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Fanclub Meeting 2000 – Report
A contemporary report on Fanclub Meeting 2000, which not only took place in a new millennium, but also at a time of upheaval within the club.
The following report appeared shortly after the meeting on our first website, which had only been online for a few months at the time.
The eighth members' meeting of our club took place on Whit Sunday, as has been the custom for many years. We were very curious to see whether the restructuring of the club would have an impact on visitor numbers, and indeed, contrary to the previous trend, fewer of you came to Welkers than in the previous year. Whether this was actually due to the discontinuation of the club magazine remains to be seen, as it would not be a logical explanation. Some familiar faces who had attended almost all previous club days were definitely missing this time. Nevertheless, most visitors clearly enjoyed themselves again, and we, as the organisers of the event, also felt that the 2000 meeting was a great success. Only the rarities auction failed to really spark enthusiasm this time.
Particularly in the case of some very rare exhibits, which we thought visitors would be eager to acquire, bids were made very slowly or not at all. This time, we had also planned a little more time without fixed programme items so that there was more room for conversation than usual. Many people thought this was a very good idea. However, we will certainly shorten the somewhat longer video show to the usual 45 to 60 minutes in future, or divide it into two blocks, because even with the rarest material, after an hour and a half of screening, the air becomes too stuffy and you start to drift off into a light trance.
One highlight was the live performance by Christian Meier, who showcased his piano skills for the first time. For many, however, the collectors' market was the highlight of the day, as where else in Britain can fans find such a selection of Genesis recordings, merchandise, etc. in one place?
The editorial team would like to thank all visitors to the it Meeting 2000 once again for coming and ask them to let us know if they have any wishes or suggestions for future meetings. Special thanks go to Uwe Brehmer, Oliver Schlapp, Christian Meier, Eddy Pachali and Karin Woywod, without whom the meeting would not have been possible in this form.
You should definitely keep Pentecost Sunday (3 June 2001) free in your diaries for next year, as there will be another club event in Welkers. However, this time we are not planning a regular club day, but a special day, similar to the Selling England By The Pound Event in 1996. You can find out more about this in our news section and on our website in the autumn.
Author: Helmut Janisch
Photos: Karin Woywod, Helmut Janisch
First published in 2000 (online) and 2001 (in it-Archive 2000 magazine, March 2001)
The programme booklet was visually based on the tour programme for Phil Collins' Serious Tour. For this and for the small laminated admission pass and other passes for Meeting 2000, we used various drawings of 'Albert' by Lionel Koechlin.
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