Writing about the Genesis fanclub through the eyes of its users and members is not quite an easy task without mentioning the history of and stories about Genesis or digressing into my own experience as a fan – about all of which one could write volumes. This is not what is to happen here – let me say only this: Had I know twenty years ago that a Genesis fanclub set itself up somewhere in the south I would have been in it from the start. I was twelve years old then and the internet was not even on the horizon. So I did not join until much later – passively at first, and actively (in the forum) since 2006.
The fanclub website has long since become a daily stop. Though there are other fan websites and forums, here – and only here – is where the discussion threads about all members of the Genesis family come together. And there are a whole lot of them, particularly if you consider the wider family. For me, the essence of the fanclub is made up of three core aspects: information, discussion and action.
Information
Without the up-to-date information on the website and in the newsletters I would certainly have missed some releases from the Genesis camp or would not have been at several concerts. That would have annoyed me, and I think I owe it a drink. Then there are the reviews. They are always worth reading, particularly if the authors put forward arguments I disagree about, or, even better, if they mention aspected I never considered. That helps me discover new things. And apart from the 'official' reviews there is the information provided by other users on the forum: some is musicological, others analyse the lyrics or the sound, discuss the chronology or are about something else altogether that is without any relation to Genesis. That, too, is interesting sometimes.
Discussion
Debates in the forum can be quite heated at times. When I was new there I felt as if there were two hardened positions of fans of the Gabriel era and those of the post-Gabriel era (to generalize it, if I may). It has probably always been like that, is still like that and will always stay like that. I was new to that at the time as I had never wasted a thought about it. Peter or Phil, or even Ray? I did not and do not care. The advantages of the one need not make the other look bad. The discussions in the forum show, however, that there is common ground to being a fan, though every fan has his or her point of view, their own concept of it. And they can share these ideas with others in the fanclub. You can see that from the long exchanges in the Track Of The Week or the album leagues. And the discussions work out. Luckily. Most of the time, anyway. And in general, manners are maintained in a way that I know from no other forum.
Action
There have been two real fanclub highlights in recent times. One was the fanclub event of 2009. The rather long journey to Remscheid was more than worth it. Steve Hackett live, The Watch, the collectors' market and not least the other fans – it was all wonderful and very well-organised. The other thing was the Christmas quiz 2010: It was a huge challenge every day, and I also learned a lot from that. Apart from these big things the fanclubs frequently offers other things like competitions where I have actually won something or other.
Over the years it has become a part of my Genesis world. Uh, that is piling it on. But really, the fanclub is fun, and my perception of Genesis today would be different without the fanclub. What would I be writing on this topic if it were five, ten or twenty years later? Something similar, I suspect, though obviously lots of things will have happened in the Genesis camp and in the fanclub.
Thank you, it! All the best to you – keep up the good work!
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