It was over 20 years ago that ALIA arranged their first Backstage Tour at the much-missed Sydney Entertainment Centre. The show was Elton John and the tour was facilitated by lighting designer Kevin ‘Stick’ Bye who was generous with his time and knowledge.
Every so often when Elton John returned to tour Australia, Stick was there to do a tour. He has also personally mentored a student in Melbourne giving her the opportunity to work on the most recent Melbourne shows.
The last tour was the 2019 Farewell Yellow Brick Road arena tour, designed by Patrick Woodroffe and operated by Stick. A long-time PRG client, Elton’s rig included 73 x Claypaky Scenius Unico, 15 x Claypaky Mythos, 11 x PRG Icon Edge, 48 x PRG Best Boy HP Spot, 46 x GLP impression X4 and 16 x GLP impression X4 Bar. Added to that are 38 x 4 Lite DWG Square Mole, 24 x Chauvet COLORado 2 Quad Zoom, 4 x PRG BadBoy Ground Control Spot and hazers. Control is an MA Lighting grandMA2 full-size.
Fast forward to 2023 and with an unparalleled career that redefined the cultural landscape and saw over 300 million albums sold, Elton John returned to Australia for his final shows. It was essentially still his Farewell Yellow Brick Road show which has had a multi-year itinerary comprising over 300 shows across five continents.
The lighting gear for the Australian Stadium shows has changed to more of the latest and greatest gear including:
116 x Chauvet Strike 1 – on the stage left and right trusses
32 x Chauvet Strike Array 2 – on a truss above the piano
40 x Chauvet Strike Array 4 – located on FOH delay/spot towers
33 x Ayrton Khamsin – 11 on each of the arms that stretched over stage.
110 x Ayrton Perseo – 26 on the back truss, 84 on the stage left and right trusses
12 x Ayrton Perseo Beam – six on either side on the stage floor
20 x GLP impression X4S (gold) – six on the stage floor with the rest lined up downstage (weather permitting)
4 x Robe BMFL Followspot LT
10 x Martin MAC Viper AirFX – on the stage floor
2 x MA Lighting grandMA2 full-size
Elton’s final show will be on July 8th in Stockholm Sweden. Many of Elton’s crew have been with him for a very long time, Stick has devoted 24 years of his life to lighting and directing his shows. He is now looking forward to staying at home for a few months and will explore future possibilities!
Stick has kindly agreed to ALIA sharing his renders and plots, drawn by Corey Tom.
Stage Rigging
Stage LX
SR LX
SL LX
Floor LX
Front
Lighting Design: Woodroffe Bassett
Production Manager: Peter McFee
Rigger: Mike Gomez
LX Vendor: PRG
Head LX: Corey Tom
