Willie Williams (set designer)

William Peter Charles Williams (born 1959) is an English show director, stage and lighting designer and video director for concerts, theatre and multimedia projects. He is best known for his work with the rock band U2, and is recognised as one of the leading artists in this field.^[1] William Gibson, writing in Wired magazine, said "Willie Williams combines a passionate delight in technology with an infectious low-tech joy. His innovations have become industry standards."^[2]

He was born in 1959 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and raised on Ecclesall Road, Sheffield,^[3] the son of Robert Woodman Williams, a singer and medical practitioner; he sang with South Yorkshire Opera. Williams excelled at mathematics and science in school and planned to study physics at University College, London. Punk rock encouraged him to enter the music industry instead: he began doing lights for various bands such as Deaf School and Stiff Little Fingers.^[4]

Williams has been responsible for the design of U2's tours from 1983 onward, most famously the Zoo TV Tour (1992–1993), and most recently U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere (2023–2024). The residency, which opened the Sphere, was met with universal acclaim, with The Daily Telegraph stating that U2 and Williams had "changed live entertainment forever".^[5] He has also worked with musical artists such as R.E.M.,^[6][7] David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Robbie Williams, Darren Hayes,^[8] George Michael^[9] and Self Esteem.

Williams has designed for the Montreal-based dance company La La La Human Steps. Other collaborations have been with Laurie Anderson, Marianne Faithfull and the Kronos Quartet, most notably on Sun Rings, a joint effort with NASA that combines the string quartet's music with video and audio material collected by the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft.^[10]