What It Was Like to Run a Laser Light Show in the '70s

“If your thoughts were in the future, you loved electronics and music, and you had a vivid visual imagination, what profession would you choose?” If it was 1977 and you were Glenn Thomas of Van Nuys, California, the answer would be professional laserist. Invented in the early 1970s, laser light shows were a cutting edge form of entertainment that combined hit music with colorful choreographed laser light movement.

Incredibly popular amongst teenagers, the psychedelic performances easily sold out planetariums and auditoriums in the '70s. While the shows have waned in popularity in recent years, back in 1977, the laser light show was in its heyday. The short documentary LASERIUM follows professional laserist Glenn Thomas as he creates a laser light show and performs it for a sold-out audience. Thomas went on to perform around 12,500 shows over the next 25 years. Go behind the scenes with the professional laserist in the colorful documentary above.

[h/t Boing Boing]

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