it25: Personal statements from the it editorial team

To mark the 25th anniversary, Helmut, Peter, Bernd, and Christian are making a very personal statement. Our readers can also post their impressions, comments, and feedback. Contributions from German fans can be found in the it forum.

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Helmut Janisch

So now the time has come for Peter and I to celebrate our silver wedding anniversary. We tied the knot in November 1991. I can still hear it ringing in my ears: "Yes, I will…" came the reply over the phone when I asked him if he would like to set up a Genesis fan club with me and publish a club magazine. Shortly afterwards, we "adopted" Bernd and our little 'family' was complete for the time being. And somehow, today it actually feels like a long marriage. We know each other very well and have gone through ups and downs together and even provided for "offspring" (in the form of Christian).

A quarter of a century of club history lies behind us, and if we manage to do it for another five years, all four of us will look like the mask of a well-known singer at the end of The Musical Box. But do we want to, and more importantly, can we do it? In my particular case, it cannot be denied that my interest in Genesis has waned noticeably over the last five to ten years. Although the music of Genesis/solo still means as much to me as it used to, my collecting instinct has almost completely disappeared. Whereas I used to spend vast sums on limited editions, foreign pressings, and live recordings, today I only buy the regular albums… if that.

Why buy the third reissue of 'Wise After The Event' or a box set with tracks I already have almost all of? At most, for the exhibition at the club day, so that the work can be documented in its entirety. But how many more club days will there be? How can all these events be topped? After 25 years, we have reached the point where we have already achieved so much. And we have reached the point where we are tired and resigned. Tony, Mike, Phil, and Peter would be the last of their band to have to come to Germany for an it fan club event. But the two frontmen are simply too busy, and Mr. Banks and Mr. Rutherford are not interested.

Not being interested seems to be a recurring theme at Genesis. After a few lovelessly compiled box sets and editions, you simply lose hope that there will ever be a truly perfect set from Genesis & solo on any topic. It's not as if we never offered our support to avoid the many stupid mistakes. But that was not what was wanted. This certainly contributed to my losing interest in the club's work. When some management teams, many record companies, and even some band members signal that they have little to no interest in our work, it's not exactly motivating. Cooperation works with other bands and musicians… well, I guess we chose the wrong band as a cult object. But fortunately, Genesis is not (any longer) everything, at least for me.

There definitely was and still is a life outside the Genesis fan club. This was neglected far too much in the first ten years of my fan club work. After that, it slowly regained some of its importance, and today the club only plays a small role for me. Looking back on 25 years of fan club work gives me mixed feelings. Actually, we achieved everything we set out to do in 1991. First and foremost, that was the desire to create a platform for German-speaking fans where they could find out all the latest news about Genesis and exchange ideas. The whole thing had to be visually appealing and, over a long period of time, thrive on continuity, reliability, and credibility.

In the days of the printed 'it' magazine, it was above all a constant battle against time. But since the launch of our website 16 years ago, every piece of news and every article can be passed on to fans in real time, so to speak. So that's one reason to be satisfied. But at this point, we also have to admit that we often lag behind our potential and, compared to the past (and even compared to, for example, the Italian magazine 'Dusk', which is still published in print form), we miss out on a lot of news and some releases don't get reviewed or are reviewed with an incredible delay. Hats off to Mario Giammetti and his team, who manage to outshine our work in this regard without any fluctuations in quality or quantity.

Quite obviously, we no longer have the same manpower to operate at this high level. But we do other things just as well, and some even better than the Italians. And in international comparison, we certainly don't look bad. At least significantly better than some long-established fan clubs, led by some bizarre, Donald Trump-like egocentrics. The fact that, for inexplicable reasons, such individuals receive more support and appreciation from Genesis management than we do is another sad circumstance that spoils my anniversary review.

I have fond memories of the many wonderful moments of collaboration and getting together with other fans, whether at club events, working on the magazine or website, or organizing events. It was also a great pleasure and, of course, an honor to meet almost all of the band members and many other people from the Genesis circle on behalf of the club, and to even have some of them as guests at 'it' events. These positive experiences make up for the many thousands of hours spent at the computer and the lack of interest in our work shown by some of my Genesis heroes.

In connection with one of the aforementioned, the title 'Not dead yet' was recently used. And somehow, curiously enough, this also fits the situation of the German Genesis Fan Club 'it' in November 2016 quite well. We can look back on a respectable 25 years of club work. What the future holds is unknown. Urgently needed massive changes to the website are pending, and another 'it' event is scheduled to take place in 2017. So the coming months will certainly not be boring for us. One thing is certain: we are not dead yet. As long as there are fans who support us, who care about our work, as long as the Genesis band members are active and we receive a minimum of official support, the German Genesis fan club 'it' will continue to exist. And I hope that I can continue to contribute to the success of this project in the future.

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Peter Schütz

Now it's that time again, the next anniversary is coming up. An incredible 25 years (a quarter of a century!) have passed since I met Helmut, almost to the day, and with it a long time full of great experiences and a lot of work. The first 20 years have already been reported on the website.

Here is a little update of my memories from the last 5 years:

Another Lamb event (2012)

A special guest was supposed to perform at the anniversary event Twenty Years it. Unfortunately, it didn't work out – we simply didn't have the money to pay the high fee. Other plans, such as using a different location, also failed due to the high costs.

So we ended up repeating the Lamb event from 2001… and thanks to Serge Morisette's Lamb film, it was a unique experience.

But the months of preparation are starting to take their toll.

Anthony Phillips at last (2014)

After 20 long years, we were finally able to get Ant to agree to an it event.

In addition to the obligatory large exhibition about our guest of honor and a long on-stage interview, Ant was also available for autographs and small talk.

What a highlight in the history of our events.

The somewhat different it-shop and a black eye

After the very labor-intensive events in 2012 and 2014, it was a relief to accompany one of the two album launches of Steve Hackett's new album Wolflight. No preparations had to be made. So I drove to Berlin with my daughter on March 27. A day later, we went to the Maschinenhaus in Prenzlauer Berg in the evening.

There we met Christian. He was adorned with a huge black eye ;). Was it really the result of a fall in the bathroom? Who knows what happened in Dortmund the day before!

We didn't have our own booth, but we helped Inside Out Music sell posters and records. The posters (as well as CDs, records, etc. that we brought with us) were signed by Steve right there at the booth. Steve sat behind the booth and I stood right next to him. And so I'm probably in every picture.

A long-awaited celebration (with surprises)

September 29, 2015 is the big day. I'm turning an unspeakable 60 years old. Where did the time go?

On this day, Steve Hackett is giving a concert at the Theater am Aegi in Hanover. We plan to go there in the evening with the family and Bernd. But what happens next is something I never could have imagined.

Shortly before we leave for Hanover, the doorbell rings. A masked man silently asks for a donation. He receives a few euros, but he still won't leave us alone. Then he starts messing with the apples on the terrace. What to do?

Only at the last moment does the man turn out to be Helmut, what a surprise. In Hanover, Christian joins us, which is just great.

But that's not the end of the gifts. Steve Hackett interrupts his concert for a break, then makes an announcement asking me to join him on stage. Wow, my knees are shaking.

After the concert, we go backstage. A roadie brings out a birthday cake and lights a bunch of candles on it. After singing "Happy Birthday," everyone gets a piece.

When I think back on this special birthday, I still get goosebumps. Thank you.

The next anniversary event and what then?

We are currently thinking about whether and, if so, what we can organize for the anniversary event. I really want to do something again, even though I was pretty exhausted after the last fantastic Ant event.

25 years is quite a long time, but I wouldn't want to have missed it… or all the friends I've made during that time.

So I hope to see you all again at the next event. See you then.

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Bernd Zindler

Now, five more years have passed since I wrote a few lines about my impressions, feelings, and memories on the occasion of the fan club's 20th anniversary.

Christian said that Peter, Helmut, and I, who are not really active in the forum, should get back on track to show the world out there that we are still alive.

The following short article is not only a sign of life, but also an update for the period from 2011 to today.

Changes (again)

I admit that my priorities have shifted even further away from the fan club and toward my family and professional career. None of this was planned, but like so many things in life, it just happened. I don't want to take anything back or turn back the clock. The days when I regularly wrote articles for the magazine or the website are long gone and will not return. Christian knows all too well how slow I have become in this regard. For example, there is actually a book review in the works that I have been working on for an outrageously long time.

Well, it is what it is. Times change …

Highlights 2011 – 2015

An absolute dream came true with the Anthony Phillips Event in 2014. But it wasn't just my dream, it was also that of my dear colleagues on the editorial team. We had been working on it for twenty years and finally made it happen. For everyone who experienced Anthony over those two days, it was certainly a unique event, and for me it is definitely one of the highlights of the twenty-five years celebrated here.

Two years earlier, with the second The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway event, we once again experienced the entire aura surrounding this album, packed into two fantastic days. Incredible video recordings, a great exhibition, and fans who just wanted to "cultivate" this album. Super! Serge Morissette was in top form, and that rubbed off on everyone involved and all the guests.

The CD single Pennsylvania Flickhouse by Anon is a treat that should be in every collection. I have a close connection to this album due to a busy period in my life, as I took over the entire order and shipping process in November 2011. Thanks to the energetic support of my son, it wasn't too bad and was actually a lot of fun.

What will come

As much as one might wish for it, the future of the club is not guaranteed at any price. Personal situations play an important role, and activity is only possible if there is time for it and the motivation to keep turning the wheels.

The technical (and associated visual) relaunch of the website/forum is irrevocably imminent. It is not happening because we want it to, but because we have to. Technology has caught up with us here, and if we do not respond, our internet presence will literally be pulled offline sooner or later. Therefore, a large amount of work is looming, for which we urgently need the support of helpers. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who is helping us in advance.

It's just amazing what has been achieved in twenty-five years and how many unique moments we have had. With this in mind, "Happy Birthday, German Genesis Fan Club."

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Christian Gerhardts

25 years of it—it all seems to be rushing past us a little, and that's simply because we haven't prepared for this anniversary nearly as intensively as we did for the 20th. Back then, there was a special issue, a much more lavish website special, the fan club CD, and your contributions. Now, we simply had little time and motivation to get even more involved.

Although one's own motivation is always subject to fluctuations and the factors influencing it can only be controlled to a limited extent, even I can hardly hide the fact that many things are no longer running as they did in 2011.

The website has become a challenge in its own right. Here I can rely on Helmut's help, but behind the scenes, the editorial team is already stretched thin due to a lack of time or technical know-how. Fortunately, there are a few users and forum mods who do a lot of work here that would otherwise simply be left undone.

The forum, in its unique way as a sociotope, is sometimes difficult to control and, unfortunately, sometimes difficult to tolerate, I'll say that quite openly here. Even before 2011, there were problems from time to time (and I'm not talking about the annoying Collins vs. Gabriel rifts/discussions), but somehow the way we interact with each other has deteriorated somewhat. Decisions made by the mods or by me in particular have had to be scrutinized for quite some time now, and I am dismayed to note that self-reflection as a whole has suffered greatly. Instead, "threats" and 'ultimatums' are being made to drive perceived injustices to absurd extremes ("if this isn't corrected, then I'm out").

Honestly, we have a forum that is comparatively unregulated in the fan world. And even if we sometimes get decisions wrong or they could have been interpreted differently, where has the composure gone? We don't want to hurt anyone here—but let's be clear: anyone who comes up with ultimatums or blackmail tactics as a result of decisions we have made will be out. I no longer want to please everyone.

Which, interestingly, brings me to another positive point: I always enjoy meeting you out there in the real world. Fan club events, concerts, regulars' tables, or just by chance. And suddenly things are very simple. It's also the solidarity in the it editorial team and, in a different form, among the supporters who regularly help us out.

Genesis themselves are drifting towards extinction, and we are enjoying their sometimes very active solo careers. And I follow this with a fairly balanced interest across all phases and types of solo careers. However, the increasing distance between management/band and fans has not escaped my attention, of course, and it's not particularly motivating. So the Collins tour in 2017 will take place without the it editorial team. I don't think that's ever happened in 25 years.

I really enjoy things like the song league that is about to start—and I also enjoy organizing ticket promotions, even if it costs me a lot of gray hair. I was thrilled by the Gabriel Compendium (also because we as the it editorial team had no coordination whatsoever in terms of content) and I hope we can do something similar with Collins.

And, of course, there have been three events since 2011—having Anthony Phillips as a guest was one of the highlights of my time as an editorial team member. And the fact that Steve Hackett's record company asked us to organize the album launch events last year was also a kind of satisfaction—because it shows that our work is appreciated beyond the fan base.

Motivation aside, kindergarten in the forum or whatever else gets in the way, in the end it all depends on the activities of the band members and your interest in reading our reports and specials and attending it events. And as long as this remains the case on both sides, 2021 should also be: …and another five!