Ian Knight (12 August 1940, in Eastcote – 20 March 2010) was a British stage designer, best known for his work with the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

, Led Zeppelin,

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and

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

. He developed effects, including using lasers and large-screen projections, for concerts at

Knebworth Park Knebworth is a village and civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England, immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Whitwell, St Paul's Walden ...

Biography

Knight was raised in Eastcote and attended Harrow Art School. He worked as a stage designer at the Yvonne Arnaud theatre (Guildford, Surrey) and the Belgrade theatre (Coventry), before becoming freelance, working out of central London from 1964. He worked with

Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966–196 ...

in the late 1960s,Bennett G, ''Soft Machine: Out-Bloody-Rageous'', 2005 as well as designing for London clubs Middle Earth,

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

, and Implosion. He staged many concerts at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm, including the

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, The Doors and

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. From 1968 on, he helped stage a number of free concerts in Hyde Park, including the

, and a performance at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

including The Who and Chuck Berry on the same day. Festival work followed. In 1971, he oversaw the stage rebuild and further work for the new Rainbow theatre (formerly the Finsbury Park Astoria). Knight moved to Los Angeles, USA, and did stage design for Led Zeppelin, Genesis and Wings. He provided art direction and lighting design for Led Zeppelin's film '' The Song Remains the Same'' in 1976, in which he also appeared. Work with Genesis pioneered the use of the VL1 computer-controlled moving spotlight. In 1981, Knight worked on

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

's inaugural ball, at which he surreptitiously introduced a troupe of transvestite trapeze artists. In the mid-1980s, Knight worked within Rod Stewart's design team, including devising storylines in collaboration with Stewart.

Family

He married and later divorced Anne-Marie Barton. A second marriage followed in 1999 to Ngeon Khprjunklang; they had one son, Alistair.

References

External links

Ian Knight obituary
in The Guardian * 26 Kingly Street Environmental Co-operative
IT8 - The vision of the CentreIT14 - Environmental organisers and light show

Gong's total environment mixed media show, April 1968

Implosion Club at the Roundhouse, 1969
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Ian 1940 births 2010 deaths British designers