MUMFORD AND SONS PICK MARTIN AUDIO MLA FOR UK TOUR

Mumford and Sons FOH engineer Chris Pollard elected to take out audio rental company Capital Sound's new Martin Audio MLA system for the band's debut arena tour in the UK.

''The MLA momentum is building and we knew that once Chris got to hear the system he would go for it,' says Capital's general manager Paul Timmins. 'But because of the band's hectic schedule in Australasia and North America, we had a problem simply getting him in front of it.'

However, Chris managed to spend some time at London's 02 Arena during the Killers' first show day there. 'We showed him around the equipment and then he listened to the incredible coverage MLA delivers without the need for the delay hangs that are usually necessary for The O2,' continues Paul. 'He made his decision later that day.'

The tour, which starts with some warm-up regional theatre shows, will carry MLA Compact, with MLA servicing the arena dates in December.

Capital is supplying a four man PA crew, with Marty Beath, one of the recently trained MLA technicians, handling system engineering; Fabrice Quirin, who has worked with the band during the past 18 months for all the European touring, as crew chief; Mark (Magic) Ellis Cope on main PA duties; and Tom Whitbread taking care of stage micing.

'We have really high hopes for the audio results on this tour and can't wait to hear the rig in action,' concludes Paul. 'We appreciate the loyalty that tour manager Giles Woodhead, Chris and Joel have shown us, and we'll ensure they get the great service they're used to during the upcoming run.'