Bandit supplies Donny Osmond

Lighting equipment and crew for Donny Osmond's recent UK arena tour was supplied by Bandit Lites UK who, along with Bandit Lites Inc. in the US, have enjoyed a long relationship with the artist.

Bandit UK's Chief Executive, Lester Cobrin comments, "Donny Osmond is one of the most legendary pop artists and a consummate entertainer. He also takes a keen interest in the technical aspects of his show, so production values are always high on the agenda".

This was lighting director, Jimmy Hatten’s second major tour with Osmond, and the first in the UK. The set, designed by Michael Cotton, featured four large truss-framed video screens giving a shrinking perspective look to the stage.

The lighting design on which this tour is based was created by Mike Frogge – Osmond’s long term LD - for a DVD shoot in Wales earlier this year. Hatten and Frogge have collaborated on many shows and projects over the years. They speak the same imaginative language and work extremely well together. Frogge asked Hatten to take this over as he had other commitments, and so approximately 50% of this lightshow was based on that Welsh DVD shoot, with the other 50% programmed from scratch by Hatten.

The upstage overhead lighting trusses covered the sides and rear of stage, with a total of four trussing fingers running front to back, the centre two of which also supported the overhead video screen. These were joined by a 50ft front truss.

Frogge and Hatten chose Martin Professional MAC 2K spots for their profile moving lights – of which Bandit Lites UK has an extensive stock. For wash lights, they stuck with High End StudioColors – primarily because they were used on the Welsh video – and revisiting them on this meant they could retain some of the programming from that show.

Bandit supplied a total of 20 MAC 2Ks and 20 StudioColors, along with 8 4-lite Moles, rigged on the front truss for audience illumination and 6 bars of ACLs, spread over all the trusses. The truss warmers were PAR 64s with narrow bulbs and Lee 202 gel, to give them a nice crisp, frosty zing.

Bandit also supplied 5 Lycian follow spots and two DF50 hazers.

It was not a large rig for the 2 hour, 2 part show which embraced numerous styles and genres of music – from slow ballads to full-on rock out numbers, particularly towards the end. “It’s really more about finesse and thoughtful programming than masses of fixtures,” explains Hatten. He added that each instrument had to work hard and was used very precisely.

Video was a big element of the show – and one in which Osmond takes a personal interest and produces much of the content, so the lighting also had to be sympathetic to that. The first half was titled “Love Songs of The 70’s” in keeping with his latest album. This segment featured a lot of moody, deeply saturated colours and diffused gobo looks, a personal favorite of Osmond.

In the second half it rocked right up, finishing with a great flourish on the signature Osmond’s anthem, “Crazy Horses”, where Hatten comments that the effects engine on his WholeHog II console really came into its own!

He worked alongside Bandit’s crew of Peter “Fats” Parchment and Merrick ‘Mez’ Storrod, who were both specifically requested after he worked with them on Keith Urban’s European tour earlier in the year.

Hatten has been associated with Bandit for about 14 years and has been an employee there for the last seven. He comments, “The transatlantic link makes things very convenient and I really like working with Bandit in both territories. The kit and the crew are always top notch and the service is excellent.”