Completing its debut run at The Old Vic in London, Just for One Day - The Live Aid Musical received an Olivier Award nomination for for Outstanding Musical Contribution on top of acclaim for the performances from its show band and cast.
Gareth Owen spearheaded the sound design for the production. ‘My approach was to imagine what the songs from the concert would sound like with today’s technology,’ he explains. ‘The goal was to maintain the essence of the original performances while infusing modern production values.’
Own chose Point Source Audio’s Series9 lavalier microphones for the production: ‘The mics performed exceptionally well,’ Owen reports. ‘We had ample opportunity over the run to compare them to various other microphones and each and every time we came back to Series9.’
Held at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia in July 1985, Live Aid raised approximately US$127m to help alleviate the Ethiopian famine. ‘Live Aid was iconic – it showcased the power of music to unite people across continents for a humanitarian cause,’ Owen says.
‘I started by collating all the music from the show into a playlist and listening to it on repeat. There are so many iconic songs there which I thought I knew but realised I really didn’t when I started really drilling down into them. Details of effects and orchestrations were meticulously researched – I think I read every online thread about 80s reverb ever written.’
The show featured a live band on stage, which performed with minimal acoustic screening. When this was combined with the lavalier microphones hidden in the cast’s hair, was a challenging design prospect.
‘My old friend [Cirque du Soleil Vegas Sound Designer] Jonathon Deans had been extolling the virtues of Point Source Audio microphones to me for years,’ Own says. ‘I’d always wanted to use them and finally the opportunity presented itself to me for Just for One Day in London.’
When it comes to selecting a lavalier mic for theatrical performances, there are a few criteria that Owen feels are critical to success. ‘Audio quality comes first and foremost when selecting a microphone. It also needs to be small enough to hide in plain sight on a performer. Finally, it needs to be robust – it doesn’t matter how small it is or how good it sounds if it breaks halfway through the opening number.’
Point Source Audio’s microphones, specifically the Series9 GO-9WL lavaliers, proved instrumental in meeting these demands. With a maximum SPL handing of 142dB and a sensitivity of -39dB, they use Endure connectors and an IP57 waterproof rating.
‘Just For One Day is one of the most challenging shows I have done for a while,’ Owen reflects. ‘Through the sheer perseverance and bloody mindedness of myself and my Associate Sound Designer Andy Green, as well as the brilliant work of Head of Sound Joe Green and the rest of the team, we beat the sound in to a shape that I wasn’t just happy with, I was truly ecstatic with. It was a hell of a journey, but I couldn’t be prouder of the end result.’
