Sennheiser provides gold standard for Spandau Ballet
It’s been almost two decades since 80s new romantics Spandau Ballet took to the stage and the band has lost none of its appeal. Their reunion tour, takes in UK arenas in Dublin, London, Manchester and Liverpool before moving on to mainland Europe, finishing in March in Madrid’s Palacio Vistalegre. Sennheiser microphones are ensuring that singer Tony Hadley’s voice, which has not diminished in the intervening years, loses none of its power and accuracy.
Rental company, Major Tom, supplies all audio requirements. Lead vocal is taken care of courtesy of Sennheiser’s SKM 5200 handheld transmitter, with an EM 3532 dual receiver and MD 5235 dynamic microphone capsule, the ideal choice, says Front of House man Colin Norfield, to handle the incredible strength of Hadley’s voice.
“I’ve been using the MD 5235 with German artists and a Japanese artist I’ve been working with and it’s proved to be a great mic,” says Norfield. “Tony has always used a different brand of mic, but after talking to Mark [Saunders, Sennheiser Artist Relations Manager] about what we needed for this tour, it would have been no good to let him use something different. I was told it would be hard work to get him to use a Sennheiser, but he gave it a good try at rehearsals and he took to it. Now he loves it, which is great for me because I like it as well!”
Norfield particularly likes the clarity and rejection of feedback afforded by the MD 5235 capsule. “It’s got a lot of welly as well,” he smiles. “There’s less gain than on other mics I’ve used and it’s very warm and natural sounding. I think it’s the best around at the moment so we use it for the rest of the band’s vocals as well, with Neumann KMS 104s for backing vocals.”
Monitor engineer, Richard John, confirms Norfield’s opinion.
“The main thing I like is the 5000 Series hand held radio mics,” he says. “For a start, the actual body is very lightweight but solid, it’s streets ahead any other hand held radio mic I’ve used. The MD 5235 head has been exceptional. We’ve always used another product before to get that tight sound, but this gives tight sound that’s resistant to feedback; you can get a high level on stage, but it still sounds absolutely fantastic. It has really good depth and presence. It ticks all the boxes in terms of what you need on stage and you can get really good headroom gain before feedback.
“For me, that’s been the best part of the package. It’s been bomb proof and we haven’t changed the frequencies since we started the tour because it’s just so reliable. Having the metering on the receivers for battery check is also really useful.
“We’re using the ew 300 G2 in ear monitor system, which again is great. They’re reliable, lightweight, small and easy to use. In fact, I can’t think of anything negative to say about them. The other thing I particularly like is the SKM 5200’s battery pack. You don’t have to fiddle with the body; you can flip out the battery pack and have a spare ready to go.”
For instrument miccing, e 904s cable mics are utilized for toms with ew 300 G3 Series instrument radio mics for sax, lead guitars and bass.
“The clip on the e 904 is a real improvement,” continues John, “you can get it in a better position and the sound quality of both the e 904 and the e 908 that we’re using on percussion are really good as well; the sax player loves them. The sound is really solid and good straight away and you don’t really have to EQ. The only reason I’m EQing at all on stage is for any feedback issues and to take out some of the problems at the bottom end. This is the first time I’ve used these particular mics and they’re really good.”
A further aspect that John highlights as making the team’s life on the road easier is the ability that the Sennheiser system gives RF technician Simon Kemp to synchronise everything.
“You can search for the frequencies, scan and then sync off the units, which saves so much time,” John adds. “So at times when we’ve gone into rooms where there have been any interference of inter-modulation problems, we do a quick scan, find the frequencies, sync up to the belt packs and off you go. It’s been really quick an easy.”
But it’s not just the equipment that makes working with Sennheiser products an attractive prospect for a concert tour; support is an equally important aspect.
“I didn’t come in right at the beginning of the tour and the Sennheiser deal was already in place,” says Major Tom’s Lars Brogaard. “But the remit has grown considerably since then and we’ve needed more mics, more in ears, more radio systems and the support we’ve received has been great.”
Picture © Brian Rasic
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