NEWARK, NJ — With at least 80 shows scheduled for her first tour in eight years, Tina Turner is proving that she still has legs. But at age 67, the only thing doing a split is the video screen backdrop. LD Baz Halpin hides 80 Clay Paky Alpha Beam 300 fixtures behind the motion-controlled video wall, which separates into a total of eight sections, allowing the Alpha Beams to shine through. “Because the fixtures were hung on the moving screens, it was imperative we used lightweight fixtures,” said Halpin, who can list designs for Cher, Queen, Joe Cocker and Pink among his credits. “I chose the Alpha Beam 300 for Tina Turner because of their low power consumption and unparalleled output compared to anything else in its class,” Halpin added. “I was most impressed by their reliability, speed and effectiveness. They are lightweight, bright and pack a powerful punch.”
The tour, “Tina Turner — Live in Concert,” has stops in North America through Dec. 13. Its European leg begins mid-January, 2009. The show includes hits from the artists’ 50-year career, with Turner, her band and dancers performing amid Halpin’s pyro-punctuated light show. The video screen first splits into four sections for “Addicted to Love,” and eight screens “Simply the Best.” Kathy Beer operates the grandMA console which controls the lighting, and Pyrotek Special Effects supplies the pyro.
Alpha Beam 300s have also “lit up some of this year’s leading events, from Shakira’s tour to The Cure, from the Beijing Olympics to Cirque du Soleil's latest show,” said Francesco Romagnoli, Clay Paky GM for the Americas. The fixture is “a winning and innovative product, conceived to complete one of the widest professional moving heads line in the world.”
Romagnoli also mentioning the importance of the partnership between Clay Paky and PRG Distribution, initiated at the beginning of 2008. “We were thrilled when Baz specified the Alpha 300s for Tina Turner,” said Eric Mueller, PRG distribution director of sales. “They’re low-maintenance and look absolutely stunning on stage. We knew everyone would be really happy.”
For more information, please visit www.claypaky.it.
