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Subfrantic and Turbosound Aspect Make a Big Splash with the Original Bucks Fizz

Out on the road again after almost a quarter of a century break, the Original Bucks Fizz - Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and Jay Aston - are relying on London-based rental company Subfrantic and its Turbosound Aspect system for their current Splash tour's audio needs.

Back in 1981, Bucks Fizz won the Eurovision Song Contest with Making Your Mind Up, which went straight to number one in the UK chart. Two more number ones followed later in their career - My Camera Never Lies and Land of Make Believe - as well as a string of top 20 hits, with the band releasing an impressive 70 or so singles along the way.

But in 1984, they were involved in a devastating bus crash, with Mike and Cheryl thrown through the windscreen. The crash almost killed Mike, leaving him with permanent tunnel vision and short-term memory loss and, shortly after, Jay Aston left the band.

This year, Jay decided the time had come to rejoin her band-mates and, for the first time in 24 years, the original line up would tour the UK.

The resulting 11 date Splash tour started in October and will finish at Newcastle City Hall on the 12th December, marking 25 years to the day since the bus crash which nearly killed them.

Subfrantic's Aspect system is proving a delight for the entire team and comprises eight TA-890H, eight TA-890L and two TQ-445 in fills for front of house, which are powered by T-Series amplifiers, controlled with Turbosound LMS-D26 and networked via the BV-Net protocol. Six TFM-450 and four TQ-310s are supplied for the monitor system, powered by MC2 E-Series amplifiers, with Turbosound LMS-D24s again for control. A Yamaha M7CL-48 handles front of house mix duties, whilst an LS9-32 is utilised at the monitor position.

"From day one, we were told that this tour was being run on a very tight budget. It's the first time the three of them have performed together in 24 years and they wanted to see it as a test for a bigger tour next year," explains Subfrantic's Steve Davies, who is the tour's system tech and live recording engineer.

"This meant there was no budget to fly anything, so we left our flytrunks in the warehouse and had to rely on Aspect's unique tilting system to fire up onto balconies. And it worked, beautifully! I can't think of another box that would have given us that degree of flexibility from a ground stacked perspective, whilst maintaining the sonic excellence that Aspect delivers so flawlessly every time."

"The system performed fantastically in every venue, regardless of size, from the small Stag Theatre (400 seats) through to the 1,600-seat Victoria Hall in Stoke on Trent," concurs Subrantic's Sean Murphy, who performed Front of House duties.

"We noticed after the first date that, because of the style of music, we didn't need to use the TSW-218 subs we had originally planned in, as the TA-890Ls produced an incredible amount of low end, giving the kick drum the sort of thump that hits your stomach, whilst not overpowering the audience sat in the front rows."

"I normally find doing monitors is a balancing act with FOH, trying not to step on each others output," adds monitor engineer Gary Clarke. "But with the system that Subfrantic uses, the Front of House sound is tight and directional, top end is crisp and thick, the bottom end solid, accurate and produces trouser flapping energy. While being most of the time only metres from the front stack, I didn't feel I was in the swamp of FOH - and Sean isn't shy with his output - as there was very little spill outside of the direction of the main stacks."

He continues, "The wedges ... probably the best I've heard. Like the FOH boxes, they sound crisp, tight and so directional, making monitoring easy. It's so zonal that you can walk into dead spots between players and mixes, giving myself and the musicians total control within their mix."

Subfrantic also provided the lighting equipment for the tour, including their now infamous 48" mirrorball, operated by LD Sandra Robertson. Two of the shows have been recorded and the audio is being used for an Original Bucks Fizz live DVD, which is due out in early 2010.

Cheryl Baker and Jay Aston sum up the band's experience of working with Subfrantic and its Turbosound Aspect system.

"The sound on this tour was the best I have ever experienced and made singing and hearing a joy for a change!" says Jay.

"Not only was Subfrantic's equipment second to none, providing an amazing audio and visual experience, the guys were a joy to work with," concludes Cheryl. "We will certainly be going back to Subfrantic in the future."

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Subfrantic and Turbosound Aspect Make a Big Splash with the Original Bucks Fizz

25th November 2009

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