A MIXING desk used in concerts by artists such as Van Morrison, The Who, Amy Winehouse and James Brown will go on display at the National Science and Media Museum.

The museum and Picturehouse Cinema are taking part in BBC Music Day on Friday, September 28 with guest talks by music industry professionals, and a rare screening of the documentary Patti Smith: Dream of Life, a film 11 years in the making which explores the philosophy and artistry of the ‘Godmother of Punk’.

A Midas XL3 40-channel mixing desk, larger than the average pool table, will be on display for the first time since being acquired for the museum’s Sound Technologies collection. It has been used in live performances by the likes of the Happy Mondays, Patti Smith and The Prodigy, whose front-of-house sound engineer, Jon Burton, will talk about why the desk is so revered in the industry.

John Tinline, the original owner, said: “If I said most bands you have ever heard of have been through that desk, it wouldn’t be far from the truth."

As BBC Music Day celebrates women in music, Mariana Lopez, Chair of the Audio Engineering Society UK and Lecturer in Sound Production and Post Production at the University of York, will discuss opportunities and challenges for women in the music production industry.

Other events include a tour of the Sound Technologies collection in the National Science and Media Museum’s archive and research centre.

* Entry to the talks are free. Cinema tickets are £5 each, and can be booked at picturehouses.com

* For more information visit scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk