“The NME awards are a challenge,” Routledge noted. “Turnaround time is short, and a restricted budget meant I was looking for something that could create strong distinctive looks, but relatively cheaply.
“The Sharpy definitely provided the bang for the buck,” Routledge continued. “We used to be amazed when the Alpha 300 first came out; and now here’s the Sharpy putting out much more light using just half the power – it’s ridiculously bright.”
Routledge also used the Clay Paky Sharpy to light a Cee Lo Green performance on the BBC with LD Steve Nolan. “One of the bands, Crystal Castles, wanted a laser-style look for their NME show, which I was able to replicate using the narrow beam of the Sharpy,” Routledge said.
“The strong beams it creates are very current and contemporary, but at the same time it’s no one-trick pony, either,” he continued. “By playing around with the prism, we managed to create a variety of distinctive looks for each of the different bands.”
The final act of the night was by the Foo Fighters, who played an unscheduled two and a half hour set designed by the band’s LD, Dan Hadley. Hadley also managed to find room for the Sharpy, incorporating 20 of the units into the rig that the band had brought with them.
For more information, please visit www.claypaky.it.
