UP helps Robbie Williams celebrate 25 years at the top

Universal Pixels (UP) has provided the kit and crew for Robbie Williams’ 25 Years of Hits tour, which visited arenas across the UK and Ireland in autumn 2022.

The high-profile run, which opened with two nights at London’s O2 Arena, showcased the artist’s latest album, XXV, which features many of his greatest hits re-recorded and newly orchestrated courtesy of Dutch pop and jazz orchestra the Metropole Orkest.

To match Williams’ entertaining live show, tour director Ade Bullock and production manager John Lafferty brought in UP to provide an eye-catching and dynamic video setup; renewing a relationship that has been tried and tested in the past with show designer, Paul Normandale.

Show designer Normandale opted for a 25m-wide rear video screen at the upstage edge, to provide clear sightlines, in a move away from a conventional IMAG screen appraoch.

UP provided 270 sq m of Leyard CLM10, which was configured as a 25m wide x 8m high upstage screen. A key piece of the 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.

UP engineered the moving aspect to be as devoid of infrastructure as possible, and commissioned custom metal work from Metal Man. In association with All Access Staging, a further 25 sq m of Leyard CLM6 was built into the risers to produce a neat solution with frosted panels diffusing the Leyard 6mm LED product. The rear screen was lightweight and quick to assemble, while the tech access via the moving trusses allowed lights to be added and kept the whole rear stage free of fixtures.

The camera package was 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 gx 2c media servers.

UP also provided the hand-picked touring crew of seven.

The tour continues in 2023 with concerts due to take place across major European cities including Bologna, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin and Barcelona.

Photo credit: Belinda Enthoven