Mission Possible for Entec 25 Years On

West London-based Entec Sound & Light celebrated 25 years of supplying lighting to cult Gothic rockers, The Mission, a remarkable achievement, and an anniversary also shared by Entec's own Adam Stevenson, who has worked both with Entec and -- on and off -- the band for a quarter of a century.

A gig at Brixton Academy, The Mission XXV saw the Mission back in the original line up, apart from the drummer, followed by a club tour around Europe.

Stevenson was asked by lead singer Wayne Hussey and manager George Allen to design a special show for Brixton. "It was a real honor -- the band has been such an important part of my life and I still think of them as friends and family first and employers second after all these years," he says. He was also the only original crew member to clock the 25-year mark.

Stevenson was initiated into the world of The Mission at Camden Electric Ballroom in February 1986. Phil Wiffin was the band's LD at the time, and Stevenson has worked for them in various guises ever since -- from designing and operating some tours and shows to being fourth person on Wiffin's crew - but, whatever the role, there has always been a strong Mission connection.

For the 2011 Brixton show, the band wanted a real retro look with lots of PAR cans and ACLs utilized to replicate that vintage feel.

Stevenson decided to revisit -- and reinvent - the band's famous stage set, consisting of three upstage trussing arches, which characterized the first-generation Mission live shows in the late 1980s.

As it happened, ensconced in the heritage section of Entec's warehouse were the curved metal elements of that very same stage set. These were resurrected, revamped, and had modern trussing added as the straight sections of the three arches -- pre-rigged for the centre one, and lengths of 12" truss to the smaller left and right ones.

"I knew that there would be many die-hard original Mission fans in the audience," says Stevenson, "And I really wanted to give them something visually relevant in a historical context, so the arches were a perfect solution."

The arches were positioned behind the backline, covered by a tab track and revealed three songs into the set.. The two small arches were each rigged with four bars of PAR 36 ACLs and the central arch featured four bars of PAR 64 ACLs, four bars of six PAR 64s plus two ETC Source Four profiles for silhouetting. The large arch also contained two integral Martin Professional Atomic strobes, with one ensconced in each of the side arches. The band had specially remade by Hangman Drapes the original arch-shaped backdrop, for the Brixton show, which fitted into the central arch. Thankfully, Hangman still had on archive the original artwork from 1986.

For Brixton, front and back trusses were added to the original floor-based system. For this one, the back truss was flown a 4.9' downstage of the arches, effectively making it a mid truss. On the front truss were three bars of six PARs, eight Source Fours, four 2-lite Moles, and three Philips Vari*Lite VL2500 Spot moving lights.

The back/mid truss featured six bars of six PARs, six VL2500 Spots, six bars of four PAR 64 ACLs, seven Source Four profiles, and four 2-lite Moles.

On the floor, at the base of the two smaller arches was a VL3000 Spot. At the front downstage corners both sides of the stage was an upright vertical truss section, rigged with two bars of six and an Atomic on the top -- and these were part of the original rig for venues with no space for a front truss.

Also on the deck behind the backline were four custom-made 1980s PAR 64 four-lite units, which Entec had originally fabricated for a Sade tour. These were dusted off, restored, and fitted with PAR 64 ACL bulbs -- two positioned on the floor and two higher up on stands just offstage of the arches.

The band has always had a propensity for smoke-filled stage environments, so atmospherics came in the form of two smoke machines and one hazer -- a dramatic reduction from the amount needed 25 years ago, and a testament to technical advances and the increased efficiency of modern smoke-generating devices.

Stevenson controlled all the generic lights for the Brixton show using an Avolites Sapphire 2004 console -- another quality antique still going strong after many years -- while Mark Wood took care of all the moving lights using a Chamsys MagicQ.

Entec's crew included Sudip Shrestha, Sven Jolly, and Leo Tierney, while Andy Emmerson joined the team to assist with programming as time was extremely tight.

Sound was supplied by BCS Audio. Stevenson concludes, "It was a very enjoyable show to work on and great to see everyone again and know that they still have the energy to rock as solidly and loudly as ever 25 years on. I couldn't have been happier with the result. The arch reveal looked amazing and was greeted with rapturous applause from the crowd. Thanks to a fantastic team who helped me make it happen."