Grand Union Orchestra 40th Anniversary Film
12th August 2025
In 2022, we had the honour of collaborating with Grand Union Orchestra in producing their 40th Anniversary film, documenting the group’s vivid, imaginative and transportive performances of their greatest pieces from the past four decades. Led by the Orchestra’s founder, the late musician, composer and visionary Tony Haynes, this concert was both a victory lap for the organisation, and a hopeful vision of the unity we can all aim for in the present.
These nights were ones of vivid celebration, collaboration and remembrance, performed at Hackney Empire Theatre in May three years ago. The abundance of diverse artists that comprise the group, many of them first generation migrants, devoted themselves to weaving a vivid musical and visual tapestry for their audience, that honoured the organisation’s inspiring legacy.
Since its conception by Tony 40 years ago, Grand Union has remained both rooted and propelled by its vision to bring together artists and musicians spanning continents, cultures and musical backgrounds. They collaborate to create spectacular live performances that bridge, break and blend genres from across the world. Their 40th Anniversary performance was no exception, and it embodies the pinnacle of what GUO has always set out to achieve.
Àkàndá Productions have been in collaboration with Tony Haynes and Grand Union since 2021, and it was both our privilege and challenge to capture the magic of this monumental concert on film. The sheer quantity and diversity of artists, musicians, and musical instruments made for an ambitious recording project, but ambition is what fuels and inspires us at Àkàndá.
Speaking to Daniel about what it was like approaching a project of such scale, he said, ‘I’ve always been drawn to ambitious projects, so the scale of this one didn’t really intimidate me, it actually excited me.’ It was this, a well-established relationship with Tony and the Orchestra, and a deep love of music that urged him to help create this film: ‘Ultimately, I was grateful for the trust they placed in me, and driven by the desire to reflect the spirit and dynamism of their 40th Anniversary performance as faithfully and artistically as possible.’
It is the shared ideals of representation, authenticity and beauty that connects us so deeply with the heart of Grand Union Orchestra. These were values we aimed to make shine in the film by faithfully capturing the rich sonic textures of every single instrument and performer- no easy task. Daniel commented that ‘It was about making sure the final sound supported the visual storytelling [and] ensuring all the layers of the orchestra came through clearly, as there’s such a rich variety of instruments and voices.’ This variety ranged from the mesmerising and persistent percussion in song ‘The Mother, the River’ that emulates the ever-present flowing of the Ganges despite its division by Britain post WW2, to the penetrating, mournful vocal performance of the Mother figure, brought to life by Lucy Rahman.
The relationship between filmmaking and music is incredibly close-knit, and this so often drives Àkàndá’s creative projects. It was the sonic beauty of this particular song that actually inspired a new creative idea for Daniel: ‘I’m now developing an animation for Grand Union based on the song. I became really immersed in that piece, and through that process, a visual concept started forming in my mind. So in a way, this project sparked the next one.’
Although the evening was spent in celebration of the Orchestra’s musical accomplishments, visuals were just as important to this film, including the performers’ clothing and the concert’s thoughtful lighting design. It was Àkàndá’s aim to immerse watchers in this spectacular musical and visual journey, to provide them with unmediated access to the performances, uninterrupted by inorganic camera movement or editing. This, Daniel agrees, was a success: ‘The way it moves from one piece to the next creates a real sense of journey […] even when I revisit the film just to check something, I often end up watching much longer than I intended, simply because it draws you in.’
Capturing these visuals did come with challenges, though, ones that required innovation from the team. With each musician and artist being so integral to the performances, recording each of them was equally integral to this film. The sheer scale of the orchestra was a difficulty, but one that the crew embraced: ‘It came down to communication, trust, and a lot of quick-thinking,’ said Daniel. He told me of being in constant motion when filming the concert, literally embodying the lesson he recounted later: ‘It’s not about how many cameras you have, it’s about how you use them’. Despite limited filming equipment for close-ups, the crew’s efforts, and the performers’ staggering energy and movement allowed even wider shots to carry so much life: ‘Technology helps, but it’s your team and your creative approach that really shape the final result.’
When I asked him his biggest takeaway from helping to create a film so special, Daniel replied that ‘I don’t think there was one “greatest” lesson – more a collection of small ones that added up.’ One of these was the importance of delegating and trusting your team. What followed was a nerve-wracking and hilarious retelling of how he actually found himself locked out of the building for the first number of the performance, having had to exit to handle something last minute: ‘I ended up having to run around the building, through the front, and back in through the side just to start filming.’ It was thanks to thorough preparation and a team who could really instinctively respond to the music, that hiccups like this didn’t impact the beauty and professionalism of the final piece.
In his glowing review of the film, Duncan Heining highlighted how ‘This film is the next best thing to actually being present,’ a feat that was incredibly ambitious for us to achieve, given the sheer scale- physical, cultural and historic- of the performances generated. He also commented on Tony Haynes’ extraordinary career including and extending far beyond GUO, that we agree deserves ‘a book rather than an obituary.’ Hiening continued: ‘Perhaps there will never be a book now but there is this remarkable concert film. If that career, of which Grand Union represented just the last forty or so years, could ever be summarised in 105 minutes, then this would be it.’
With a concert as explosive and ecstatic as this, he also asks incredulously, ‘How can the writer [and videographer] adequately convey the sheer, on-stage spectacle of a band […] where twenty-five nationalities and every continent are represented?’ This was a question that would understandably cross the mind of any production house tasked with capturing the performances, but despite the challenges, we were driven to honour, celebrate, and immortalise all that Tony built with this film.
Another answer to Hiening’s question is passion, both for filmmaking, and for the musical storytelling that Grand Union Orchestra champions. Daniel told me that his favourite part of the whole process was ‘simply listening to the music constantly. Whether it was during rehearsals, the live performance, or in the editing stage, I just enjoyed being immersed in it.’ He called it ‘the kind of music you don’t get bored of. Every time you listen you hear something new.’ It was this kind of immersion and depth he aimed for when making the film, so that viewers could enjoy that same intimacy.
The power of music and performance to both override and highlight differences has always been a belief we carry across all our creative projects at Àkàndá, and it is just as integral to GUO. We aimed to reflect this in our filming, capturing how each individual musician shines on stage, while also celebrating how brightly these musicians shine when performing together. What our film illuminates is the constant collaboration and spontaneity that went into the performances, highlighting the community and connection that Grand Union was founded on.
Tony Haynes was an advocate for the dissolving of hierarchies, both within orchestra and the greater world. This message is made clear with every interaction we had the privilege of capturing between all the artists on screen. What I found most evident was their sheer celebratory joy at being a part of the magic of Grand Union, both in the film and when speaking to its members.
Gerry Hunt, a multi-instrumentalist who has played with GUO since its beginning, said ‘it’s been one of the most important experiences of my life, emotionally, musically, educationally and socially.’ Similarly, Steve Fox, who, for 40 years, worked on lighting, staging and drumming for GU, told me: ‘the old timers toured for many, many years and became very close; we refer to each other as family, indeed the band played at my wedding in 1987.’ I was incredibly moved hearing about this, not just found, but forged family, and I truly believe that such a spectacular show could not be pulled off by a band with weaker bonds.
These friendships were also plain to the crew during filming: ‘What really stuck with me,’ Daniel said, ‘was how much of a family the orchestra feels like […] You are standing in a room with what is probably the best brass section in the UK, maybe even the world, and they are just casually performing. It is not in a showy or grandiose way, but with joy and ease. Everywhere you looked, there were world-class musicians doing what they do best.’
Besides just being a sonic and visually stunning accomplishment, this film deeply resonates with Àkàndá’s mission to represent the underrepresented, both on screen and behind the camera. The concert’s and Orchestra’s emphasis on telling global stories really shines. Daniel reflected on Tony, and his personal relationship to these goals: ‘One thing he spoke about that really stayed with me was the effort to educate. He made a point of speaking to the younger members of the audience and encouraging them to learn about the different instruments on stage […] That attention to sharing knowledge and inspiring the next generation felt really meaningful.’
It is this aim to educate and inspire in the pursuit of creating art, both with the organisations we partner with and the stories we tell, that lies at the heart of Àkàndá and our work. This collaboration with Tony and Grand Union Orchestra was truly the embodiment of that, and we were honoured to bring the magic of their performance to life on screen.
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