dBS Solutions had the honour and privileged opportunity to supply and operate sound at the Victoria Warehouse in Stretford for Sting’s launch of the UK premiere tour of his new musical The Last Ship, his ode to his shipyard hometown. Stings semi-autobiographical musical will head to Salford’s Lowry Theatre in July and the musical which is set in Wallsend in Northumberland, where Sting grew up, tells the story of a community amid the demise of the shipbuilding industry.
The musical stars Jimmy Nail, who Sting hails: “A more iconic Geordie than I am,” and features a host of new Sting songs, as well as some of his hits including Island of Souls and All This time. When the team at The Lowry were looking for a supplier to provide the sound system and engineers for the event, dBS Solutions were top of their list, having already worked on the launch of their Christmas Musical Elf, our mix of corporate and theatre work fitted right in.
Director Chris Bogg designed a front of house system for the event in this unique space that fitted the brief of the show’s sound designer Sebastian Frost. We supplied Martin XD12 speakers for the audience and monitors, DPA Defacto vocal mics on stage and a Digico SD11 out front. Mix engineer Jethro Hall and Chris Bogg were on hand during the event which was attended by the local and national media. The show opens in Newcastle in March before touring the UK closing at The Lowry.