mondo*dr Jan/Feb 2010

REPORT
INTERVIEW
Frank Irish with MD
Gerry Frost
after that we bought the premises entirely.” already had Camlink and Vocall, operating through the Apex axis,
They also developed an appetite for tradeshows and took on as well as Numark. The incipient KAM was starting to take off, and
other lines from Italy. “But after a few years it became evident by 1988 they scooped the biggest prize of all.
that we need to go direct to the Far East and met Taiwanese In February that year Frank attended SIEL Show in Paris with
manufacturer Fouchia Entertainments.” new girlfriend Rosie. “On the Martin Professional stand we saw
It was the ﬁrst of many visits to the Far East Frank would make a smoke machine called the Red Dragon. (Martin Professional
over the next 30 years. But he admits, “We didn’t see the disco owner) Peter (Johansen) met Rosie and myself - a week later he
thing coming.” ﬂew over and we were appointed as UK distributors.”
All that would change in the mid-’80s. By now the Frankfurt Such prescience was a stroke of genius. The Martin Professional
Musikmesse was ﬁrmly on the Irishes’ radar and it was here that name had been acquired the previous year by the Danish
they met Steve Schiffman at Numark. Frank admits that on the entrepreneur through cooperation with a French smoke machine
back of huge business being placed with the classic 1775 mixer company (run by Gérard Cohen, who would also play an
sampler, they had gone looking for owners Harry and Robert important role in Lamba’s future). Gérard relocated to Florida
Kotowsky, who were soon being boiled in an Irish stew. Lamba and built up his distribution company, Tracoman before later
returned with the distribution. purchasing Stanton Magnetics.
However, it was a bittersweet period for Frank Irish. The order Martin Professional, meanwhile, moved into making scanners
they placed exceeded the business Numark had done in the UK all and under Brand Manager Ian Kirby, Lamba helped the Danes to
year - but at the same time Frank was going through a divorce. develop the brand into the biggest global kinetic lighting company
Uncertain about the security, he became increasingly convinced of all time over the following decade.
that Lamba needed its own brand. In 1989 Frank bought out his brother’s interest in Lamba - but
A think tank of marketing gurus was assembled to conjour up the the success couldn’t continue. Without notice Peter Johaneson
name - but the registration plate of Frank’s sports car was KAM decided to set up his own UK base for Martin Professional, taking
2X. “So I said ‘Let’s call it KAM’!” And in 1987 that is precisely Ian Kirby with him and leaving a huge gap on the Lamba balance
what happened. sheet. To make matters worse, in 1992 Numark went into
The second half of the 1980’s was a heady period. The company liquidation.
024 January / February 2010
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