by Colin Baldwin
I have very fond memories working with rock band Dragon from the late seventies thru the eighties and early nineties. They were an entertaining act that pretty much allowed me to do whatever I liked with the lights. Two of my best recollections were working on the film clips ‘Cry’ and ‘Dreams Of Ordinary Men’. For ‘Cry’ which was shot in a large studio at White bay in Sydney in 1983, I decided to install a large square truss grid flown as a diamond and packed with lots of par cans and raylights in groups of four. I had recently travelled the US and returned with a giant lighting console, an Alderham 802. It was a bit of a beast. Peter Milne and Sander Brandwick were my lighting crew, they can be seen in the pic with the Alderham. Steve White, Dragons manager is nearby.
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For ‘Dreams Of Ordinary Men’ it was 1986, I had also just returned from the US and having seen Queen perform their show at the LA Forum I was full of ideas. The resulting Dragon rig was my version of Queens rig, with a twist. The lighting console on this occasion was a Rockboard or Jands desk? Perhaps Peter Rooney who rigged the lights for Jands may recall? Some pics courtesy Pip Robinson. It was shot in a warehouse at Mascot.
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The original lighting plots for both film clips can be found below. Other pics in this set are from ‘The Body and The Beat’ tour when Peter Milne was their LD. There are also 2 pics taken at Dean Park in Townsville in 1976. I had recently purchased the 40′ steel box truss and super stands from Jands, which were a great addition to my lighting inventory. The lighting console was a modified Stand … with added pin matrix, flash buttons and scene masters.
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