TPi Awards Honour Kluczynski

Hundreds from the live entertainment business gathered at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel for the annual Total Productions Awards Feb. 9, although the main honours of the night were reserved for the late Mick Kluczynski.

Described by Total Production International magazine as a “a true legend,” Kluczynski – who has worked on the BRIT Awards and toured with a host of acts including Pink Floyd and The Cure – died three days before the annual awards bash.

He headed the technical production for The MOBO Awards, the VE50 celebrations, countless corporate events and the Classical BRIT Awards and was one of the founders of the Production Services Association (PSA).

Kluczynski won TPi magazine’s lifetime contribution award in 2005 and this year’s ceremony was dedicated to him.

The 2009 winners included many of the most well-known company names in the international live music industry, with “favourite security company” going to Showsec for the second consecutive year.

Favourite sound company was SSE Audio Group, the staging award went to Stageco, Bandit Lites took the lighting award and XL Video came out on top of the video companies.

After comedian and TV/radio personality Phill Jupitus hosted an evening that saw 30 gongs handed out to the production business, TPi editor Mark Cunningham was quick to praise the backstage crew that ran the show. He said many of the crowd had already told him it was the best of the eight awards nights the magazine has staged.

TPi readers select winners by voting, although Cunningham selects the editor’s award (Live Nation U.K. chief ops officer John Probyn) and a panel chooses the recipient of the lifetime contribution award (Montreux Jazz Festival).

Other winners included Kylie Minogue’s X2008 Tour (live production of the year), Timm Cleasby (tour manager), Helen ‘Hels Bells’ Smith (production co-ordinator), Westfalen Sound (international production company) and Richard Young (Production Manager).

The “John Peel Unsung Hero Award,” presented by Andy Lenthall of the PSA, went to truck driver Roger Thomas.