Spice Girls: Spice World Tour

SPICE GIRLS: SPICE WORLD 2019

Infused with all the trappings of modern technical production and creative ingenuity, the Spice Girls return to bring new meaning to Girl Power, embracing stadium audiences with a message of inclusivity. ‘Cockney Spice’ Mark Cunningham witnesses it unfold at Wembley...

Rarely has Wembley Stadium witnessed a display of such unbridled joy amongst an audience as it did when the Spice Girls stepped on to the stage to “welcome all ages, all races, all gender identities, all countries of origin, all sexual orientations, all religions and beliefs, all abilities.” Over three sold-out Wembley nights, 221,971 fans worshipped at the altar of Girl Power, dressed to the nines and as much a part of the show as their idols. Performing for the first time as a four-piece without Victoria ‘Posh’ Beckham, the quartet broke Ticketmaster’s UK records when their 13- date Spice World 2019 tour went on sale last November, leading many to speculate about further appearances.

Dripping with all the colours of ‘90s nostalgia, the tour was a victory for the vendor collective hired by Production Manager Tony Gittins, featuring the work of Brilliant Stages, PRG, PixMob, Wigwam Acoustics, Universal Pixels, Strictly FX, Star Events Group and, at Wembley, Stageco. Fly By Nite, Beat The Street and Eat Your Hearts Out also played faultless roles.

It all has to begin somewhere and in this case the buck stopped with Creative Director Lee Lodge who assembled a vibrant creative team who had shared the experience of working on Sam Smith’s The Thrill Of It All tour. Namely Set Designer, Jason Sherwood, Choreographer/Stage Director, Paul Roberts, Lighting Designer, Tim Routledge, and Art Director, Kate Moross. As Routledge observed: “When Lee calls, you know it’s going to be special. Recognising great talent is one of his great strengths and he thrives on taking people like Jason and Costume Designer, Gabriella Slade from the theatre environment and placing them in the rock ’n’ roll world.”

THE CREATIVE JOURNEY

From the outset, the creative ambition was to give the Spice Girls the live production they always wanted by designing a show that was rooted in nostalgia while reaching forward as a symbol of inclusivity. Said Lodge: “We wanted it to be a communal, fun experience, taking fans back to a place where they had innocence and a joyful connection with the music.

“We looked at this not so much as a tour but as a theatrical entertainment property, analysing what the girls mean to their fans and how we can bring them to a market that has experienced The Greatest Showman, whilst harnessing all of the potential that today’s technology can offer. You need to have passion for something like this because the fan base exudes an enthusiasm that has to be matched in order to deliver what they want to see.”

In preparation, while Moross curated a generous reference library of memorabilia, Lodge conducted a musical audit of the act’s entire concert history, noting every set list and watching hours upon hours of archived live videos. “Spice World 2019 is not about a reunion, it’s not a separate entity, it’s a continuation of the fabric of the band because if you’re a fan, they’ve never really been away – this is just the next chapter,” he commented, adding that the show’s opening sequence had to be a killer. “If you can’t create a brilliant first act for the Spice Girls, you shouldn’t be in the business, because all the ingredients are right there in front of you.”

The initial concepts that were shared amongst the creatives all hinged around four houses that representing a different Spice Girl. “It resembled a developed script for five distinct acts with separate narratives,” explained Lodge. “Act One is ‘The Return of the Four Queens’, Act Two is ‘Girl Power’, Act Three is ‘The Garden’, Act Four is ‘Girls Night Out’ and, finally, Act Five is ‘The Last Waltz’. By using choreographic references, graphic elements and wardrobe, we were able to structure the performance. And as for assembling the core values, I can’t think of anyone who would’ve grasped the sentiments behind the girls’ brand DNA of the girls quite like Kate.” Said Moross: “That master document was available online for all the creatives to access and see how the show was developing.

It was so important because each of us has informed and inspired each other. There was a huge holistic sense of everyone knowing what everyone else was doing, and being extremely communicative.”

Sherwood and Moross were both first generation Spice Girls fans. “Their impact was life-changing,” the Art Director confided. “They were the first act I understood creatively as well as musically. Each member had a distinct personality while sharing a commonality that spoke to me as a kid. Naturally, I was excited to bring that all to life.” The girls had the same effect on Sherwood in America at the age of eight. “I was sitting in my studio one day when Lee called and said, ‘I’ll tell you what I want… what I really, really want.’ I freaked out! Two weeks after he asked me to come onboard, I had the design. The first decision that we locked into was the stage shape and the Passerelle, the latter being one of my favourite aspects of the show because these iconic women get to perform in the centre of the stadium, uniting everybody.

“I was also attracted to the image of the iconic, tilted gold ring that appeared on the back of their début album. When the concept of Spice World came up in discussions, we were reminded that the second album’s motif was a planet surrounded by a ring and I began to brainstorm how that might translate to the stage.”

Sherwood involved Render Artist, Evan Alexander ahead of Brilliant Stages building the show. “Most of our interaction with Brilliant was done by emailing photos and design files. It was a way into the project before I visited them to check on aspects of the build, such as the floor treatment of the stage and the Globe’s metallic finish, and I was delighted.”

Spice World was the first concert project for Costume Designer, Gabriella Slade, a fellow student with Tim Routledge at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. The fruits of her labours amounted to an astonishing 24 costume changes. Simultaneously, Paul Roberts had his work cut out when he auditioned contenders for the cast of dancers. “We had nearly 6,000 people apply,” he said, adopting a comic weary look. “They were whittled down to 400, then 80, and we finally ended up with the 20 dancers with whom we toured. The process was difficult because the overall standard was so high, but we had a very firm idea of what we wanted to build for the four houses and, therefore, could spot the qualities we were looking for.

“Each house has its own visual aesthetic and vocabulary of movement that is different to anything that’s been done before, with some references from past tours that filter into the choreography. The enjoyment for me comes from indulging in the music - 10 of which are truly inspirational bangers.”

PREPARATION

Production Manager, Tony Gittins was given the go-ahead last October, around the same time as he rolled out Rick Astley’s Beautiful Life tour. He said: “For a show of this size, we were given a very short lead time that was made easier by the professionalism of our suppliers.”

After several studios at Sarm Music Bank were hired to accommodate separate rehearsals for the Spice Girls, the band and choreography, Gittins and his team booked a three-week stretch at Cardington Studios for production rehearsals. “This was probably the only place available that could have contained this show. It’s an empty hangar so in our first week we had to build what amounted to a complete festival-type infrastructure from scratch. After the stage was constructed, production went in on the 6 May and we were on track.”

Assisted by Holly Sandeman, Gittins led 100 touring crew and an average of 130 local hands. A 36-truck tour, with transport co-ordinated by Matt Jackson at Fly By Nite and busses from Beat The Street, the frequency of the shows demanded three complete leapfrogging stage systems with two trucks overlapping on each advance to install the video header and crescent frame for the front stage. The main production, meanwhile, amounted to a single system.

“With only 13 shows in the schedule, we had to be match fit from show No.1,” Gittins commented. “About halfway through we were loading out in four and a half hours and driving to the next gig, arriving for an 8am load-in and finishing between 10pm and midnight, ready for the following day’s show, so we certainly had it together.”

ARCHITECTURE

Brilliant Stages kept itself busy this spring with a raft of jobs connected with Spice World. As well as building the 13m diameter Globe, the Wakefield firm delivered the 19m diameter, 3m tall flown LED Ring; a 6m diameter, 1.2m high Globe base with tiered steps and integral LED lighting; the 30m by 11m downstage crescent comprising a substructure, underworld and six type A electric Serapid scissor lifts; and the extravagant 41m Passerelle that extended 34m into the audience.

The Passerelle featured three circular lifts at three, six and nine o’clock, using Serapid scissor lifts, two miners’ carts and egress bridges with incorporated steps. Along with several other Brilliant-built items, this system was finished with matching non-slip surfaces.

A challenge to engineer, the Globe’s scale dictated that it had to be selfsupporting. It was built from the top down using temporary hoists in the roof and then had its weight taken off to allow capacity for the Ring to be hung. This produced a clear order of events that needed to be considered for the overall build. The structure included 167 custom straight and curved truss sections and 51 profiled assembly nodes amongst a total of 554 sections that required an LED collaboration with Simon Cox from Light Initiative.

Once Brilliant’s team understood the loadings and the effect the 15º angle would put on the structure, the construction of the 12-tonne Ring was a more straightforward task, involving 48 custom truss sections. The Ring included both upper and lower light weight composite walkways to provide access to the video once populated. Custom rigging points provided the ability to hanging the ring at the 15º angle.

“Weight was again a big factor in the design and had the standard touring frame for the video been included we would have been too heavy,” said Brilliant’s Project Director, Tony Van-Hay. “Instead, we worked with

Universal Pixels to design and make custom light weight frames to which the video panels were mounted.”

A full ‘ground up’ system, the downstage crescent incorporated a sub level/structure as well as the top decks and scenic finish. In the centre, Brilliant used Serapid scissor lifts to form a customisable lift that could operate individually or as one large lift, controlled by the company’s own automation system.

The same system also controlled the six Passerelle lifts. Another large element, measuring 41m in diameter, it featured egress bridges that provided access to the inner circle, underworld and lifts. It took the stage height from 2.5m at the main stage and downstage crescent to 1.5m at the Passerelle via custom non-slip treads, complete with handrails and secure doors and curtains on the underside.

“This was a spectacular show to have worked on and it’s a credit to everyone who pulled it together,” commented Van-Hay, referring to Brilliant’s in-house team and the 18-strong touring crew led by Adam ‘Bullet’ Bettley, who was on the road from rehearsals to give direct support to the client.

FOUNDATIONS

At the foundation of the staging lies a tale of two staging companies: the tour’s main vendor, Star Events, and Stageco whose systems were resident at Wembley Stadium throughout June to cover a run of shows by acts including BTS, Bon Jovi, Fleetwood Mac, Eagles and P!nk.

Star Events provided a 25m VerTech structure for each system, with custom angled IMAG wings bringing the total stage width to 65m. “We are very wide with abnormally large wings, pushing us into egresses in every stadium,” said Gittins.

Extensive planning between Star Events, Brilliant, Gittins and the “amazing” Head Rigger James Heath went into ensuring that the roofs could support the Globe during assembly and the show, while retaining sufficient rigging capacity to suspend the video ring and other core elements. When heavy-duty hoists were needed to suspend the IMAG and Ring safely, Star Events supplied two packages of five tonne LoadGuard hoists and control from its inventory to meet requirements.

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Images show: The team from Brilliant Stages; FOH Engineer, Jim Ebdon & Producer, David Odlum Monitor Engineer, Neal Allen; Choreographer and Stage Director, Paul Roberts & Creative Director, Lee Lodge.

At the top of the structure, a bespoke, cantilevered curved header truss linked to custom straight sections across the wings, providing a seamless video train. Star Events also designed, built and rigged identical aluminium header systems for each touring stage with over 300 custom suspension brackets to allow the screen modules to be quickly installed across the full width of the stage header.

With Star Event’s head of structures Pete Holdich overseeing the whole project, the Thurleigh company’s 13 crew were boosted by up to 48 locals while one project manager was allocated to each system, namely Sarah Howlett, Phil Addyman and Rachel King.

Holdich commented: “It was a tight schedule that had to interface with the advance production so we had three complete touring stage systems with three customised header arrangements to support the video header which itself ran to a different load-in schedule. We worked closely with Universal Pixels to develop the ladder frame system that supported the video header and then created a custom bracket that would fit to the video panels to allow smooth and rapid interface on to the stage during the advance scheduling.

“We were on a three in, one out schedule. After day two of our build, we had to be ready for the advance production to come in and hang the video, lights and hoist pre-rigging, so that the full production could be handed over on day three.”

A further challenge came when the teams loaded in at Wembley, where

Stageco was fulfilling a residential contract with Live Nation that demanded a Super Roof system formed of 280 tonnes of materials designed to cover all bases. Roel Voeten managed the project alongside Jelte Smets and Gert Hulsmans from Stageco’s R&D department, and Mario Dockx who created the drawings, incorporating “endless” changes to match the headlining acts’ configurations and rigging plots.

“Moving everything over to a Stageco stage for Wembley required a lot of work because the show wasn’t designed for it, even though we were considering a certain amount of flexibility early on,” remarked Gittins. “The touring systems were designed to deal with specific weight loads, so there was some to-ing and fro-ing involved in matching Star Event’s elements with Stageco’s structure.

Holdich added: “The header was our system. We took the truss that was effectively part of the regional shows’ main stage and turned it into a mother grid system, applied the same header and came up with a rigging solution to get it all suspended within the Stageco stage.”

SPICE UP YOUR LIGHTS

Lighting Designer, Tim Routledge’s priority was to accentuate the glamour of the four female icons and their cast both onstage and on screen, whilst ensuring that kicking off in daylight would not be an obstacle to delivering a powerful introduction. “It’s a full visual assault with Spice Up Your Life right from the top of the show,” he said. “Where some stadium shows lack punch until it gets dark but here there’s no holding back!”

The tour’s lighting systems were provided by PRG, headed by Rich Gorrod and Aidan McCabe. Working closely with programmer and Tour Lighting Director, Tom Young, Routledge commented: “This was never going to be a subtle show. It’s big, it’s fun, bursting with colour and full of positive pop energy. We’ve achieved a lot of the glamour really well with clever positioning of 16 PRG Bad Boys and Best Boys, as part of our followspot system that is driven remotely by GroundControl.” Also making an appearance were PRG’s new GroundControl LongThrow high-output spots. Eight of them were out front alongside four GC Bad Boys downstage and four GC Best Boys hidden inside the Globe.

Images show: Production Manager, Tony Gittins; Star Events Head of Structures, Pete Holdich; Former FOH Engineer ‘Snake’ Newton Lighting Designer, Tim Routledge & Lighting Director, Tom Young; The Strictly FX crew

The theatrically-styled ‘Queer Tango’ scene – in which two topless males appear from outside the B-stage – was lit in peach and lavender tones that were designed as a respite from that full-on assault of colour in the rest of the show. “It’s not what you might have expected from the Spice Girls,” admitted Routledge. “I’ve definitely had my TV head on with this show and this has been a great asset. We have Robert Juliat Dalis all around which give us colour temperature-controlled floor lighting with an even field. They’ve really lit the girls and the dancers beautifully, giving us a soft light for camera. They even have an internal safety light that you can dim so the dancers can always see the edge of the stage.”

Routledge populated the Globe with Light Initiative intelliFlex RGB pixel tape to enable animation. A Robe MegaPointe was bolted on to each nodal point inside the Globe, where GLP impression X4 Bars were also rigged for band key light. To add general key light and back light from left and right of the Globe, vertical lines of Robe BMFL Blade moving heads were installed, nine per side. A further six per side were on the downstage edge of the back wall with some also on the floor to add cross light.

Behind the Globe was what Routledge described as “the wall of doom”. He explained: “We have no less than 510 GLP JDC-1 strobes positioned in rows on what we call the ribs. Every other row of strobes also has MegaPointes on there, so it’s massively punchy and a relief from the growing trend of just big upstage video screens which I tend to view as lazy design. What we get from the back wall, from the strobes’ twinkly effects to high intensity Beyoncé-style looks, is just stunning.” Icon Edge beam/spot/ wash luminaries were also in evidence, rigged above the stage wings as extensions to the rear MegaPointes.

Tom Young has been Tim Routledge’s first-call programmer for many years. The designer was brimming with praise for his wingman, describing him as “probably the most intelligent programmer I’ve ever come across.” He added: “Every show file that Tom hands to me is immaculate and just seeing him program those JDC-1s within an inch of their lives was just incredible!”

Young began work on Spice World by spending a week in WYSIWYG mode, continuing in production rehearsals during the set build when he was programming overnight. An MA Lighting grandMA user since 2011, Young was touring with two grandMA3 full-size main and back-up consoles as well as an MA2 light for use onstage to help focus the rig early on show day. “I’m pleased to have become an early adopter of the MA3 platform, just as I was with MA2,” said Young. “It’s still a work in progress running the MA2 software, but by using the new hardware, I’ve been able to get up to speed with the updated layout. I don’t believe there is another console that could reliably deliver this scale of show, which extends to just over 60,000 parameters across a single system with just one programmer.”

WRIST ACTION

The group wanted to include an interactive element and the solution came in the form of infrared-activated LED wristbands from PixMob. Tim Routledge explained: “A wristband is given to each member of the audience at the point of entry. Halfway through the show as the sky gets darker, those wristbands come alive during a disco medley. We have full control over each wristband and program them as we would for a light show so they are beat perfect. It’s quite a moment as most of the audience would have forgotten they’re wearing them by this point, then suddenly they come alive.”

Rafael Linares’ role as PixMob’s Creative Consultant included assisting Tom Young during the programming stage on how to achieve the desired looks and effects, while Nathan Ellis and Didier Lachance toured as the company’s technicians along with Executive Producer, Sophie Blondeau. Linares said: “We implemented four PixMob Moving Heads and multiple PixMob Wash transmitters into the lighting rig in an unobtrusive way. These transmitters are responsible for sending the lighting commands to the wristbands through our infrared technology.

“Our show control was integrated into the lighting system on the main control desk, with Tom Young operating with the benefit of our in-house Visualizer software tool that offers a WYSIWYG-type environment.

“The range of effects we can achieve with the wristbands is as broad as one’s imagination – they really contribute to the elevated excitement,” claimed Routledge. “In 2 Become 1 we achieve a comet trail effect across the stadium. At other times, we do colour chases, sweeps and strobing, and program them in such a way that different sections of the crowd will have different wristband outputs, and then chase between them in sync with a song’s tempo. It’s super clever!”

HIT & SIZZLE

In consultation with the creative team, Strictly FX designed pyro sequences for five key moments in the show. One of a seven-man crew, David Yarbrough explained: “Timing each sequence is the clever bit. Depending on the product we use, it can take a second or a second and a half between hitting the button and the actual impact, so it takes some rehearsing in order to be on the beat and accentuate correctly. It’s obviously not practical to try these things out in production rehearsals but you can give the client some reliable, computer-generated visualisations.

The team shot around 600 pieces every night on the tour, from comets and mines, to crossettes and more, with heights ranging from 40ft to 400ft. As well as firing effects from the stage and the top of the header, Strictly FX shot 250 items from the roof.

An arsenal of 20 machines ensured that the audience was regularly showered with various types of confetti including the powderfetti seen during Who Do You Think You Are? While Holler witnessed a huge pyro cue, featuring red and yellow comets and mines, the biggest display came in the finale when 120 items were fired simultaneously. Said Yarbrough: “It’s a fantastic looking pop show and we’re all proud to be a part of the spectacle.”

VIDEO CONTENT

The visual branding effort came out with all guns blazing from the show’s opening section in which the crowd were asked “Which Spice Girl are you?”. Representing the characteristics of each member, the accompanying short film was the first evidence of the extensive palette of video content produced by Kate Moross and the team at Studio Moross which, at the project’s peak, involved three producers, five freelance motion designers, a render manager and a core staff of eight.

“There were so many of us, we had to hire a caterer! It’s the biggest project we have undertaken to date,” said Moross. “Whenever we create content, it’s either meant as a backdrop to support the choreography, the meaning of the song or to create a theatrical stage. It’s not usually meant to pick up on musicality. With graphical content, it’s all about highlighting lyrics or delivering branding phrases. For this show, we are dancing between the two all the time.

“Throughout March, April and May, we were in full production mode, with eight to ten people working full time every day. The video content was built in disguise with a render farm set up with 10 PCs constantly running at full stretch, so that by the time we arrived at Cardington, everything was fully loaded. We continued to do a lot of work there, rendering terabytes of content and reloading the entire show every other day.”

Universal Pixels’ screen package amounted to 795m 2 of 5mm LED; 90m 2 of ROE Visual CB5 for each of the two header systems, 360 m 2 of InfilLED er5 for IMAG, and an additional 255 m2 of er5 for the Ring.

A unique surface, the Ring was the visual core, while the headers and footers were used either architecturally to create a scenic backdrop or for tickertape-style graphics. While the Ring was static, the nature of some of the content sometimes made it appear as if it was twisting and turning.

Moross commented: “The show is inherently British, with visual references to the Union Jack and Big Ben, though not in a nationalistic way. We build Big Ben on the side screens and extend the clock face on to the Ring. For Viva Forever we create a stone architectural flower garden which was inspired by Gabriella Slade’s ideas for the dresses.

“There’s also a sequence that places a comic book item within a stained glass window for Say You’ll Be There and we have a disco moment where the Ring becomes a boom box controller.

“My ultimate favourite look comes in Who Do You Think You Are? which is really simple. The song is all about celebrating the four houses of Spice World and we made a set of scenic banners like you’d see at a football match. We imply that they are being hung over the top of the stage. I knew I’d done my job when Bullet from Brilliant claimed he thought they were real… despite him building the stage!”

THE IMAG CUT

Camera Director, Jon Shrimpton was touring with Snow Patrol when Modest! Management invited him onboard. Over the Christmas holidays, he reacquainted himself with the Spice catalogue and worked with Phil Mercer at Universal Pixels on booking a 16-person crew that included Video Engineer, Richard Burford, Media Server Tech, Ben Farey, Lead LED Tech, Al Wright and Crew Chief, Al Bolland. “Our crew have been amazing,” said Shrimpton. “Dicky Burford is a veteran of the first Spice Girls tour with PSL and when he’s on your side, you know you’re winning!”

The scale of the show required a different approach to IMAG and the camera shots were notable for their televisual flavour. Shrimpton: “The fans obviously want to see the close ups of the girls but the camera cut is just as much about showing their movement and chemistry, and reinforcing specific moments in the choreography that are so important to the branding.”

Two Hitachi SK-HD1200E cameras manned two FOH towers to capture spot vocal shots. On the Passerelle, cameras were at stage left and right, with a floating hand held that focused on the more energetic sections. An additional camera was positioned at the front of the stage to capture the girls when they returned to the golden circle.

Shrimpton was also intent on adding four Agile ARC360 robocams to the spec. He commented: “They’ve proven themselves many times to be rainproof and the built-in windscreen wiper is a very handy addition. We have them downstage centre, stage left and right at head height, and upstage centre on a four foot stand in front of the keyboard player to get a wide band shot.”

The camera cut was dispatched to the disguise gx 2 media server station manned by Ben Farey. “It’s a very complicated media show and Ben put in an enormous amount of time getting this all together and working his magic,” noted Shrimpton. “The camera images are predominantly in full colour and they are integrated into graphical frames of various styles depending on the song, sometimes with overlays.”

PASSING THE MIX BATON The tour began with FOH Engineer, ‘Snake’ Newton. Everything was in place to deliver a sonic experience to match the stunning visuals and, sure enough, the opening show in Dublin was a huge success. Some corners of the media, however, decided that all was not rosy and launched an attack that led to Newton falling on his sword.

He explained: “We had management, family and the support act, Jess Glynne, up on the tower enjoying every minute. There were some issues, such as the girls’ chat between songs appearing garbled up in the high stands where thousands were literally having a party, although nothing we couldn’t sort out.

“Within hours, a few tweets of complaint were inflated by one of the tabloids, which claimed it was a “disastrous” first gig. A newspaper even offered cash to fuel what seemed to be a hate campaign. We had no indication that such a storm would be whipped up.”

As the storm began to rage overnight, Newton considered throwing in the towel to present Modest! Management with the PR opportunity of announcing some major changes. “No one wanted me to do that – I never felt pressured to leave,” claimed Newton. “In fact, the girls looked at the speech delivery and we ironed out some kinks in the coverage. Meanwhile, the press criticism that snowballed after Cardiff convinced me that I should go, and I had already sent a text message to my friend Jim Ebdon, asking if he would be available to take over.”

When Geri Horner asked the audience in the far reaches of Manchester Arena if they could comfortably hear her words, the resounding “yes” and follow-up reports of “crystal clear sound” should have been enough to kill the smear campaign, however, the aforementioned tabloid continued to wage war.

Said Newton: “I would never have left the show in jeopardy so my handover to Jim was done over three days. I was confident of him seamlessly taking the reins; he did just that and I’ll be eternally thankful. I am delighted that I spent several weeks with amazing people to help put together a unique show that was always about generating happiness.”

Jim Ebdon was understandably moved by Newton’s departure. He explained: “I watched Snake mix the first of the three Manchester shows and then the baton was handed to me for the rest of the tour. I got on the console, listened to some ProTools sessions and used a virtual soundcheck [created in Waves Tracks Live] as I prepared to mix the second show with Snake helping me through it. There’s nothing quite like diving in at the deep end.”

CONTROL

Ebdon inherited Newton’s Avid S6L console, part of the audio package supplied by Wigwam, which accommodated the 128 inputs. “My current preference is SSL,” he said, “and Wigwam kindly obliged in case I wanted to switch everything over, but that felt like I’d be going backwards. Snake did a lot of great work before I came in and his session remains the foundation upon which I’ve built everything.

“We all have our own process of how we get somewhere, so stepping into someone’s gig is always difficult. If you’re going to own the mix, you have to tailor things towards your personal taste. Fundamentally, we both achieved the same results through sightly different processes.

“I took some elements off the mix. I don’t usually rely heavily on plugins – I’ll only use them when absolutely necessary. For me, moving a lot of air with a big sound system has a very different outcome to mixing in a studio. My outboard TUBE-TECH SMC2B multiband compressor took care of the vocal buss and gave me the warmth and control I was looking for. I’m from that school of thought where I raise the fader and think about what I’m hearing before I consider using compression. I also added an SSL Fusion to the master buss to take the edge off the digital sound that I find hard to listen to.”

At the heart of the analogue input side of the system was a three-way passive split stage box that divided the signal for FOH to a pair of Avid Stage-64 racks. One with five AES input cards and a DiGiCo SD-Rack and SD-MiNi Rack with 32-bit input cards for monitors. The digital input side came in the form of 48k MADI stream, split with a DirectOut Technologies M.1k2 MADI router into an Optocore DD2FX for monitors, which sent all of the MADI channels to the DiGiCo loop. For FOH, it was split to an RME ADI- 6432 MADI-to-AES converter that provided AES signals for the Avid Stage-64 rack.

The band accompanying the group may be familiar to some as Melanie C’s touring band. “They’re very tight and consistent,” Ebdon commented, “and they are playing along to content on ProTools which amounts to orchestral and choral parts, some backing vocals and other filler instrumentation.” Artists have been performing in front of PA hangs for years and many engineers have learned how to minimise the risk of feedback. It is, however, very unusual for an act to spend 95% of a show out front. “I expected that to be a challenge,” explained Ebdon, “but by following a detailed vocal cue script, everything has turned out fine. I have the benefit of music producer David Odlum, a gifted man who created many of the music files and knows the songs inside out. He works alongside me at FOH to ensure that none of those cues are missed.”

PA & MONITOR

S Wigwam’s d&b audiotechnik PA system formed the main hangs of 16 GSL8s per side, side hangs of 14 GSL8s and two GSL12s per side, and two sub hangs of nine SL-Subs. A further 16 GSL8s constituted the outer fills, while 10 V10Ps and two V7Ps were distributed between the front and centre fills.

While 24 SL-Subs were arrayed at ground level, 56 KSL8s and eight KSL12s were divided between four hangs for the delay system, with D80 amplifiers powering the system.

Ebdon heard GSL for the first time earlier this year at a festival in South America. He recalled: “I was beyond blown away. It sounded so natural and accurate from the moment it was switched on, so I was very pleased to see it on this tour.”

His counterpart on monitors, Neal Allen was backstage at Wembley amongst a mass of control real estate. He also commented on GSL: “You don’t hear anything out of the back of the GSL hangs, so I have to make a few adjustments in that respect, so that the girls feel more of a true live response.”

Negotiating 120 inputs, many of them running as stereo pairs, Allen assisted by Monitor Tech, Nick ‘Mystic’ Davis – presided over 177 individual scenes across 24 songs including segues. His choice of a DiGiCo SD7 Quantum desk gave him access to the onboard Nodal Processing.

Said Allen: “Nodal Processing is like Y-splitting an input and then opening it up to all the front end control and it keeps everything in one place with maximum flexibility. It really proved itself when I had to lift a bass line that was buried within a drum loop but do it without affecting anyone else and without making another input which would’ve been the only option. Mel C needed to hear it as it was an indicator for where she needed to move within the choreography on the Passerelle. I used the compressor to lift the line and then EQ to drop the drum loop.”

Although his plugin use was minimal, Allen did incorporate Waves’ dbx 160 compressor for guitar, MV2 on snare and the new F6 dynamic EQ, which he used for acoustic guitar and vocal contouring.

Allen created 32 individual mix sends, which included five onstage sub mixes. Each band member had a d&b V-Sub to their rear as well as an in-ear mix to help keep them tight with what they might hear in a more regular situation. While the band were on Shure P6HW IEMs, the four girls used Ultimate Ears UE18s, fed by a system by Wisycom, consisting of MTK952 dual transmitters and CSI 16T wideband combiners.

“We tried out the Wisycom gear on some shows by Mel C,” said Allen. “We were encouraged by the ability to always get a signal through, which was a consideration given how far away from the stage the girls are performing.”

The vocal mics were all from Shure’s Axient Digital range with Beta 58 capsules and a custom chassis design that was colour-coded for each singer. “I always know exactly what I’m getting with these mics,” insisted Allen. “It’s what we use with Melanie C and they’ve worked just as well with the other girls.” The remainder of the mic package included a Shure Beta 52 and Beta 91 for kick drum, an SM57 (snare top and congas), AKG C414Bs on snare bottom, overheads and percussion, Sennheiser e904s on toms, AKG C451s on hi-hat and ride cymbal, DPA 4015s on various percussion instruments and DPA 4035 lavaliers taped to the percussionist’s knuckles.

Led by Nick Mooney, Wigwam’s audio crew also included Bill Laing, Nick Davies, Dan Dries, James Smallwood, Kyle Harris, Tom Maddocks, Sean Horsman, Tom Horrobin, Kerry Hopwood and Nigel Fogg.

Despite the Spice Girls’ immense status within popular culture, it is possibly surprising that this was only their fourth tour, all of which have been covered by TPi during its 21-year lifespan. That elusive sweet spot between nostalgia and the present was captured, nurtured and executed perfectly at Wembley. Scanning the audience, the smiles and the elation were as infectious as the sing-a-longs on the return tube journey. Job done and then some. TPi Photos: Andrew ‘Timmsy’ Timms, Luke Dyson & Mark Cunningham. www.thespicegirls.com www.jasonsherwooddesign.com www.studiomoross.com www.timroutledge.co.uk www.brilliantstages.com www.stareventsltd.com www.stageco.com www.sseaudiogroup.com/wigwam www.prg.com www.unipix.tv www.strictlyfx.com www.beatthestreet.net www.flybynite.co.uk www.cardingtonstudios.com www.musicbank.org