown screens made up of Leyard CLM10, and a pair of 45sqm custom-shaped IMAG screens, also built out of CLM10.

UP also supplied 3G for a PPU with 3 x operated camera channels, as well as 4 x Robocams, while the tour’s Catalyst media servers were provided by Lighting Designer Mark Wynn-Edwards.

To assist Video and Visual Director John Minten on the road, UP also deployed four trusted freelance crew led by Crew Chief Steve Jones.

“Mark Strange, UP Project Manager, and I are immensely enjoying working with Simple Minds Production Manager Glen Thomson,” adds Mercer. “We’ve been very impressed with how he has expertly navigated the logistics of the Covid-19 restrictions since the tour has gotten underway, particularly as they tend to vary from place to place.

“It’s been great to see this production come together after the enforced delay, and we are proud to be a chosen tour vendor that is able to support Simple Minds in celebrating an incredible 40 Years of Hits. It’s quite the achievement!”

photos: Thorsten Samesch | www.ToddeVision.de