Scrapbook
1996

SAILOR fanclub newsletter about the performance at "Gottschalks Haus-Party":
Two days with SAILOR
Written by the former SAILOR fanclub secretary Andrea

It's the 16th of November 1996 and I look very much forward to seeing Phil, Henry, Grant and Pete again after a long while. They've come to Munich to do a very famous show called "Gottschalks Haus-Party". Their first German TV appearance with the new lead singer. I wait at the hotel (one of the most elegant hotels here in Munich) until they come back from the rehearsel at the TV studio.
When finally they arrive, it's a big "hello" and we decide to go out for dinner. But where? We call two taxis and ask the driver for a nice Chinese restaurant. When we arrive there, we find out that we had something completely different in mind than the cab driver... So we walk down the streets of Munich and finally find ourselves in a typical German Bavarian restaurant. We have lots of fun, especially with the difficulties of chosing the right kind of meal. Well, when you're in Bavaria you should eat saussages, and that's what some of us do now. The first night in Munich ends with some drinks at the hotel bar.
Next day - next rehearsel. And this is when our good mood turns into anger. The TV production only has prepared the old "Girls Girls Girls"-playback for SAILOR's appearance. It's the one with Georg's voice. It's unbelieveable. The band tries everything to make them prepare the version with Peter's voice. But there's now way, because the production insists on showing a part of an old video from 1976 when the song starts. And the "Girls"-version from the "Legacy" album doesn't fit to the tempo of the old one. So they can't combine this.
Well, SAILOR lock up in their dressing room to discuss and decide whether to leave or to do it. I feel so sorry for poor Peter, who's first appearance on German ground this is...
- Photo: Peter before the gig -
The more I'm impressed that it is Peter who finally decides to stay and do it. But it seems to be a wise decision cause otherwise it would have taken away the chance to get into this well-known show again, with a new song. So Pete is given a tape with the old version and does a quick rehearsel on his own in the dressing room.
- Photo: Peter with headphones, rehearsing the old version -
The live-show starts and SAILOR are on last. Time enough for being bored.
- Photo: Showbiz is "hurry up and wait" -
The catering's fine, but almost gone because guys like D.J. Bobo and Bryan Adams seem to be very hungry. We go downstairs where there's a room in which all artists can watch the show on a big televisior. Now it's SAILOR's turn and they walk out to do their performance. I stay inside to watch it on tele. They do a good show, it's fun! Pretty girls dressed in SAILOR suits dancing in front of them and all other artists of the show are dancing to "Girls Girls Girls" aswell. It's the final and it's party atmosphere. Some well-known newscasters were also appearing in this "Gottschalk"-show and the thing with them is, that usually you don't see their complete body when they are reading the news on tele. Now they are dancing to SAILOR music, which is real fun!

After SAILOR's performance, the host shows SAILOR's new album "Legacy", which is good promotion and which he usually doesn't do.
- Photo: Thomas Gottschalk -
But we know that it's sort of an "excuse" for all what went wrong this night... And - a compliment to Peter and his performance: you couldn't tell at all, in which awful mood he was about the whole desaster. And appart from real SAILOR fans (of course!) I guess (we hope) nobody else took notice of the fact that it wasn't his own voice.
Well, after the show the whole "Gottschalk"-crew is off to an Italian restaurant for dinner and I go back to the hotel cause SAILOR - appart from having a nice meal - have to talk business there. But before this, we have a short chat with Richard Strange, the "butler" of this show...
- Photo: After the show -
Two club members are here in Munich aswell and so we sit down at the hotel bar and have some drinks.
- Photo: Katrin (club member) and Andrea -
Much later SAILOR came back to the hotel - and we have some more drinks. They tell us that they had a good conversation with the host of the show (Thomas Gottschalk) and it seems as if there's a chance for SAILOR to come back in the near future to present new stuff. Which is important cause the show has high ratings. It's very late when finally we all go up to our rooms. Next morning we're all a bit tired. And this bloody expensive hotel has turned out to be a very strange place... Grant is saying that at the first day he couldn't remember his room-no. and tried to call the reception while being in somebody else's room. It took "ages" until he reached somebody and until they understood what he wanted. Phil is telling that the night before he was woken up by the reception at 6.30 h (!) in the morning, just because they wanted to let him know about a fax message which was waiting for him. Actually this message had come in the evening before and they could have let him know by leaving a message in his room. But the "nicest!" story is the one Henry has to tell: In the middle of the night - he thinks it must have been 3.30 h in the morning - suddenly a waiter was standing in the middle of his room, wanted to serve him a drink and some ice. The waiter obviously had the wrong room-no., cause sleeping Henry was sure that he hadn't ordered anything at all. Well, I would have loved to see Henry's face at this moment!... However, I have a problem, too. I was given all those SAILOR T-shirts by Phil and want to take them with me back to Berlin. Only problem is that my suitcase is to small cause I wasn't prepared to carry merchandise back home. But Henry is very helpful and so we get gafter tape and a scissor and that's the way Henry "seals" my suitcase by glueing it up.
- Photo: the "suitcase affair" -

The SAILOR fans Karsten and Katrin take some pictures of Peter
- Photo: (Hi Peter! You look so much sexier without the cap! Grin...) -
.....who is hiding behind a bush...
- Photo: (Why ?!?!?!? :-) :-) ) -
- Photo: (...still hiding...) -
And then it's time to say "good-bye". SAILOR's flight is leaving at 12.00 h back to London, and exactly at the ame time mine is back to Berlin. At least it's supposed to be like that. Both flights are late because it's very misty that days and so we finally leave about 40 minutes later... All in all it was good to travel the long way to Munich because lots of misunderstandings and bad feelings could be sorted out. There has been a lack of communication in the past between SAILOR and the club. Now I understand that lots of things went wrong because of SAILOR being enormously busy with building up their new carreer and I guess "normal people" - who don't work in this business - can't imagine what an awful lot of things have to be done and organized. Of course SAILOR want their fans to be well-informed and the letter to their fans (which you find in this issue) shows that they don't forget their fans. I don't want to bore you with details, but I can tell you that we had long discussions about how to organize things better for the club.

A letter to the fans - written shortly before SAILOR´s performance at "Gottschalks Haus Party" in SAT 1 television in Munich (Germany) on 17 November 1996

Hi Everyone!
We´ve just arrived in Munich to perform on the Thomas Gottschalk Show which is being broadcast here live tonight. This is our first TV show in Germany as the New Sailor and we´re very excited.
Last week we performed two concerts in Denmark introducing our new 80 minutes live show for the first time. The show contains many more of your Sailor favourites, new songs from our latest album "Legacy" and one or two surprises.
1996 has been a time of great change and development for us, and we have spent this year working very hard to make Sailor a great entertainment showcase that will last for many years.
Those of you who have heard the new Legacy- Greatest + Latest Album and will shortly see our new live show, we know you will not be disappointed.
Thankyou all, as always for your patience, support and of course continued love of Sailor Music.
Finally we thank Andrea for keep the connection between us + you alive during this time.
All the very best,
Peter, Grant, Phil & Henry

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