Paul McCartney, the Foo Fighters, Cher and Orlando Bloom were amongst some of the latest celebrities to be featured on James Corden’s popular Late Late Show broadcast from 19th-22nd June in the UK as part of 4 special episodes. Working for Fulwell 73 in conjunction with Stage One, Blackout were commissioned to supply and install draping and rigging solutions both in the studio and on location. The highly successful Film and TV production company Fulwell 73 has recently co-produced its first full season of the The Late Late Show with CBS television. The series achieved record viewing figures and 2 Emmys to build on the company’s impressive repertoire of Film and TV programmes since its launch in 2005.
In the studio Blackout’s Tim Searle worked for Stage One and the designers on the main set for the show. The design utilised a wide selection colours from our velour drape stock– Red, Black, Pewter and Purple. Longer drop velours were used to dress either side of the stage, whilst our Easibuild Pipe and Drape system was used for sections requiring a shorter drop. Will Bryant and his team had the practical yet very important job of backstage draping. Black Wool Serge Drape on Pipe was used to create dressing rooms and backstage drape runs. We needed to conceal seating and control positions as well as create effective areas to store equipment and prevent light from windows spilling into the studio space. All was successfully achieved by using our staple Black Wool Serge stock. A section of Pipe with Pewter velour was also used to go behind an audience check-in zone to enhance the area.
Josh Coller and other Blackout colleagues worked on location for Sir McCartney’s nostalgic return to Liverpool delivered through an entertaining episode of “Carpool Karaoke” Our role was to help create the environment for a surprise performance given by Paul McCartney at the iconic Philharmonic Dining Rooms, a renowned Liverpool pub where he played and occasionally drank as a young man. We built a Prolyte Box Truss to create a stage area with a track reveal mechanism complete with Black Velour to hide the band. The set blended in perfectly with the pub surroundings so that when a customer got the juke box up and running with a Beatles song, the drapes were swiftly pulled back to reveal Paul McCartney hitting the first chord of “A Hard Day’s Night” to the genuine shock and amazement of the locals.
