WAKING PLANS FOR STEVIE

Rip It Up, Issue 44, 1 March 1981, Page 12

WAKING PLANS FOR STEVIE

Mark Phillips

a t?n PtS "0« r », CHr t ° w '.- **D tL l3Tff $ OfrV^i , ;T* WELLINGTON (PLSE MAKE SURE IT IS THE NEW WING OE THE HOTEL) CHK IN APRIL 13TH CHK OUT APRIL STH (AM OVERLAPPING IN DATES FOR REASON JUST IN CASE YOU THINK I HAVE MADE A MISTAKE) : 1 TWO BEPROOM SUITE 1 SUITE FOR P.D. 1 SUITE FOR MR. JUST IN CASE 38 SINGLES ( ALL WITH DOUBLE BEDS PLSE) PLSE ADVISE BY TLX CONFIRMATION OF THE ABOVE,.

Stevie Wonder will be the Paul Dainty Corporation's only show this summer. In the past they have presented such acts as David Bowie, the Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac. Every one of these promotions demands an entirely professional operation, and the amount of equipment and work entailed in setting up a stadium show is phenomenal. The ball starts rolling with a phone call from Paul Dainty to his New Zealand man, Hugh Lynn. Venues are tentatively booked, but to avoid upsetting incomplete deals, the name of the act is withheld. This season there were three sets of dates booked only Wonder's will be used. Accommodation is booked at the same time, and on the same basis. Once Dainty has the deal confirmed, he lets Lynn know who the act is to be. This is usually at least two months in advance. Preparations in several key areas commence immediately. ★ Promotional items like posters, t-shirts and handouts are prepared. ★ Contact is made with the artist’s record company. In this case, Lynn flew to Wellington the day after confirmation to discuss details with EMI Records who distribute Wonder’s record label, Tamla Motown. ★ Newspaper advertisements are designed and booked. Details of promotion are negotiated with radio stations. This time, thirty-six stations are involved. ★ Tickets are distributed through forty outlets. In the past, forged tickets have been a problem, so ticket design and printing has become more elaborate. ★ Hotel accommodation is confirmed. For the Wonder tour, this means fifty single rooms with double beds and four suites. Occasionally, the hotels become wary because of past experiences. The recent Kiss invasion ended in wrecked hotel rooms. ★ Immigration must be arranged. The passport details of all the entourage have to be sent to the Department of Labour for visas and work permits to be issued. Occasionally, a member of the party may be refused entry. “The situation changes constantly," says Hugh Lynn. “ You have to make allowances for

it. For example, if the hotel accommodation is fifty rooms, you book fifty-five, or if you are asked for sixty seats on a plane, you book sixtythree. " By this stage, telexes are frequent and often lengthy. Next thing to be settled is the production rider. This is a complex list that comes from the artist's management, detailing everything the performers need, including food, drink, mirrors, pinball machines and everything else you (or they) could think of. Quite often some of the items listed have to be imported. Next, the trucking must be organised. Fleetwood Mac used seven forty foot semitrailers. By now, a representative of the act will have checked out the concert sites and accommodation. The publicist is also hard at work ensuring maximum media coverage. When the performers arrive, the publicist is the main link between them, and the press. “As the show starts to progress, things just get bigger and bigger." Once the imported equipment has arrived, organisation must be perfect. Additional muscle has to be at the airport to get everything through Customs and into the trucks. The main stage must be erected so the specialists can move in. The PA is set up, and the lights are rigged. The day before the band arrives, their roadies usually fly in. By now, things are timed to the minute. On the day of the show, the number of workers rockets. At an average open-air concert you can expect eighty to a hundred security men, fifty in the touring party, fifty extras backstage, thirty selling tickets, as well as police, St Johns men, traffic officers, council employees, undercover cops and so on. After the concert is over, and the entourage has left the country, it takes around a month to clear things up. There are unpaid bills and charges like car rentals to sort out, as well as the checking of proceeds and expenses. The promoter? Usually he doesn’t watch the show he’s working.