Orange at Midem France (1974)

Orange supplied PA and amplification for MIDEM Cannes, where a Stevie Wonder demo session sparked the brand’s global “Voice of the World” legacy.

Landing the deal for Orange equipment to be used exclusively onstage at the MIDEM shows was a real coup for us. It was where Stevie Wonder first tried, and loved, our amps, and in effect, launched Orange onto the world stage.

“MIDEM, or the Marché International du Disque et de l’Edition Musicale, is a music industry exhibition held in Cannes, France,” explains Cliff Cooper, Founder andCEO of Orange. “Each year, Cannes hosts this record expo alongside its famous film festival. Managers, record companies and artists attend with promotional tapes and songs, looking to secure publishing, licensing and record deals. Would-be stars go from stand to stand, hoping to get noticed.

The man behind it all was Bernard Chevry, who launched the event back in 1967. I can’t recall exactly how we first got in contact, but he was looking for a company to supply all the amplifiers and PA equipment for MIDEM. Bernard asked me to fly over to Paris, where his business was based. I proposed a three-year contract to supply everything needed for the festival, at a fee of $20,000 per year, which was a significant  sum at the time. We sent the gear over in two large Mercedes trucks, along with our studio technicians and engineers.

Stevie Wonder and the Voice of the World

“The heart of the event was the theatre, where global artists performed showcase sets to promote their latest releases to the industry. To my delight, that first year featured a performance by Stevie Wonder, one of my all-time favourites. I met him there and invited him to visit Orange Studios next time he was in London.

“Stevie took me up on the offer. He came by, recorded some demos, and that visit marked the beginning of our association and eventually his endorsement of Orange.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that it was Stevie who really helped put Orange on the global map. He was the catalyst for us earning the title Voice of the World.”