Since 1959, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club has held a prestigious place in London’s live music scene, welcoming legendary artists such as Miles Davis and Amy Winehouse to its stage. The recent refurbishment of its first-floor venue, Upstairs at Ronnie’s, marks a new chapter in the club’s history.
The space has left behind its former layout as a low-ceilinged bar with performances taking place at floor level, transforming into a venue featuring a fully equipped stage, a higher ceiling, a grand piano, comprehensive acoustic treatment, a new sound system and a modern lighting installation.
Everything has been designed to recreate the atmosphere of the club’s historic main room in a more intimate setting. At the heart of the new lighting installation is GLP’s X5 Series.
Charlie Dale, who has worked at Ronnie Scott’s for 15 years and progressed from technician to technical manager, has spent that time driving improvements to the club’s lighting system to ensure it matched the quality of the performances on stage. After leading the major upgrade of the main room’s lighting rig in 2018 and introducing a dedicated lighting technician for every performance, he was entrusted with designing the new system for Upstairs at Ronnie’s.
The installation was carried out by Steve Myers Ltd, which was responsible for the design, construction and wiring of the lighting infrastructure, as well as supplying all the fixtures. This single-supplier approach helped streamline the project from start to finish.
Dale’s brief for the installation was demanding. Owing to the venue’s limited ceiling height and the diversity of its programme — ranging from almost acoustic classical performances to high-energy funk and soul shows — the fixtures had to be compact, operate with the lowest possible noise levels, and deliver high-quality colour and accurate skin tones even at very low output levels. At the same time, the system needed to be capable of producing dynamic movement and a wide variety of looks for more energetic performances.
Finding a fixture that combines a compact size, silent operation, excellent colour reproduction at low output levels and movement capabilities is no easy task, says Dale.
Eight impression X5 Compacts form the core of the moving-light system. Each fixture features seven 40 W RGBL LEDs capable of delivering up to 3,980 lumens, with a zoom range from 3.6° to 66°, 540° pan and 236° tilt, together with GLP’s iQ.Gamut colour calibration system, ensuring accurate and consistent colour reproduction, including natural-looking skin tones.
The X5 Compact’s pixel mapping capabilities allow it to create a wide range of visual effects without relying solely on movement. In addition, GLP developed bespoke modifications to the cooling system for the Ronnie Scott’s installation, reducing the operating noise below the level normally produced by this model. This exclusive adaptation ensures the fixtures remain completely unobtrusive during the club’s quieter and more intimate performances.
Six X5 Atoms provide static wash lighting above the stage. Each fixture delivers up to 430 lumens from a single 40 W RGBL LED and offers a zoom range from 3.5° to 32°. Its external power supply allows the head unit to remain compact and lightweight, an important advantage in a venue with limited ceiling height.
The system is completed by six X5 Dot Wash fixtures, the smallest member of the X5 Series, with dimensions comparable to a standard MR16 Birdie fixture. Each unit delivers up to 550 lumens from a single 40 W RGBL LED and features a manual zoom range from 16° to 68°, making it an ideal solution for installations close to the stage where the fixture’s physical footprint is particularly important.
One of the main reasons for specifying the entire X5 range was its colour consistency.
Keeping the entire installation within the X5 range makes colour matching between fixtures extremely straightforward. The X5 Atoms and X5 Dots are compact and silent, meaning they don't interfere with our more intimate performances and remain visually unobtrusive above the stage. Once GLP implemented the customised fan modifications, the X5 Compacts gave us the best possible combination of compact size and quiet operation. And thanks to their pixel mapping capabilities, we can create dynamic lighting effects and a variety of looks without relying solely on movement, says Dale.
GLP’s involvement extended well beyond supplying the products. Paul Fielder, the company’s Key Account Manager, worked closely with Dale from the initial fixture recommendations through to providing demonstration units for testing during live performances before the final specification was agreed.
The bespoke fan modifications for the X5 Compacts were developed and tested by GLP exclusively for this installation to meet the venue’s strict acoustic requirements without compromising fixture performance. "Special thanks go to Paul Fielder, who made sure everything was ready in time for the opening", says Dale.
Upstairs at Ronnie’s officially opened on 4 February 2026 with a performance by Vula Malinga and her band, joined by special guest Nao. Dale describes the opening night as "a complete success," highlighting that the lighting system delivered exactly the combination of warm colours, accurate skin tones and discreet visual presence that had been envisaged from the outset.
Today, the venue hosts a regular programme featuring two performances every evening, late-night shows on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, a vocal jazz jam every Wednesday, and Sunday afternoon concerts. The X5 Series installation has proven itself fully capable of supporting this broad range of performances.
We continue to receive nothing but compliments about both the look and sound of the shows, from artists and audiences alike, including musicians and customers who have been coming to the club for years. Ronnie Scott’s has always understood that the live performance is the most important part of every evening, which is why it has invested in the very best equipment to showcase the talent of the musicians on stage, concludes Dale.
