2013 saw Delta Sound continue its longstanding relationship with some of the UK’s biggest television shows, including Britain’s Got Talent, The x Factor and Children in Need Rocks whilst also embarking on new projects such as the Red Bull Soapbox Derby and the Chime for Change Concert. As the Christmas season approached however, Delta was offered the chance to be a part of a television broadcast the likes of which have rarely been seen.
Like all live events, this project would require highly skilled and experienced audio engineers who are well accustomed to the rigours of live shows and complex venue spaces. They would also have to be willing to travel over 4,000 miles away from London’s leafy suburbs to one of the most dangerous locations on earth right now – Camp Bastion, located in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan.
In what was to be a truly unforgettable project, Delta Sound was appointed lead sound supplier to one of ITV’s biggest television programmes of the Christmas Season – Gary Barlow’s Journey to Afghanistan. The programme, aired on December the 23rd, followed Britain’s favourite singer/ songwriter as he travelled to the Middle East to visit the British Troops serving there. With exclusive access into one of the most heavily protected and private military bases, the cameras followed Gary Barlow on his mission to put together a live concert featuring servicemen and women of the British military. Once recruited, the troops were set the challenge of performing with Gary himself for over 800 British soldiers in a very special live concert.
Delta was chosen for this venture by freelance audio engineer Guy Davies – who the company has worked with for many years on The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and the British Military Tournament. Working alongside long term sound supervisor to The X Factor; Sean Taylor, Guy and Sean were selected by the programme’s production team at ITV to manage the complete audio setup for what could be their toughest project to date.
With the realities of war never far away, the programme illustrated the constant threat facing the soldiers on a daily basis – often bringing filming to a halt. Despite this, Gary Barlow was able to find a group of talented musicians and vocalists including Senior Aircraftman Johnny Marenghi, a 21 year old soldier with a very impressive voice and Lance Corporal Shaun Fowler who joined Gary on stage playing the guitar. The band performed a number of songs including Michael Buble’s ‘Home’, Bruno Mars’ ‘Just The Way You Are’ and hits from Gary Barlow’s 20 year career. The concert was clearly a very emotional evening for the troops who held up messages for their loved ones back home whilst singing along with their comrades onstage.
Delivering a concert in the middle of a war-torn desert presented many challenges for the audio engineers. These included sand storms, temperatures above 40 degrees, the continual noise of controlled explosions in the near distance, and the vast open air venue itself. These factors meant that the engineers had to take things back-to-basics, with only each other there to manage the audio systems – plus one lighting technician. The situation was made even more difficult when the concert was delayed by 24 hours due to a military alert and a fierce desert storm. Having regrouped and dusted the sand off the equipment, the concert went ahead the next day, luckily without any interruption.
The stage for the concert was fashioned from the trailer of a HGV truck with large ship containers providing a back wall and noise blast perimeter. This helped to carve out a separate venue space whilst also preventing the sound from spilling into nearby barracks’. For the main PA, the engineers utilised Delta’s considerable array of L’ACOUSTICS systems. For front-of-house audio, Sean and Guy opted for a dV-DOSC PA in two separate ground stack formations, positioned on the floor at either end of the stage. Each tower contained 6 dV-DOSC boxes underpinned by two SB28 subwoofers for considerable low-end audio. With 12 boxes of dV-DOSC plus two more used for front fill and 4 sub speakers, the engineers were able to achieve plenty of power and clarity from the system, despite the difficult open air conditions. For monitors, L’ACOUSTICS 115 active monitors were used to provide clear and transparent sound for Gary and his newfound military band onstage.
Overcoming the lack of crew on site meant that the engineers had to fulfil a number of complex roles simultaneously. With front of house positioned in the centre of the crowd and tucked underneath a tent to protect the consoles from sandstorms, Guy took charge of systems, stage monitors and FOH sound. Operating two desks at once, Guy used Delta’s DiGiCo SD8 console for front-of-house and the Yamaha M7CL desk for monitors. In order to balance these responsibilities, Guy recorded the FOH sound during the band’s rehearsal using Delta’s MADIcorder. This provided a virtual sound-check, allowing Guy to pre-program the SD8 before the live show so that he could focus on the 11 individual monitor mixes during the live concert. As broadcast sound supervisor, Sean took charge of the recording aspect, using a separate SD8 to mix down the multi-track. It was a complex arrangement; however, by sharing key responsibilities, the engineers ensured that the event ran smoothly from start to finish.
Projects such as this are what make Delta Sound’s work so rewarding. The company is thrilled to have had the opportunity to visit the troops in Camp Bastion and give something back to the men and women serving there. Speaking about his involvement, Guy commented:
“It was an amazing experience to visit and put on a concert in Camp Bastion. I felt privileged as well as humbled to do a show for the men and women out there when they give so much every day and never question it. We should never forget that they are risking their lives on a daily basis.”
The programme certainly struck a chord with the general public also, receiving great reviews in the print and online media alike. Congratulations to Sean and Guy for their incredible achievements, hard work and also for their willingness to venture to one of the world’s most dangerous places for this very special event.