Radio Mic History!

[owenski]

Does anyone know the history of using radio mics in the musical theatre particularly West End? I am trying to find out what the first production they were used on was and what they were. Something tells me that I've heard it was Jesus Christ Superstar in the 70s but I'm not sure.

 

Anyone know any useful info?!It's for a project at college!

 

Ta

 

Owenski

[Jivemaster]

I remember David Nixon (magician) using a mic on 405 line TV and cutting the cable and it still working. Long ago.

[jimbo7744]

have a look here

 

http://www.micronwireless.co.uk/aboutus.html

 

Jimbo

[Andrew C]

Something tells me that I've heard it was Jesus Christ Superstar in the 70s but I'm not sure.

The famous Superstar story that I've heard is that they picked up whatever was playing next door/next street. That doesn't mean that they weren't an early user.

[bruce]

I remember reading something recently - can't remember where, but I have a feeling it may have been the Micron website - on a related subject. But I can't find the article....does it ring any bells?

 

It was basically a story about how Kate Bush's management had seen one of the first west end musicals to use radios, and had then approached the supplier (Micron?) to investigate using them on Kate's concerts. This was allegedly one of the first times wireless mics had been used in that environment.

 

So that would put it in the late 70s...

[paulears]

The original Superstar didn't use radios at all - I can't remember the date but somewhere I'm sure I have a photo. Memory remembers a few things and control was from lots of Shure vocalmaster 4 channel rotary control mixers - which were racked up using dexion strip to make a kind of large mixer surface. Mics were cabled, and the choreography arranged to ensure they stayed clear and didn't do a maypole thing. I don't remember any raios at all - but then again I was just a nosey teenager.

[jamesperrett]

The original Superstar didn't use radios at all.

 

I saw it in the late 70's and seem to remember 4 or 5 mic stands across the front of the stage with mics with different coloured tape on them. The singers would pick up a mic from a stand whenever they had a part to sing.

 

If you believe the 'Blue Peter Book of Television' radio mics were well established for TV use in the late 60's although they were considered less reliable and poorer sounding than their wired counterparts so only used for wide shots where there was no way that a wired mic could be used.

 

Cheers

 

James.

[themadhippy]

A distant memory was resparked by the latest copy of LSI (been catching up on the paper work today) ,10 years ago lsi had an article about early radio mics ,one of the first was used on an ice skating musical in brigton back in 1947.

[dbuckley]

I picked up a radio mic link (beltpack transmitter and receiver) from a junkshop in the mid 70s, which I used as a (not very good) guitar link for a while. It was all discrete components, and clearly quite old then. Cant remember the make for sure, but I think it might have been Pye.