Willie Williams (lighting designer)

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Willie Williams stage and light design, U2 Vertigo Tour, 2005.
Willie Williams stage and light design, U2 Vertigo Tour, 2005.

Willie Williams (born 1959) is an award-winning stage video maker and lighting designer for concerts, theatre, and multimedia projects, most known for his groundbreaking work with the rock band U2.

Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and raised in Sheffield, England, Williams excelled at mathematics and science in school and planned to study physics at University College, London. The advent of punk rock caused him enter the music scene instead, and he began doing lights for various bands such as Writz, Deaf School and Stiff Little Fingers. Hearing U2's album Boy and determined to work with them, he contacted U2's manager Paul McGuinness and got the job.

Willie Williams has been responsible for the design of all of U2's tours from 1982 onward, most famously the extravagant, bewildering Zoo TV Tour (1992-93), but also the far more minimalist War Tour (1982-83) and Unforgettable Fire Tour (1984-85), as well as the Joshua Tree Tour (1987), Lovetown Tour (1989-90), Popmart Tour (1997-98), Elevation Tour (2001), and Vertigo Tour (2005-06). He has also worked with musical artists such as R.E.M., David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Darren Hayes, George Michael and Marianne Faithfull.

Public works include the creation of lighting installations at London's South Bank Centre and within Canterbury Cathedral; "SkyChurch", a multimedia performance space at the Experience Music Project in Seattle, Washington, and a permanent exhibit at Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum.

In the world of performance art, Williams has designed for the legendary Montréal-based dance company La La La Human Steps and has collaborated with the Kronos Quartet several times, most notably on Sun Rings, a joint effort with NASA that combines the string quartet's music with video and audio material collected by the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft.

Theatre shows Williams has worked on include We Will Rock You, Little Britain Live, Barbarella and Pam Ann.

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