England's Live! Show is, like the Event Show, held each January. Both were particularly Eurocentric this year, especially with the addition of the Production Services Association's (PSA) annual general meeting to the former, which is run by Live! magazine. The announcement that the UK's controversial Guide to Temporary Demountable Structures is to be revamped, following persistent lobbying by the PSA, was well-received.
The PSA's growing stature as the voice of the rock-and-roll performance industry led Carol Grainger, the spokesperson for the UK's Health and Safety Executive, to deliver a "genuine invitation to PSA members," says PSA chairman Keith Ferguson. "'If you are unhappy with the Pop Code,' she said, 'then rewrite it.' What moved her was the way people spoke on behalf of their industry sector rather than their own specific business angle." Industry figures like Brian Croft of Vari-Lite Europe and Dave Keighley from Light & Sound Design agreed that tying in the Live! Show and the PSA meeting was useful to both parties.
The Live! Show did feature some new products, including the Vari*Lite(R) VL5A. The new CIII constant voltage plug-in dimmer for the VL5s, which can be fitted in the same Exciter rack as the VL6, was also displayed.
Avolites launched its Truss Mounting DMX Splitter, a mains-powered, opto-isolated, 1-in/7-out splitter. Avolites' Rick Salzedo said it will make software modifications to allow show disks produced on any Avo desk to be interchangeable between desks.
At the Live! Awards dinner, LSD once again claimed Best Lighting Rental Company, while High End Systems' Studio Color won Best New Lighting Product.