Leading UK audio and lighting company Nitelites is a real family affair.
The company was founded in 1983 by touring veteran and Newcastle native Jim Moore, who, after spending the 70s on the road with such global music stars as art-rock innovator Frank Zappa, San Francisco rockers Journey and blues star Chris Rea, set up Nitelites when settling with his young family in North Shields.
Thirty-four years later Nitelites is now run by Jim’s eldest son Jamie and youngest son Shaun, who came on board as director and head of lighting in 2011 alongside audio expert Andy Magee.
Under Jim’s stewardship, Nitelites’ reputation as a good, solid company working on local events in the North East evolved. When Jamie took over in 2005 he was keen to maintain Nitelites’ family-based ethos and associated high levels of customer service – whilst bringing with him a young man’s big ambitions for new clients.
“I took over when I was 21,’ he says. “All the lads I was working with were a similar age – we loved doing local events but we wanted to go bigger! We wanted to do AC DC at St James’ Park!”
In just over a decade, Jamie turned the company into one of the UK’s most respected performance production specialists. Nitelites now designs, installs and operates cutting-edge, bespoke audio and lighting systems for clients across Europe and is a proud stockest of Avolites lighting control desks to the exclusion of other lighting console brands.
Recent clients of Nitelites include major music acts like electro duo Disclosure, Hold Back the River singer James Bay, Welsh rockers Catfish and the Bottlemen, alt rock band
Nothing But Thieves and folk artist Frank Turner. Its strong rental arm leases the very latest kit to sound and lighting specialists across the country.
Running a core team of 14 and close to a hundred freelancers, Nitelites’ large, young and ambitious team is anchored at the helm by years of experience, total professionalism, a strong focus on training and a staunch family ethos. It’s commitment to providing opportunity for the local economy sees it regularly give talks and take part in apprenticeship schemes.
Nitelites shares this forward looking, people-centric approach with its exclusive lighting console and dimmer product partner, Avolites. Both brands insist and thrive on dedicated and highly personalised customer service and staff progression.
“I’ve been using Avolites and dealing with them since I started out the in the lighting industry,” explains Shaun. “Technically, the brand is really innovative. Avolites consoles and software are developing every day – but, additionally, the team are always there to assist at any hour of the day or even just for a catch up or call. My relationship with the Avolites team has grown into a close partnership. Their service is perfect.”
Nitelites recently designed and operated the lighting for a major tribute concert to the memory of late Geordie comedy legend Brendan Healey, using an Avolites Sapphire Touch and Tiger Touch II console.
Held at the Tyne Theatre and Opera House in Newcastle, the show was mix of live comedy, bands, dance acts and theatrical performances – as well as some pre-recorded video
footage.
With one day to programme and install the lighting, the team had to trust the speed and user-friendliness of the Avolites’ consoles. The result was fantastic– with the organisers
expressing delight at the sophisticated lighting design and speed it was put together.
“I really like how much of Titan’s original, classic software still remains, but is regularly made much more powerful,” says Shaun. “It still has the same way of programming and
operating, but with an increased ability to user define.”
Exercising Titan’s latest update Titan v10 Nitelites employed an Avolites Sapphire console with power distro and dimming provided by an Avolites ART 2000 at the recent 25th
anniversary party of pioneering Newcastle club night Shindig. The night was held at the city’s cult Warehouse 34 venue. German dance music icon and Ibiza stalwart Loco Dice headlined the six-hour bash.
“Each and every software update has a new feature to help lighting programmers,” says Shaun. “From starting a new show to modifying an old show or importing from other shows, it is all very straightforward. What’s more, the new Key Frame Shapes feature makes programing even faster for more complex lighting looks and effects.”
As for the future, Jamie has even greater ambitions for Nitelites, which he claims he is shortly to reveal. They will definitely, however, involve his company’s continued partnership with Avolites – as he and the team describe the lighting console brand as “the industry standard.”