The Anthony Phillips Event 2014 – report

The creation of our Anthony Phillips event was worthy of a separate article, which Helmut wrote and which you can find here. In this article, we want to report on the two days themselves.

On the eve of the first day of the event, we went out for dinner with Ant at the local Italian restaurant and met some fans there who, of course, recognized him.

As always, the preparations took a lot of time, and accordingly, the setup at the event again involved special tasks for the crew. Visually, the large banner with the event logo as the stage backdrop immediately caught the eye. And, of course, the exhibition was once again of exceptional quality, and it took hours just to fill the display cases. Thanks to the well-coordinated crew, however, everything went according to plan.

Another challenge was the musicians' sound checks, as they all had to "test" their performances and we therefore had to schedule appropriate slots into the program.

The program for both days was as follows:

12.00 Doors
13.00 Welcome
13.10 Live-Music
15:00 Anthony Phillips Interview
17:00 Auction & Quiz
18:45 Live-Music
20:30 Goodbye

The two days were identical in terms of schedule, but on Sunday everything started an hour earlier. There were also fans who attended both days. The main differences were in the live presentations and the Q&A session, which we only "controlled" to a limited extent, as you also had the opportunity to ask Ant questions. There was always a break between program items for small talk, refreshments, and autographs.

After admission, a relaxed atmosphere quickly developed. We had "hidden" Ant before the welcome to give him a warm reception. So we first let the fans browse the stands, view the exhibition, and have something to eat and drink before we ushered Ant past the side into the backstage area. With our welcome, Ant was then brought onto the stage and was part of the event from then on.

Live-Music

On both days, there were two music blocks in which fans performed Ant's songs. Ant himself was also present, taking notes during each performance and then commenting on the respective presentations—including little anecdotes about how the songs came about.

On Saturday, the following performances took place in two sets, each of which was identical:

Worth mentioning: The musicians from this first set all later came together again in The Ant Band Project.

A whole lot of music was performed, and Ant was visibly impressed, not only by the great commitment but also, of course, by the sometimes mischievous arrangements. He took lots of notes and took the time to comment on each performance.

On Sunday, similar to Saturday, these performances were presented in two sets:

Naturally, there was a lot on Sunday that had already been played the day before. But that didn't matter to most of the audience, as they were only there on one of the two days. Nevertheless, Ant took the time to evaluate the performances he had already seen the day before. This led to a memorable scene when Ant was about to sit down at the piano and play a few notes to better explain a point. Many cameras and cell phones were quickly at the ready—but he didn't do it. It was a moment of mixed feelings, somewhere between amusement and regret.

Ant had also brought his guitar with him to Germany, as he was considering playing something. Unfortunately, in the end, this didn't happen. The live performances filled the program nicely, and Ant's comments were more detailed than expected.

Stage interviews

Since the Early Years Event, stage interviews have been very popular at our events. We usually start with a few questions and then let the audience ask questions as well. Christian traditionally handles the interview itself and the translations in both directions. A few rules are usually communicated in advance (for example, to refrain from asking very private questions), and then we basically start without a specific schedule.

The interviews on both days were therefore different, even though some of the standard questions were repeated (especially those relating to Genesis). We didn't have to keep an eye on the clock, and Ant made jokes from time to time and, much to the delight of the translator, sprinkled in a few German words.

Exhibition and breaks

Helmut has already written extensively about the exhibition in his Making Of Special. Without a doubt, the Phillips event exhibition was one of the highlights of our event history. Anthony himself was also very impressed and talked shop with fans about one or two of the exhibits.

By making the program a little more relaxed and splitting up the live sets, for example, visitors were able to chat and enjoy refreshments without missing anything. Anthony himself was very patient when it came to photos and autograph requests, and he also talked and discussed a lot with the visitors.

The Ant-Feeling

If you compare this event with other events to which we invited guests, the Anthony Phillips event is probably most comparable to the Early Years event, at which Richard Macphail was also present the entire time. Ray and Steve did not do this at their events (which does not diminish their closeness to their fans!). Anthony Phillips was in the thick of things at all times, enjoying the exhibition, conversations, autographs, and performances, and presenting himself as a normal part of the event audience. For many visitors, this was a unique experience, as the feedback after the event clearly showed. The fact that we had no more than 100 people in the hall per day made everything even more intimate. Anyone who wanted to could interact directly with Ant and get autographs.

All in all

Fittingly, the event was the very last event held in the venerable community center in Welkers, and these premises could not have had a more beautiful farewell. And for us, the Anthony Phillips event was another high point. After that, it was clear to us that any further "How much more can we do?" campaigns would either be brutally costly or simply not feasible based on our capabilities. The Anthony Phillips event gave both us and you a great deal. And it had a lasting impact: years later, many of the musicians came together in the Ant Band, which gave Anthony a wonderful birthday present with A Light On The Hill.

Author: Christian Gerhardts (Februar 2025)
Photos: Helmut Janisch, Frank Opitz, Bettina Dörr

Tickets and admission wristbands for the event: