Europe’s most popular boy band, Westlife, is out on the road again, touring Europe and the UK with a show that leaves the girls speechless and everyone else breathing easy, despite the use of heavy fog.

That’s because Westlife Production Manager Steve Levvitt and co-Lighting Designer/Lighting Director Barry Halpin have chosen to incorporate a magical low lying fog effect from Jem’s newest heavy fogger, the Glaciator. The two Jem Glaciators for the Westlife tour were supplied by Bandit Lites.

The Challenge

The elaborate show is set in-the-round with a stage set-up that features a pentagon-shaped staircase centered around a mid-riser. The challenge during one song was to have heavy fog cascade down the staircase from the top of the set on all 5 sides.

The Solution

The solution was to place two Jem Glaciators in the somewhat cramped staging area beneath the set, each Glaciator fitted with a ducting adaptor to create two 6 inch outlets per machine. Heavy fog is then channelled to a specially made 5-outlet manifold at the top of the pentagon. The manifold distributes the fog equally from the 5 outlets and down the steps on all sides. The 360-degree cascading sea of fog is a stunning effect.

Steve is convinced that the Glaciator is the ideal heavy fogger for the touring market. The use of CO2 was rejected for several reasons including the fear of filling up the musicians pit with dizzying gas. Also, obtaining solid CO2 at venues across Europe is no easy task. Moreover, because of the lack of space beneath the set where some 26 technicians work and band members change costumes, the use of dry ice and hot water was rejected. The Glaciator, on the other hand, is not only convenient – it needs only a 13 amp power supply and a bottle of low cost Jem Standard Heavy Fog Fluid – it’s affordable as well.