TPi_February 2010 - Issue 126

CHRONICLE: Lasers Pt.1
Below: The Who at Winterland in 1976; Keith Moon watches Wiggy ﬁ re a beam in the Shepperton board room, 1978; Roger Daltrey bathes in laser light during ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’.
“1W or less was a toy. The only way to get a bright laser was with a big 4W green argon...”
laser tech, nursing the laser to about 500-750mW phase power there, and by the way the mirrors “We scoured around for a freehold,’ says
output at Earls Court, two years on, Wiggy was have to be perfectly aligned or you get nada), Wolff. “I found a social centre in Battersea
immediately energised. The Who needed to get I headed to Shepperton where The Who and advertised as a church hall and when I ﬁ nally
STRUNG OUT ON LASERS
into lasers... on a large scale. Wiggy were waiting. found the church (as I believed it was) I knocked
The popular story is that Showco’s Jack Calmes “To cut a long story short, by sheer on the minister’s door and said ‘I have come to
sold The Who their ﬁ rst laser — a US$36,000 stubbornness and luck I got a beam — and lit a buy your church’. He smiled benevolently and told
purchase that Wolff would use spectacularly on cigarette off it. We aimed it across the vast space me where to ﬁ nd the real church hall... around
‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’. But one technician, and everyone gasped.” the corner in Thessaly Road.
Gerry Leitch, already part of the sound team Alope handed Lefrak a diffraction grating “After the excitement of thinking I had found
that helped build The Who’s Ramport Studios in which he held in front of the 4W Spectra Physics a great place in his new church, I was full of
Battersea, before going on to become one of the argon beam and a glorious fan of laser beams misgivings when I saw the state of the actual
UK’s leading laserists, remembers it somewhat ﬁ lled the space. building on offer. But in 1973, £15,000 for a
differently — and that the laser was in part Lefrak: “Wiggy played with this awhile and freehold in Battersea was still a snip, we needed
settlement of a debt owed to the band by the we were on tour the next day in Leicester. Front something urgently and Townshend said this
service company. page news the following day, and we were off would make a great studio [with Bobby Pridden
“The feeling I got at Earls Court was that here and running. Led Zeppelin beat us but where they ensuring that the sound system passed muster].”
was a big show with one of my favourite bands shot a single beam [in a transfer of Showco’s U.S. Anecdotally, Wolff also recalls beaming lasers
and that was the best effect I had seen in a long production] we hit with a heavy duty show.” on to nearby Battersea Power Station when Pink
time,” remembers Wolff. “But 1W or less was a Wolff was a fearless visionary, says Lefrak. Floyd’s iconic pig was being photographed for the
toy. The only way to get a bright laser was with a “His ambition and The Who’s money allowed Animals album in December ’76. “We threatened
big 4W green argon.” us to add more lasers, including krypton, and to to burn a hole in the pig,” he jests.
Enter American light artist Rick Lefrak, who build machines to imitate our hand-held grating
at the time was resident in London. “Rick and motions. I think I added the [General Scanning EXPERIMENTING
his girlfriend knocked on my door and said ‘I G100pd] galvo scanners but I’m not sure.” Another signiﬁ cant year was 1974 — the year
hear you are looking for a laser... we can hire Although Lefrak admits that “we made it up as The Who bought Shepperton and Wolff started
you ours.’” In fact, they had been called in after we went along”, he later had a hand in providing experimenting with holograms (more of which
Wolff had seen one of their promotional ﬂ yers information that helped devise the US regulation next month).
advertising lasers and holograms. of the industry. Wolff also holds a licence to One of the Shepperton-based engineering
Lefrak, who originally came to the UK in 1969 operate a laser in the heavily-regulated United companies who assisted was Dave Watson’s C&L
as a lighting designer for a New York dance States. In fact, Lefrak was using 20W argon lasers Developments, which specialised in very precise
company, and ended up at the Roundhouse, can by the time of The Who’s stadium shows — as motorised controls for the ﬁ lm business and was
lay claim to bringing the lasers to The Who and well as many of his other shows, including the soon making all Ramport’s automatic heads,
was present on the ﬁ rst few tours. stupendous ’76 American Bicentennial laser show control consoles and mobile carrying cases (to
His “girlfriend” was British Guianan born Alope from the Washington Monument. Wolff’s designs) for shows around 1974-75.
— a hard-nosed business partner. They formed Of course, none of this could have existed in Two pivotal members of the team, Neil Irwin
their own lighting company, Laughing Whiteﬁ sh isolation. Quadrophenia had been recorded in and John Carr, actually helped make the ancillary
Productions, building the equipment in their 1973 — two years before The Who embarked laser equipment and Wolff later employed both
Hampstead yard with local kids, with the advance on their empirical laser adventure. Wolff had directly along with Bernie Hunt from Ramport
money from landing a Lou Reed tour deal. convinced the band that hiring kit was a mug’s Studios who handled all the heavy electrical
“Alope advertised that Laughing Whiteﬁ sh game — but soon their company, Ramport installations. They were to become key personnel
could provide lasers and holography for the Enterprises, needed somewhere to store all their in the running of The Who’s shows.
concert stage. And then Wiggy called and wanted newly-acquired equipment. John Wolff eventually bought all the lasers
a demo,” is how Lefrak puts it. “She told him we
wanted £500 to give the demo and he reluctantly
agreed — she had balls of steel.
“Wiggy gave us the money and we went
laser hunting — and we also found Rank Strand
diffraction gratings. I can’t remember the science
lab that handed over a 4W argon laser to us
hippies but God bless them. After a 30 minute
lesson (like hook the water here, needs three-
TPi FEBRUARY 2010 • 59
PIC
SPACE
TO FILL
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