Meet Tim Routledge, the lighting designer behind Stormzy’s incredible Glastonbury set

If you were one of the 200,000 people that managed to snag a spot at this year’s sold-out Glastonbury festival, you may have been in the crowd for Friday night headliner Stormzy’s incredible performance. 

Featuring performances of his hit songs, Vossy Bop and Big For Your Boots, the South London-born rapper was a sight to behold, no less because the lighting and stage design were spectacular.

That was all thanks to lighting director Tim Routledge. Alongside Stormzy’s Glastonbury performance, the award-winning British designer also did the lighting for his Wireless headline show last year, as well as the recent Spice Girls comeback tour, Rita Ora’s shows and Sam Smith’s global tour. 

Ahead of the Stormzy show, we caught up with Routledge to find out how he became a lighting designer, the difficulties of doing a festival set compared to an arena show, and where he finds inspiration. 

Lighting design: pop stars, stadium tours and more

Routledge had designs to become an actor until, a stint working backstage at the Edinburgh Fringe as a technician aged 14 in 1989, opened his eyes to the power of lighting. “I had no idea at that time I would end up designing some of the biggest shows on the planet,” he tells the Standard. 

He then went on to train at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, where he is now a fellow and international chair of the college, and he still supports and teaches new students coming into the college every year. He says there is a “lot of luck” needed to make it in the music industry, but enthusiasm is also paramount. 

When he gets handed a brief to work on an artist’s show, the first thing he does is to chat directly with the artists or a show’s producer and director to discuss the direction and vision of the show, before bringing all these ideas together. Inspiration can come in different forms – “It can be a reflection on a ceiling, architectural or a piece of street art,” says Routledge. “The rules of stage design are open and I always keep my eyes open in search of something unique.”

At any one time, he could be working on six projects at the same time, though he and his team will receive many last minute requests as the long lead times for big live performances are starting to diminish

“I’m fully geared up to take on the impossible overnight,” he says. 

Spice up your life 

The Spice Girls comeback tour was a magical one, featuring multiple costume changes, fantastic lights and fireworks to soundtrack some of the biggest 90s anthems. 

“I was in the audience aged 20 in 1998 at Wembley Stadium when they last performed there so for me, just being involved in the return on the biggest girl group in the world was right up there,” says Routledge. “There was a real feeling of fun on that show and nostalgia.”

Routledge says his aims for the Spice Girls shows included making it a “night of colour and inclusivity.” This was particularly clear at the start of the show when the screens displayed a “Welcome to Spiceworld” message that declared it was open to “all ages, all races, all gender identities, all countries of origin, all sexual orientations, all religious and beliefs, all abilities”. This spoke to the Spice Girls mantra that they are more than a group, a movement in fact.

Designing this show wasn’t without it difficulties due to the sheer scale. Routledge says it was the biggest lighting rig he had ever designed before. But the reviews and cheers night after night prove that it paid off. 

Bringing a stadium-style show to a field 

From Wembley to Glastonbury, putting on a festival set is very different to creating a show in the safe confines of a stadium. For one, even building the stage is tricky as there is only a one hour gap between the previous performer, in this case George Ezra, coming off stage and Stormzy’s set starting. 

“That’s a tight turnaround. You rely on an existing overhead lighting rig which we supplement heavily,” says Routledge. “It’s a big job for a show of this scale at the festival. I rely heavily on the professionalism and skill of our amazing crew who are the best in the business.” 

The show itself is created by Amber Rimmel and Bronski of Tawbox, who are well known in the urban music scene, with Routledge saying it will be “the most complex and ambitious show to ever hit the Pyramid Stage.” 

“It’s a full production show, not just a simple music set and we have a large cast of additional performers. Our set is complex, large and an engineering feat to achieve in such a short space of time. If we pull it off, it’s going to be staggering.” 

He says that designing a headline show at Glastonbury is a “dream come true” and it’s great to have the chance to work with Stormzy again. “Whilst his music can be fierce at times, it has so many lovely moments of calm and beauty that the contrasts for me as a lighting designer give me so many options,” explains Routledge. “[Stormzy’s] energy is engaging, he is a decent human being who always comes and says hello and shakes hands with everyone involved onsite.” 

All this has kept Routledge and his team extremely busy so he says some rest is in order post-Glastonbury. Next up on the agenda includes Royal Blood’s festival campaign and a new ITV gameshow featuring Alan Carr. 

“It’s the mix that makes it all so fascinating,” he adds. 

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