Meeting 2008 (When In Welkers) – Report

For the 2008 meeting, we had considered organising a more conventional club day. We had last done this in 2003. After very elaborate events with high technical and organisational costs in Welkers (RayVent and two large themed events) and the completely different events in Braunschweig and Duisburg in 2007, it was now time to 'go back to our roots'.

The motto 'When In Welkers' and the accompanying poster motif for the meeting suggested a major event, but were actually a parody of Genesis' DVD When In Rome, which was also released in May 2008. With a big wink, we put Welkers and the tranquil meeting on a par with the band's concert in Rome in 2007 in front of approximately 500,000 visitors.

Apart from this allusion to Genesis, there was no fixed theme for the meeting this time, but the day still revolved largely around our special guest Dale Newman. Dale had worked for Genesis in various capacities since the Lamb tour in 1974, was also a musician himself and sang on an Anthony Phillips album, among other things. So he would have a lot to talk about, and we invited him to Welkers. We printed a short biography in the meeting programme booklet.

The meeting began relatively late at 1 p.m. with a welcome from the editorial team. Unfortunately, Bernd was unable to attend this time. However, Martin Timmerbeil, Jan Kruse, Martin Klinkhardt and Julia Schütz joined the crew once again. Disappointingly few visitors came to the meeting this time – apparently our programme was not interesting enough for some. Those who were in Welkers still enjoyed the meeting, not least because the Hirschmann family once again provided excellent catering and Katrin Moelke was back with her fantastic Genesis cocktail bar.

The first item on the programme was an audio presentation of the Genesis CDs released in 2007/2008 in 5.1 surround sound. We had rented a 5.1 system and presented the audience with some examples of particularly interesting multi-channel mixes of various tracks. After a half-hour video block, we played 'Rudi's' quiz with the audience again. The good thing about this was that with fewer visitors, the chances of winning increased.

At 4 p.m., Dale Newman was available for a long on-stage interview. His humorous manner created a good atmosphere in the hall, as did Christian's summary translations into German. After Dale's often lengthy, detailed answers, it was sometimes difficult to summarise everything concisely. But Christian moderated as confidently and entertainingly as ever. Dale clearly enjoyed talking about his time with Genesis as well as his other projects. We have archived the entire interview, which can be read here. Afterwards, Dale was available for autographs and conversations with visitors.

After a short break, there was another block of rare videos, followed by a raffle with some great prizes, such as a Chapter & Verse book, tickets for Musical Box concerts and much more. Vincent Janisch was on hand as the lucky fairy, drawing the winners from the raffle drum.

At the end of the day, Dale Newman gave an approximately one-hour concert, performing some of his own songs. He played guitar and sang. Some backing tracks came from CD, including for the highlight of his performance: a live version of the Anthony Phillips song Bleak House, which Dale had sung on Anthony's 1979 album Sides.

This time, there was no designated collectors' market at the end because fewer and fewer fans wanted to offer anything for sale in Welkers. But at the expanded it stand, which was set up in the centre this time, Udo Lampenscherf offered all kinds of vinyl, CDs and memorabilia related to Genesis + Co. alongside the it editorial team. With the official farewell, the meeting came to an end at around 8:30 p.m.

A 'normal' club day with many highlights was behind us. It was the last of its kind, as it was followed by significantly larger fan club events. This marked the end of a 15-year cycle from the first club day in Aschaffenburg to the 2008 meeting in Welkers.

Author: Helmut Janisch (2025)
Photos: Martin Klinkhardt, Peter Schütz, Helmut Janisch

The programme booklet and the laminated admission pass to the meeting:

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