Fanclub Meeting 1998 – report

The most productive years in the club's history were behind us. Publishing four it magazines per year and organising a club day – and in 1996, the Selling England event as well – had shown us our limits. That is why, starting in 1997, the magazine was changed to only two (albeit more comprehensive) issues per year. The annual meeting in Welkers was retained, as it had become routine and required less preparation than meetings in different locations. We didn't come up with any new ideas for the 1998 meeting and largely adopted the previous year's concept, which had been popular with visitors – with one exception.

After the official welcome at 11:30 a.m., we presented the box set Genesis Archive 1967-75, which was released the following month. After a long lunch break, we held another 'Rudis' quiz. It had been introduced at the previous meeting and proved very popular because everyone could join in and there were often surprising and fun moments. So this time we played more rounds, had even more fun and gave away even more prizes.

This was followed by the live act: Sabine Brehmer and club member/author Andreas Lauer. Sabine was the singer of a successful local band and Andreas was, among other things, an organist in his hometown and a versatile musician. Especially for this meeting, the two had formed a duo (at the request of the it editorial team) and performed under the name 'Knock And Knowall' (see lyrics to Genesis' song it on The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway). Andreas played the piano of the Welkers choir and Sabine sang along. And, of course, the repertoire consisted of pieces from the Genesis 'family'.

Incidentally, this year's exhibition included the original 'song chart' for Calling All Stations, which hung on the wall next to the mixing desk in the Genesis studio while they were working on the album. Among other things, it was used to mark the progress of the recording and to write down the working titles and final song names. In fact, the album and the recently completed Genesis tour still had an impact on the meeting. We had received tons of promotional material for the album from the record company and used it generously, especially countless black fabric banners with red 1997 Genesis logos on them.

At 4 p.m., the big moment arrived. For the first time, a Genesis (former) band member was a guest at Welkers, not in person, but live via telephone: Steve Hackett. For 1998 and the location in Welkers, this was already a technical and logistical masterpiece. Today, something like this would be live-streamed via Zoom conference in 4K quality, but back then, a telephone connection to England was already a highlight. And it was only possible because the club had established a very good relationship with Steve.

The tension rose when Helmut picked up the receiver on stage, dialed the number and the ring tone could be heard over the loudspeakers in the hall. Steve answered and a very relaxed interview began, during which some visitors were also able to ask Steve questions in person. We have archived the entire interview and it can be read here (will be added shortly). A little fun fact: we had a poster printed on which we 'photoshopped' a telephone receiver into Steve's hand, and Peter pulled it into position behind Helmut at the exact moment Steve picked up the receiver and answered – much to the amusement of the audience.

This was followed by a video presentation and a rare items auction, which are tried-and-tested and popular programme items. The subsequent collectors' market was still very popular, because although eBay and other platforms already existed, they were still very new and most people preferred to look for something for their Genesis collection at record fairs or at the club day. And the collectors' market was always a great opportunity for that.

The official end of the meeting was at 7:30 p.m., and as always, the evening slowly drew to a close with only a few visitors remaining.

The crew that put it all together was still small, consisting of the three editorial staff members at the time and some of our family members, reinforced by the multi-talented Uwe Brehmer. Oliver Schlapp was once again the host of the quiz and auction, and the Hirschmann family took care of the catering.

This time, we used the tour programme for Genesis' Invisible Tour as the basis for the programme booklet for the 1998 meeting.

Author and Photos: Helmut Janisch (2025)

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