Event 2007: Nursery Cryme – report

In the eventful year of 2007, there were two fan club events, both of which were very different from our usual events in terms of organisation. The fan meeting in Braunschweig in June kicked things off, and in autumn we held the Nursery Cryme Event with The Musical Box in Duisburg.

Preface

The Musical Box had also made a name for themselves in Europe since 2002 and were highly successful in the years that followed. They played the Genesis shows for Foxtrot (sometimes), Selling England By The Pound and The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. The 'Black Selling' show was also performed occasionally. The creative mind behind the band, Serge Morissette, had already been our guest twice for special events, so we had a good connection to Canada.

In spring 2007, we had the idea of offering German fans, and especially our members, something special. The Musical Box had occasionally played a Nursery Cryme show in Canada in the 1990s. This would therefore be a first in Europe, and after initial discussions, there was mutual willingness. The details were somewhat more complicated, as such a show with a Canadian band is a logistical challenge.

But once it was clear that The Musical Box would be playing the 'Black Selling' show in Germany in autumn 2007, things started to take shape. The band was willing to play a Nursery Cryme show especially for us and you and to rehearse additional songs for it. Thanks to the expertise of WiV Entertainment, we were able to quickly sort out the logistics and chose the Theater am Marientor in Duisburg as the venue. This was also because most of the members live in North Rhine-Westphalia and the Black Selling show was to take place there the day before.

Announcement and supporting programme

On 1 August 2007, we announced the event via newsletter and website. As the set list had not yet been finalised, we initially only 'guaranteed' that the bands Seven Stones, Twilight Alehouse and Stagnation would be playing. The supporting programme had not yet been finalised at this point, as the concert was the main focus of the event and, for cost reasons alone, we were unable to open the hall before 2 p.m. We were able to offer tickets at a significantly lower price than the band's normal shows – this was also a concession on the part of the band itself, who wanted to say thank you in this way.

In addition to the band's merchandise stand, we set up our it stand in the foyer, where you could buy this and that. A large picture frame with newspaper clippings about Nursery Cryme formed our mini exhibition, and of course we were also available for personal exchanges. Unfortunately, Peter from the it team was unable to attend this time. For logistical reasons, we had to forego the planned collectors' market. Instead, there was a special competition, which would play a role after the show.

The show started slightly late, as some people were still stuck in traffic and the 960 paying guests were all expected to be there before the concert started.

The Musical Box plays Nursery Cryme

We had received a set list from the band about a week before the show, but of course we didn't publish it. The band had the audience in the palm of their hand right from the first song. Watcher Of The Skies remains one of the greatest songs in Genesis' history. The set consisted of a kind of Foxtrot set plus the songs that were only played during the Nursery Cryme tour. Happy The Man, for example, was a little surprise and sounded amazingly close to the original. Twilight Alehouse and Seven Stones were also well received, and after The Return Of The Giant Hogweed, the band left the stage to thunderous applause.

Many expected The Knife as an encore, and that's what they got. By the end of the song, it was clear that this was going to be a magical evening. The band received a standing ovation and a mixture of awe, gratitude and boundless enthusiasm spread throughout the hall. The band was also very impressed and while the it crew was already preparing for the event finale after the show, TMB decided to do something special…

Setlist

Watcher of the Skies
Stagnation
The Fountain of Salmacis
Happy the Man
Twilight Alehouse
Can-Utility and the Coastliners
Seven Stones
Get 'em Out by Friday
The Musical Box
The Return of the Giant Hogweed

Encore 1:
The Knife

Encore 2:
Supper's Ready

… that's right – they played the entire Supper's Ready! That wasn't planned at all, and Denis later told us that it was a thank you for the incredible atmosphere in the hall. At the end, the band was celebrated and many had tears in their eyes. And we still had something else planned…

Finale with slapstick implementation

We have held a raffle at almost every fan club event so far. We also had some prizes with us in Duisburg, but of course we were faced with the challenge of distributing them among the nearly 1,000 ticket holders. So we came up with something special. We printed out the entire seating plan in oversized A1 format and stuck it onto a plywood board. Then one member of the audience was to 'throw out' the winners with a dart. We asked the person who had travelled the furthest to come on stage as our lucky charm. This was Michael Scott Miller from Milwaukee.

Michael also speaks German and was already known to the editorial team. We suspected that he might be the one to draw the winners and were glad that he was sitting right at the front. Michael was definitely not an expert with a dart, but he did his best to determine the winners. He succeeded, albeit not with a good posture score. Fortunately, only 900+ spectators were watching…

It wasn't easy to keep the audience in their seats after the show ended. We had to redraw a few winners because they had simply already left.

All in all

This event was also a highlight for us. We are infinitely grateful to The Musical Box, WiV Entertainment and all of you for making this happen, and we look back on what was, at least in terms of visitor numbers, the biggest event we have ever organised.

Author: Christian Gerhardts (2025)
Photos: Helmut Janisch, Martin Christgau/Bettina Dörr

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