Strong Super Trouper Carbon Arc Followspot (1974)

Strong Super Trouper Carbon Arc Followspot (1974)

Few stage lighting instruments have achieved true global name recognition, but the Strong Super Trouper is one of them. Its fame was sealed not only by decades of service in theatres, arenas, and television studios, but also by popular culture itself—immortalised in the ABBA hit Super Trouper. (Amusingly, the music video features a CCT followspot rather than a Strong, but the association stuck, and the name became iconic.)

Origins in Cinema Projection

The Super Trouper’s lineage reaches back to the early 20th century and the work of Harry Strong, founder of Strong Electric. Before the company became synonymous with high-powered followspots, Strong was a major manufacturer of carbon arc lamps for cinema projectors. Projectionists in small and mid-sized cinemas of the 1940s would instantly recognise the DNA in the Super Trouper’s lamphouse: the same rugged construction, the same unmistakable arc chamber, and the same philosophy of reliability above all else.

By the 1970s, Strong had adapted this expertise into a new generation of stage lighting instruments. In fact, the company pioneered the first xenon followspot in 1971, ushering in a new era of lamp technology. Yet carbon arc models like the Super Trouper continued to dominate through the mid-1970s, prized for their intense, cool-white beams and the artistry required to operate them.

A 1974 Survivor

This example in the collection dates from 1974, placing it at the crossroads of tradition and innovation—still a carbon arc unit, but produced just as xenon was beginning to take hold. Strong offered the Super Trouper in both 240V and 115V configurations. Ours is the 115V model, strongly suggesting that it began its working life in the United States, where it may have toured with a concert rig, lived in a civic auditorium, or served in a television studio.

A Beam That Has Seen It All

One of the irresistible qualities of a followspot is its anonymity: it illuminates the star while remaining unseen itself. That makes the history of any surviving unit tantalisingly mysterious. Since 1974, this Super Trouper may have tracked rock legends across arena stages, picked out Broadway leads in their final bows, or followed comedians, dancers, and dignitaries under the heat of its carbon arc.

What made that beam so distinctive was not just its reach, but the nature of its source. Unlike later xenon models, this Super Trouper generates light by sustaining a high-current DC arc between two carbon rods. The arc itself — an intensely bright, almost living point of light — sits precisely at the reflector’s focal point.

In practical terms, this meant enormous punch. A properly trimmed arc could comfortably project across large auditoria and arenas, with usable throws well beyond 200 feet when conditions allowed. The beam had a slightly textured, organic quality — not unstable, but alive — something many older operators still recall.

That brightness could not be dimmed electrically. Instead, light was shaped mechanically through the iris, douser and shutters. The operator was not merely pointing a light — they were sculpting it.

Every scratch on its casing and every adjustment mark on its yoke hints at decades of hands guiding it, aiming it, and trusting it to deliver that unmistakable, razor-edged beam.

Inside the Lamp House

At the heart of the 1974 Super Trouper sat the carbon arc — two consumable electrodes slowly burning away as they produced their intense white light. Typically, a larger positive carbon and a slightly smaller negative were mounted in opposing holders, fed together by a motorised mechanism that maintained the critical arc gap.

Striking the lamp required a practiced touch. The rods were brought together momentarily to initiate the arc, then eased apart to establish a stable burn. From that point on, the feed system compensated for the steady erosion of the carbons — but it was never entirely “hands off.”

While followspotting, the operator was always aware of what was happening inside the lamphouse. Between cues — sometimes even during a long musical number — they would glance at the arc through the inspection port, checking that the crater on the positive carbon was forming correctly and that the arc remained centred in the reflector. A wandering arc meant reduced intensity or an uneven field.

At full intensity, a set of carbons might last around 40–50 minutes depending on trim and current. Running low mid-show was not an option. Experienced operators learned to read the burn rate instinctively, timing carbon changes around intervals or scene breaks.

The Super Trouper therefore demanded more than good cueing and steady hands — it required mechanical sympathy. Heat, carbon dust, and faint ozone were part of the working environment. The lamphouse was not simply a compartment; it was an active system that needed monitoring, understanding, and respect.

In that sense, carbon-arc followspotting was as much craft as it was control.

A Living Piece of Stagecraft History

Today, this Super Trouper stands as a testament to the era when carbon arcs ruled the high-intensity lighting world — a time of crackling electrodes, the smell of ozone, and the unmistakable shimmer of an arc burning at thousands of degrees. The arc itself burns at nearly 4,000°C — hotter than molten steel — yet still cooler than the 6,000°C plasma inside the xenon lamps that would eventually replace it.

It represents not only Strong Electric’s engineering heritage but also the craft of the followspot operator, whose skill and timing could elevate a performance from good to unforgettable.

Within only a few years, xenon lamps would begin to replace carbon arcs in many venues, offering longer running times and a cleaner, steadier source. Yet for those who worked with them, the carbon-arc Super Trouper was more than technology. It demanded judgement, attention, and a feel for the machinery. In 1974, followspotting was not just about keeping the beam on the performer — it was about keeping the light itself alive.

For further historical detail, visit the excellent resource at www.theatrecrafts.com/bhc/