John Lyons Systems
At the heart of sound and lighting beats John Lyons Systems. Born from a lifetime of experience in entertainment and nightlife, John Lyons Systems has transformed nightlife in top destinations across the country from New York to Los Angeles, Boston to Miami, Dallas to Las Vegas. The firm is led by John Lyons, venerable head of the Avalon and Spider Club dynasty and co-developer of the Avalon Series professional loudspeaker, and Richard Worboys, world renowned lighting designer and winner of the UK World Light Jockey contest.
Utilizing the latest audio, video and lighting technologies combined with a solid understanding of style and luxury, John Lyons Systems has partnered with high-profile architects and designers to create some of the world’s most elite restaurants, nightclubs, bars and lounges. Recent projects include Area, HYDE Lounge, Social Hollywood, LAX, Concorde, Suki 7 (Los Angeles, CA); Martini Park (Dallas, TX); and Light and Caramel in the Bellagio, JET Nightclub, Japonais, Bare in the Mirage, TAO in the Venetian, Body English in the Hard Rock Hotel, Mist at TI (Las Vegas, NV).
John Lyons Systems’ two divisions include Avalon Sound, specializing in the sales, design and installation of audio systems, and Moonlighting, which focuses on the sales, design, installation and programming of lighting systems.
John Lyons
John Lyons began his formidable career in the bar, nightclub and restaurant industry as a bar back at the age of 14. Working his way up the ranks, Lyons entered the management-training program of American Avents, and quickly found his way at the helm of Boston’s “15 Lansdowne St. Discotheque” along with his brother Patrick.
It was not long before he and Patrick assembled an investor group to finance the buyout of 15 Lansdowne St., which they re-launched as the nations first video nightclub “Metro”. The success of Metro along with a string of other Boston area nightspots helped to define Boston nightlife for the next 25 years. Today, Lyons Group is Boston’s premier entertainment and dining company, employing over 4,000 people and serving over 3 million customers annually.
John’s desire to personally “get it right” led him to study of sound and lighting systems to ensure that his venues were always a cut above the competition. This tinkering, which grew into a passion, was responsible for the development of a revolutionary new speaker line engineered specifically for dance clubs. When he joined forces with loudspeaker manufacturer Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW), a new product line came to life. Today, this line of speakers, dubbed “The Avalon Series” after its progenitor, can be heard in thousands of venues around the world.
Considered one of the world’s top audio and lighting designers, John has since expanded his reach from coast-to-coast. In addition to his continued involvement in the Avalon clubs in the Boston, New York and LA and the Spider Club and Honey in LA, he is founder and president of John Lyons Systems. His design/build company includes two divisions: Moonlighting, which provides top-tier lighting design and installations, and Avalon Sound, which provides professional audio design and installations, that services all of his properties as well as for many high-profile bars, nightclubs and restaurants owned by others, including Area, Hyde Lounge, Social, LAX, Concorde, Suki 7 (Los Angeles, CA), Light, Caramel (Bellagio), Jet, Japonais, Bare (Mirage) Tao,(Venetian) Body English,(Hard Rock), Mist (Treasure Island) Las Vegas, NV.
Through John Lyons Systems, John has further built on his reputation for technical know-how, professional audio, video and lighting installations and top-notch project management. His recent projects have taken him and the John Lyons Systems team across the country and around the world, and have strengthened ties with the top names in the nightlife industry including Brent Bolthouse, SBE Entertainment, MGM Mirage, The Light Group, Mohegan Sun and China Grill Management.
Lyons serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Martini Park, a multi-city restaurant and lounge establishment.
Richard Worboys
From his roots in Chelmsford, United Kingdom, Richard Worboys’ fascination with DJ and disco began at the ripe old age of 4 when he attended a wedding reception and witnessed the magic that music and lights can work on a crowd. By age 15, Richard owned his own mobile disco rig. After years of honing his craft, his big break came when he began full-time work with Rank Entertainment; success came soon thereafter.
In 1995, he won the UK Light Jockey contest at the London Hippodrome. Two years later, in 1997, he won the UK Light Jockey contest at the Ministry of Sound as well as the World Light Jockey contest at the London Hippodrome. That same year, Richard began to design and program the lighting for new nightclubs; the first being in his hometown of Crawley in Sussex, UK. From 1997 to 2000, he applied his design and programming skills to another eight 2,000+ capacity venues.
After a meeting with John Lyons in Boston, Richard packed his bags and made his way across the pond to the US in June 2000 to join the Avalon family. While working at Avalon Boston, he found himself involved in many aspects of the club, including managing the audio systems, assisting with production, and set design for the hugely successful “Avaland” night. In 2003, Richard began to split his time on both coasts to help build Avalon Hollywood in Los Angeles while still working in Boston.
Richard made a permanent move to Los Angeles in 2004 and further expanded his role by joining John Lyons Systems as lighting designer. He has lent his talents to many high profile venues including LA hotspot Area as well as several Las Vegas properties including Light at the Bellagio, JET Nightclub and Body English at the Hard Rock Hotel.
When he’s not working on a John Lyons Systems installation, Richard can be found rocking the light show at Avalon Hollywood “Avaland” Saturday nights. In his spare time, he still dabbles in music production.