Madness C’Est La Vie UK Tour 2023
April 28th 2024
Photo credit - Ash Youd
Words - Jacob Waite (for TPI Magazine)
22live provided services to the Madness C’Est La Vie UK Arena Tour at the end of 2023, showcasing it’s new d&b KSL System.
This webstory has been put together highlighting relevant text from TPI magazine’s article on the tour which was published in their March/April 2024 edition.
22live has now successfully delivered its first large scale Arena tour with d&b audiotechnik KSL as the FOH system; supporting Madness’s C’est La Vie tour in the run up to Chirstmas 2023. The tour started November 30 in Aberdeen and continued around the UK visiting most major venues before completing on 16 December at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena.
Paul Timmins, 22live Hire Director and the Account Manager for the tour, has a long working history with both Steve Martin, Madness Tour Manager, and Madness and so was a trusted pair of hands even in the new guise of 22live. Timmins comments “ Although we setup the business in ’22, we officially launched in 2023, so to be putting out a mainstream arena tour, with a band with a number-one album in the charts 12 months on is an immensely proud moment. It was great being given the opportunity to provide audio for Madness again, and despite the existing personal relationship it was really significant for 22live to get its new d&b system out on the road on a major tour. We were all really excited to prove ourselves on what we consider one of 22live’s most significant jobs to date.”
Paul Timmins, 22live Hire Director
“To be putting out a mainstream arena tour, with a band with a number-one album in the charts 12 months on is an immensely proud moment.”
22live first got involved with the Madness production in October 2023 with a warm up show in London’s Koko.
Adam King, Madness Production manager comments re the choice of vendor, “22live, particularly, was a no-brainer for us. Paul Timmins was paramount to the early years of my career, so when 22live was formed, we wanted to collaborate with them – they are undeniably one of the best audio companies operating in the UK.”
The system 22live provided for the tour comprised d&b audiotechnik KSL, XSL, SL-SUB driven by an Outline Newton drive rack. Mixing duties were carried out by DiGiCo Q338 at both end of the multicore, and on stage there was additional a d&b M4 Monitor system, Shure Axient Digital inputs and Sennheiser 2000 IEM system.
FOH Engineer Andy Coules spoke to his reasoning behind his console choice “ I’ve been using a Quantum 338 because it lets me mix from the middle of the console. The power of the Mustard and Spice processing make it much easier to mix ‘in the box’ and not rely on outboard processing to get the high-quality sound I need.”
DiGiCo Case study
Adam King, Madness Production Manager
“When 22live was formed, we wanted to collaborate with them – they are undeniably one of the best audio companies operating in the UK.”
Andy Coules, FOH Engineer
The only additional outboard Coules carried was a Rupert Neve Designs 5045 Primary Source Enhancer which helped to provide a ‘clear and loud’ signal in the main vocal as well as helping to overcome the hand percussion leakage on the percussion vocal.
Coules added; “We carry our own microphones so 22live provided everything else we need for arena sound – PA, consoles, line system, power, wedges, and in-ear monitors. This tour is the first time we’ve ever worked with them, and I’ve been impressed with the high standard of not just the equipment but also the crew. I really appreciate their attention to detail and personal touch; they’re very approachable and keen to hear what I have to say.”
With 10 musicians on stage, the upper mid-range can get cluttered very quickly, so the engineer, has to work hard riding faders to make sure the key mix components are prominent when they need to be and out of the way at other times.
“Careful use of panning and reverb helps me create the kind of 3D mix I need to accommodate all the elements without getting anything lost.” Coules explained.
“The sound system also plays a key role, particularly in the larger rooms. This time round we went out with d&b audiotechnik KSL, which helped me maintain the clarity and warmth in that all important upper mid-range area and across the whole frequency spectrum.”
System Technician, Ali Hellard, oversaw the technical drawing of each venue, designing a PA system based around the space and boxes available on the tour, working with the PA technicians to deploy the system, and then align and tune to the engineer’s preference. For most of the large venues, the team used 20 KSL on the main hangs and 14 on the outs. Both were flown with compression kits to aid load-out timing. Three venues required 270˚ hangs, which consisted of 10 XSL per side.
“The XSL hangs complemented the rest of the system nicely and ensured the audience sitting in the 270˚ seats had the same experience as those sitting more centrally.” Hellard explained.
“Low-end reinforcement was handled by 18 SL-SUBs on the floor, while XSL, YP and VP covered front fill and in/out fill duties as required. At the O2, the in-house delays were utilised to extend the main systems coverage throughout the upper bowl.”
ArrayCalc and R1 were an integral part of Hellard’s workflow. “ While I have drawings of a lot of the venues from previous shows, the new venue database within ArrayCalc has really sped up the process of detailed drawings of rooms. Save for a few exceptions, only relatively small tweaks were required, reflecting exact stage position, production limitations on point location, and any additional seating (VIP boxes) that weren’t present when the original drawings were done.
Ali Hellard, System Technician
Andy Coules, Madness FOH Engineer
“I’ve been impressed with the high standard of not just the equipment but also the crew. I really appreciate their attention to detail and personal touch.”
The audio team included Monitor Engineer, John ‘LJ’ Evans; Stage/Monitor Technician and Monitor Engineer for support act, the Lightning Seeds, Christopher Wilcock, Crew chief, Glen Little; Delay/PA Technician, Nick Jackson. Hellard praised the wider team; “It’s testament to this industry that I get to work alongside such dedicated and passionate professionals, from production to the 22live team, who want to put the best show on that they can for the public. I grew up with Madness – often coming home from school to my dad playing Madness on the hi-fi at full blast, so their music was always a part of my childhood. I am very fortunate to love what I do – and being able to bring my parents along to a show for them to see what I do, and experience one of their favourite bands was a great thrill for myself and them.”
Over the years, Coules has discovered that the track, Bed and Breakfast Man, is a barometer for helping him establish the mix. “Once I get the core elements of drums, bass, keys, and guitar dialled in, it’s relatively easy to add the horns, percussion, and vocals to create a mix that translates well to the wide range of songs in the set, “
Reflecting on the tour Coules concluded; “It’s funny how routine it becomes to mix such an iconic band with such an impressive back catalogue of hit singles. They trust me to produce the high-quality sound demanded by modern audiences and I do everything in my power to deliver that, night after night. I will always remember them doing their wonderfully crazy performances on Top of the Pops when I was young and discovering pop music, so I never forget that they’re a fundamental part of the DNA of modern English music. However, when I’m in the moment, I don’t allow the gravity of history to unduly influence me – all I ‘see’ is the mix and I’m striving constantly to improve it and ensure the songs are being suitably conveyed from moment to moment. Every now and then I step back from the desk and take it all in, some moments are quite special, like when you’ve got 20,000 people of all ages singing along to It Must Be Love.”
22live team L-R - Ali Hellard, Chris Wilcock, Glen Little, Nick Jackson
Paul Timmins, 22live Hire Director
““For 22live this was a landmark moment at the end of our first full year of operation. We are very grateful to Steve and Adam for giving us the opportunity and we have now demonstrated to the market that 22live is more than up to the task of delivering audio at the highest level, in the biggest arenas.”
Adam King, tour production manager concluded “The funny thing is the days would run smooth with the best crew and suppliers on board, it all went to plan, and then the band would turn up and madness would ensue! This was possibly one of the nicest tours, regarding personnel that I have ever worked on, with every department working as one, Pure joy!”
Paul Timmins closes “For 22live this was a landmark moment at the end of our first full year of operation. We are very grateful to Steve and Adam for giving us the opportunity and we have now demonstrated to the market that 22live is more than up to the task of delivering audio at the highest level, in the biggest arenas. We look forward to delivering more of the same for our growing number of clients whom are always valued.”