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Wiring up a nation to state-of-the-art events
ENTERTAINMENT
BEHIND a modest facade in the decaying suburb of Bez Valley, the heart of the live concert industry in South Africa beats. Lighting Unlimited was recently bought out by Gearhouse, an umbrella company listed on the London Stock Exchange, but still trades under its original name. It covers five smaller businesses, each successful in its own right, and each related to the staging of live events, from sport to rock concerts. In the six months since it took over, Gearhouse has invested R21-million in state-of-the-art equipment, taking South Africa out of the technical dark ages and into an era where we could now stage a Pink Floyd sound and light extravaganza without the need to import facilities. Recently the 2 230mē warehouse has been buzzing. Not only was the company involved in the Champion of Champions tennis tournament (having laid the specialised court), but it was responsible for all the technical requirements, including building the stage, for the mega 5FM 21st birthday concert and Meatloaf's music tour. Ofer Lapid, 36, is managing director and founder of Lighting Unlimited. An Israeli who arrived in South Africa in 1985, Lapid joined Johnny Clegg's road crew, and stayed. "I tried to create an infrastructure for events years ago, but I was way too early. Nobody could visualise a South Africa after apartheid where tours would be normal," Lapid says.
In 1992, the face of live music changed. With Mandela out of prison, and the first free election in its planning stages, the country lost its pariah status, and became a destination of choice for renowned performers. With an Israeli partner, Vered Saat, who invested a large amount of money in Lapid's dream, Lighting Unlimited was reborn, stronger than before. "Since the Chris de Burgh tour in 1992, it just hasn't stopped," says Lapid. He brought out several top technicians from the UK, including Tim Dunn, the man who now runs Lighting Unlimited, the lighting division of the holding company. "Yes, I had some problems bringing in Europeans. But for every foreigner, I trained 10 black technicians. South Africa needed the expertise of the British guys, who were familiar with the new era of technology, and who possessed knowledge." All five companies under Lighting Unlimited - PA Sound, Stage Design, Lighting Unlimited (the actual lighting company), Woza Power (suppliers of soundless generators) and PSL (who hire out audiovisual equipment) - are run by management teams, and have a policy of constantly training new technicians in all fields. Kevin van der Morlen and John MacDermott, who bought PA Sound from Big Concerts' Attie van Wyk, take on five new trainees every three months. "We've gone from five really demoralised members of staff to 24 happy people. It's not an easy industry to get into, but if someone phones 10 times in two weeks we'll take him on," says Van der Morlen. Gearhouse, the UK holding company which specialises in audiovisual equipment, hadn't ventured into the live market before it invested in South Africa. After investigating several options, it decided Lapid's Lighting Unlimited was the ideal vehicle to back. "We wanted to grow but needed financial clout. We realised that for the market to stay alive, it had to grow. During our negotiations with Gearhouse, we made it clear that South Africa had certain needs, like education and training of disadvantaged people. They agreed, and here we are," says Lapid. Where they are is at the top of the heap. Between them, the companies can handle three international stadium tours, four sporting events and five smaller concerts at the same time. In the past couple of months, the 120 members of staff have serviced the Harlem Globetrotters, the Soul Invasion tour, the BMW corporate launch, the SABC Radioactive launch, the Boy George rave, the ZZ Top tour, Miss South Africa, the Arts Alive Festival and more.
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