Lancaster business lights the stage for legendary soul singer Diana Ross' epic European and US tours

That was the challenge embraced by Lancashire based entertainment experts Visual Connection when they were invited to illuminate the iconic soul singer’s epic 2022 European and American tours – including her first UK dates in almost 15 years.

Ms Ross was promoting her new studio album entitled ‘Thank You’, billed as ‘a powerful and inclusive musical message of love and togetherness’, and of course treating audiences to a retrospective of her extraordinary 60 year career.

Visual Connection founder and CEO David Horner recalls being awestruck when first approached by the megastar’s team last spring.

“We’ve worked on massive productions since we started in 2009 but this was one of the biggest artists of all time,” he said. “I felt both exhilarated and humbled at the same time – happily it turned out to be an absolute dream.”

The commission involved regular interaction with the principal herself – in which she was both gracious and clear minded about her vision for the concerts.

In lighting terms, the singer’s number one creative emphasis for David and his colleague Ben Rogers was her desire to make the audience a core part of the performance.

“She wanted to be able to see the fans, converse with them, and also for them to really see the shows through her eyes,” said David.

"That helped us to shape the kind of visual concepts we delivered.”

The UK tour came first, climaxing in mid summer with an outdoor showcase headlining the famous Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival in Somerset.

These shows were so well received by Ms Ross’s army of fans that Visual Connection were asked to continue Stateside. That meant working at many of America’s most glamorous venues like the Hollywood Bowl in LA and New York’s Radio City Music Hall on 6th Avenue, before bowing out with a six night Las Vegas residency.

David feels the essence of working with such an incandescent performer in very diverse locations was an approach that framed the star with a ‘big’ look, yet never distracted from her consummate artistry.

He said: “Although some of the numbers in the set are absolutely huge, parts of the show were surprisingly intimate with Miss Ross engaging directly in ‘Q and A’ conversations with audience members, even taking a seat and inviting requests.”

“Her philosophy behind the ‘Thank You’ tour was just that – to show deep gratitude for fans’ support over the years, and for guests to share the experience as much as possible.”

The team responded to the mood and lyrics of each song, utilising several big LED screens in ways that drew the audience ‘up on stage’ with the musicians – usually a seven-strong band and four backing singers.

The set list would often vary each night and would always include a very diverse range of hits from the different eras of Diana Ross’s storied career.

So in a typical show, Supremes hits like ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’ and ‘Baby Love’ are followed by chart toppers like ‘Chain Reaction’, ‘I’m still Waiting’ and ‘Upside Down’, as well as recent numbers from her new album.

Such a rich catalogue played with a certain degree of spontaneity means the lighting desk has to be ‘flown live’ rather than simply pre programmed, with every night and even each song rendition potentially quite different.

“Because of the amazing composition of the music you have to be ready to hit the spot at precisely the right moment, and to shift the mood to fit the performance,” said David.

“The lighting set-up effectively becomes an extra band member having to play along with the same skill and precision.”

For instance, when Diana Ross slowly builds up the energy to finally hit the chorus in ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’, David says “it’s quite a moment – and you really hit it with everything which has to visually hit perfectly on the beat.”

Getting that right night after night – and sometimes in daylight too – in venues as different as historic theatres and massive outdoor arenas, requires a good degree of planning and as much consistency in the platform as can be built in.

Other subtle considerations are also in play, such as making sure the lighting works for big screen live camera shots, TV coverage at shows like Glastonbury, and the ongoing small screen social media pictures that fans share on their phones.

David and Ben feel a technical constant that ensured consistency between shows was the Grand MA2 lighting console, which gives control of an almost infinite number of presets, cues, pages, sequences and effects.

“The desk’s ability to clone and transfer the look of the show onto any lighting rig was essential especially when it came to the festivals,” said David.

They also praise pre-visualisation software to help design, share and deliver their lighting design.

Ben said: “You can preview ideas with the artist and coordinate live or in advance with key partners such as TV producers.”

With a tour this special, David and Ben realise that after all the planning, programming and plugging in is complete, this is really about an electrifying, emotional experience for everyone involved.

That goes for the paying guests and the artists on stage – but also for the technical crew too.

“We travelled together as a team, and Diana Ross made us all feel part of a big show business family contributing to an amazing adventure,” David said.

“She made a point of checking how we were doing, and in rehearsals would even ask us personally if we had a song request for her and the band – quite a moment.”