In a year when live audiences vanished, Jon Courtenay won the nation's heart on Britain's Got Talent. When he took that win out on the road for his first UK tour, Soundcheck went with him: production manager and sound engineer across 26 venues, for a lifelong friend.
Jon Courtenay is a musician and comedian who won Britain's Got Talent in 2020 as Ant and Dec's golden-buzzer act. He brought his blend of music and comedy to millions during a year without live audiences, then took his show out on a 26-date UK tour. Jon and Andrew met working on Cunard's QE2 back in the 1990s and have been lifelong friends ever since, which is why Andrew got the call the moment Jon won the Golden Buzzer.
A win in a year like no other
Jon rose to national fame as the winner of Britain's Got Talent in 2020, during one of the most difficult years in recent memory. With the Covid-19 pandemic keeping live audiences at home, television screens took their place, and Jon's performances brought warmth, humour and heart to millions watching from their sofas.
His blend of music and comedy struck a chord with viewers and judges alike. As the golden-buzzer act personally chosen by Ant and Dec, he went all the way and won the series.
From the screen to the stage
After the win, Jon took his show on his first UK national tour: 26 venues around the country, mostly theatres, with town halls and similar rooms along the way. Every venue brought its own challenges, and every night had to land the same. I was honoured to be asked to join him, not only as a friend but as the person running the show on the road.
Running the show
I ran the tour as production manager and mixed the live sound. That meant looking after the venue teams handling merchandise and the technical crews helping to run each show, and calling the whole performance from Qlab. I had not used Qlab much before, so I put in the hours on my own to learn it properly and get quick and confident on the cues.
At each venue I also worked with the in-house lighting technicians, teaching them the show and walking them through every cue, so that a room we had never set foot in ran like we owned it by the time the doors opened.
Not afraid of the graft
None of it was done from a distance. I helped install the grand piano, hang the screens and set the props during a load-in that could take well over an hour, and after the show I was first in with the crew to dismantle it all and load the truck back up. On tour, the person calling the cues and the person shifting the flightcases are the same person, and that is exactly how I like to work.
"I can't fault Andrew's work ethic at all and would happily employ him again for my next tour. He is a hard worker, a knowledgeable and talented sound engineer, and an approachable and amiable production manager."
Jon Courtenay, Britain's Got Talent Winner
The same care, whatever the room
Jon's journey from local performer to national treasure is one I am proud to have been part of. Twenty-six venues, each with its own quirks, all run to the same standard: that is exactly the passion and dedication we bring to every job, whether it is a single speaker in a boardroom or a headline act on a national tour.
From a boardroom to a national tour
Whatever the size of the room or the stakes of the night, we bring the same care and craft. Tell us what you are planning and we will make it happen.
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