Willie Williams (lighting designer)
Encyclopedia
Willie Williams is a video director, stage and lighting designer
for concert
s, theatre
, & multimedia
projects. He is best known for his groundbreaking work with the rock band U2
, and is recognized as one of the leading artists in this field.
He was born in 1959 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and raised in Sheffield
, England
, son of Robert Woodman Williams, a singer & medical practitioner who was an early pioneer in the then fledgling field of physiotherapy and who also sang with South Yorkshire Opera. Williams excelled at mathematics and science in school and planned to study physics
at University College, London. The advent of punk rock
caused him enter the music scene instead, and he began doing lights for various bands such as Writz, Deaf School
and Stiff Little Fingers
. Hearing U2's album Boy
and determined to work with them, he contacted U2's manager Paul McGuinness
and got the job.
Willie Williams has been responsible for the design of all of U2
's tours from 1982 onward, most famously the extravagant, bewildering Zoo TV Tour
(1992–93), but also the far more minimalist War Tour
(1982–83) and Unforgettable Fire Tour
(1984–85), as well as the Joshua Tree Tour
(1987), Lovetown Tour
(1989–90), PopMart Tour
(1997–98), Elevation Tour
(2001), Vertigo Tour
(2005–06) and U2 360° Tour
(2009–11). He has also worked with musical artists such as R.E.M., David Bowie
, The Rolling Stones
, Darren Hayes
and George Michael
.
He has exhibited his own kinetic light sculptures in several art galleries. The sculptures, entitled "Lumia
Domestica", create kaleidoscopic projections by refracting light through household glassware. Other public works include the creation of lighting installations at London's Southbank Centre and within Canterbury Cathedral
; "SkyChurch", a multimedia performance space at the Experience Music Project
in Seattle, Washington
, and a permanent exhibit at Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Museum.
Williams has designed for the legendary Montreal
-based dance company La La La Human Steps
. Other collaborations have been with Laurie Anderson
, Marianne Faithfull
and the Kronos Quartet
, most notably on Sun Rings, a joint effort with NASA
that combines the string quartet's music with video and audio material collected by the Voyager 1
and Voyager 2
spacecraft.
Theatre shows Williams has worked on include We Will Rock You
, Little Britain Live
, French and Saunders
Still Alive, Steve Coogan
is Alan Partridge
and Other Less Successful Characters, The Fast Show
Live, Barbarella
and Pam Ann
.
Lighting designer
The role of the lighting designer within theatre is to work with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, and sound designer to create an overall 'look' for the show in response to the text, while keeping in mind issues of visibility, safety and cost...
for concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s, theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, & multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
projects. He is best known for his groundbreaking work with the rock band U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, and is recognized as one of the leading artists in this field.
He was born in 1959 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and raised in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, son of Robert Woodman Williams, a singer & medical practitioner who was an early pioneer in the then fledgling field of physiotherapy and who also sang with South Yorkshire Opera. Williams excelled at mathematics and science in school and planned to study physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
at University College, London. The advent of punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
caused him enter the music scene instead, and he began doing lights for various bands such as Writz, Deaf School
Deaf School
Deaf School are an English rock band, formed in the mid 1970s and hailing from Liverpool. Their style is somewhere in between pub rock, punk, glam rock and art rock. They originally disbanded after their third album but their influence lived on...
and Stiff Little Fingers
Stiff Little Fingers
Stiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977, at the height of the Troubles. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star , doing rock covers, until they discovered punk. They split up after six years and four albums, although they...
. Hearing U2's album Boy
Boy (album)
Boy is the debut album from Irish rock band U2, released October 20, 1980. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, the album received generally positive reviews. Common themes among the album's songs are the thoughts and frustrations of adolescence. The album included the band's first United Kingdom hit...
and determined to work with them, he contacted U2's manager Paul McGuinness
Paul McGuinness
Paul McGuinness is the main shareholder and founder of Principle Management Limited: an artist management company based in Dublin, Ireland, which has managed U2 from the start of their successful career...
and got the job.
Willie Williams has been responsible for the design of all of U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
's tours from 1982 onward, most famously the extravagant, bewildering Zoo TV Tour
Zoo TV Tour
The Zoo TV Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Staged in support of their 1991 album Achtung Baby, the tour visited arenas and stadiums from 1992 through 1993...
(1992–93), but also the far more minimalist War Tour
War Tour
The War Tour was a concert tour by the Irish rock band U2, which took place in 1982 and 1983 in support of the group's third album War. It was their first tour as full-time headlining acts....
(1982–83) and Unforgettable Fire Tour
Unforgettable Fire Tour
The Unforgettable Fire Tour by Irish rock band U2 took place in 1984 and 1985 in support of band's album The Unforgettable Fire. Beginning in August 1984 with the band's first tour to Australia and New Zealand, the tour spanned four further legs which included 43 concerts in Europe and 50 in North...
(1984–85), as well as the Joshua Tree Tour
Joshua Tree Tour
The Joshua Tree Tour was a concert tour by the Irish rock band U2, which took place during 1987, in support of their album The Joshua Tree. The tour was depicted by the video and live album Live from Paris.-Itinerary:...
(1987), Lovetown Tour
Lovetown Tour
The Lovetown Tour was a concert tour by the Irish rock band U2, which took place in late 1989 and early 1990.-Itinerary:It was limited in scope, but did try to reach places that their 1987 Joshua Tree Tour had missed, all the while avoiding the United States entirely.The tour's opening night was on...
(1989–90), PopMart Tour
Popmart Tour
The PopMart Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 1997 album, Pop, the tour's concerts were performed in stadiums and parks from 1997 through 1998...
(1997–98), Elevation Tour
Elevation Tour
The Elevation Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 2000 album All That You Can't Leave Behind, the tour visited arenas in 2001. After the band's previous two extravagant stadium tours, Zoo TV and PopMart, the Elevation Tour returned the...
(2001), Vertigo Tour
Vertigo Tour
The Vertigo Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 2004 album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, the band visited arenas and stadiums from 2005 through 2006. The Vertigo Tour consisted of five legs that alternated between indoor arena shows in...
(2005–06) and U2 360° Tour
U2 360° Tour
The U2 360° Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 2009 album No Line on the Horizon, the tour visited stadiums from 2009 through 2011. It was named for a stage configuration that allowed the audience to almost completely surround the stage...
(2009–11). He has also worked with musical artists such as R.E.M., David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, Darren Hayes
Darren Hayes
Darren Stanley Hayes is a UK-based Australian singer-songwriter. Hayes was the front man and singer of the pop duo Savage Garden, whose 1997 album Savage Garden peaked at No. 1 in Australia, No. 2 in United Kingdom and No. 3 in United States...
and George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
.
He has exhibited his own kinetic light sculptures in several art galleries. The sculptures, entitled "Lumia
Lumia
Lumia is the term coined by 20th Century Artist Thomas Wilfred to refer to art created from light.Lumia as conceived, was a self contained and silent art, not to be combined with music or dance...
Domestica", create kaleidoscopic projections by refracting light through household glassware. Other public works include the creation of lighting installations at London's Southbank Centre and within Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
; "SkyChurch", a multimedia performance space at the Experience Music Project
Experience Music Project
The EMP Museum is a museum dedicated to the history and exploration of both popular music and science fiction located in Seattle, Washington...
in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, and a permanent exhibit at Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
Museum.
Williams has designed for the legendary Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
-based dance company La La La Human Steps
La La La Human Steps
La La La Human Steps is a Québécois contemporary dance group in Canada, known for its energetic, acrobatic style that often involves fast-paced and athletic physical contact...
. Other collaborations have been with Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson
Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson did her first performance-art piece in the late 1960s...
, Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Evelyn Faithfull is an award-winning English singer, songwriter and actress whose career has spanned five decades....
and the Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet is a string quartet founded by violinist David Harrington in 1973 in Seattle, Washington. Since 1978, the quartet has been based in San Francisco, California. The longest-running combination of performers had Harrington and John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt on viola, and Joan...
, most notably on Sun Rings, a joint effort with NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
that combines the string quartet's music with video and audio material collected by the Voyager 1
Voyager 1
The Voyager 1 spacecraft is a 722-kilogram space probe launched by NASA in 1977, to study the outer Solar System and eventually interstellar space. Operating for as of today , the spacecraft receives routine commands and transmits data back to the Deep Space Network. At a distance of as of...
and Voyager 2
Voyager 2
The Voyager 2 spacecraft is a 722-kilogram space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977 to study the outer Solar System and eventually interstellar space...
spacecraft.
Theatre shows Williams has worked on include We Will Rock You
We Will Rock You (musical)
We Will Rock You is a jukebox musical, based on the songs of Queen and named after their hit single of the same name. The musical was written by British comedian and author Ben Elton in collaboration with Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor...
, Little Britain Live
Little Britain Live
Little Britain Live is a stage show based on the TV sketch series Little Britain, performed by its stars, Matt Lucas and David Walliams, and directed by Jeremy Sams. Supporting characters are played by Paul Putner and Samantha Power . As in the TV show, Tom Baker is the narrator, although his lines...
, French and Saunders
French and Saunders
French and Saunders is a British sketch comedy television show written by and starring comic duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. It is also the name by which the performers are known on the occasions when they appear elsewhere as a double act....
Still Alive, Steve Coogan
Steve Coogan
Stephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
is Alan Partridge
Alan Partridge
Alan Gordon Partridge is a fictional radio and television presenter portrayed by English comedian Steve Coogan and invented by Coogan, Armando Iannucci, Stewart Lee and Richard Herring for the BBC Radio 4 programme On The Hour...
and Other Less Successful Characters, The Fast Show
The Fast Show
The Fast Show, known as Brilliant in the US, was a BBC comedy sketch show programme that ran for three series from 1994 to 1997 with a special Last Fast Show Ever in 2000. The show's central performers were Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Mark Williams, John Thomson, Arabella Weir and...
Live, Barbarella
Barbarella (musical)
Barbarella is a musical based on the film Barbarella, which in turn was based on a French science fiction comic book created by Jean-Claude Forest...
and Pam Ann
Pam Ann
Pam Ann is the air hostess alter-ego of Australian comedienne Caroline Reid. Performances focus on the nuances of air travel, identifying the individual quirks of some of the biggest international airlines and their media stereotypes. Her style leans towards camp humour, in the vein of Dame Edna...
.
Awards
- 2010 Live Production of the Year (U2360), Lighting Designer of the Year and Video Visionary, Total Production Awards, London
- 2009 Redden Award for Excellence in Design, USA
- 2008 Excellence in Design Award (George Michael, 25 Live Tour), Live Design, New York
- 2007 Best in Book, Creative Review Annual (George Michael, 25 Live Tour)
- 2006 Metropolitan Home, Design 100
- 2006 Lighting Designer of the Year, Total Production Awards, London
- 2003 Lighting Designer of the Year, Total Production Awards, London
- 2002 Lighting Designer of the Year, Live Magazine Awards, London
- 2001 Eddy Award for Excellence in Design, New York
- 2000 Top 25 Visionaries in Entertainment, Wired Magazine, USA
- 1992 Lighting Designer of the Year, Lighting Dimensions International, USA
- 1992 Lighting Designer of the Year, Performance Magazine, USA
- 1987 Lighting Director of the Year, Performance Magazine, USA