November 1985. A few months past Live Aid. Just after the opening of Les Misérables. Phantom of the Operaa year away. Margaret Thatcher still in power. And a new magazine launches: Lighting+Sound International, published by the trade association PLASA.
 
The first issue sets out its broad scope and international ambition, covering everything from Top of the Pops to lighting designer Richard  Pilbrow to new performing arts spaces in Calgary and Kuala Lumpur.
 
Really, nothing has changed in the 40 years since – but in that time the magazine has become the historical record of an industry that has evolved, advanced, flourished and thrived (and also of the careers – and the fashions worn by - those who’ve been part of it along the way!)
 
Every issue is now available online: be prepared to lose a lot of time as you discover the stories behind your favourite products and shows. 
 
Sometimes, though, you can’t beat paper. So we’ve brought every issue here for you to rummage through. If there’s one you really want to take away with you, it can be yours for a small donation to the entertainment industry charity Backup Tech.
 

40 years of LSI
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40 years of LSI
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LSI: 25 Years  (November 2010)
From Lighting & Sound International