WGT memories 2023: GHOSTING
“For three weeks, I didn’t know if I would see the next day.” (Sascha Tayefeh)
How often have you been to the WGT so far? (As a visitor and as an artist)
I was at the very first WGT in 1992 for the first time. We played there as one of the bands. The second time I was there was for the tenth anniversary. And now for the third time for the 30th anniversary. As a visitor, I never attended the festival. But that has nothing to do with the WGT itself, but with the fact that I myself neither liked to give concerts nor went to concerts. I think it has something to do with a traumatic experience at my very first festival in 1989. I was in the front row of Jesus and Mary Chain at the Bizarre Festival on the Loreley. At the end, they set up their mics in such a way that there was a gigantic loud, high-pitched feedback. I couldn’t get away and it took minutes! I had headaches and ringing in my ears for three weeks.
What did you think before the gig and how do you look back on it today?
Frankly, although I had been preparing for the performance for months, I hadn’t realized it until I was actually on stage. Somehow I had resolved for 20 years never to go on stage again, and that I did it anyway was mainly because it was the big anniversary. Another motivation was that I was seriously ill with Corona in 2020. For three weeks I didn’t know if I would see the next day. When the request from the WGT came, I said to myself: This one more time! And this time you give your best concept ever! Since I haven’t had anything to do with the scene for 20 years, I thought at first that hardly anyone would still know Ghosting. When I then came on stage and saw firstly that the hall was completely filled to the back and secondly that apparently most people knew me I was completely blown away.
Which song did you particularly like to play?
Clearly and without hesitation: “Amphetamine Logic” by the Sisters of Mercy. This song was one of the first songs from the genre I ever heard, which must have been around 1988.
Were there any personal meetings that meant a lot to you?
Frank D’Angelo. Frank has been with Ghosting practically from day one in 1989. I hadn’t seen him in 20 years either, and then when we were on stage together, that was the absolute icing on the cake for me. Then it was a huge joy for me that two people from London were there, Tzina Dovve and her boyfriend. You have to know that I grew up in Germany, but from 1988-93 I regularly went to London to get “socialized” in the underground clubs. That was a great way to end my stage career, that there were also people from the London scene who frequented the same London clubs as I did in the late eighties.
What will you remember for a long time from this year’s WGT?
That Ghosting actually has such a firm place in the scene, as I was told. Being told is one thing, but experiencing it in concert, yeah, that gets under your skin quite a bit.
WGT setlist:
„Der Leiermann“ • „Die Baby, Die“ • „Disguised in Black“ • „Das Model“ • „Little World“ • „Bombed the World“ • „Let Me Stay“ • „Amphetamine Logic“ • „Pains“ • „New World“ • „There Are No Dreams“ • „One Bullet“ • „The Order of Things“ • „Ad Infinitum“ • „Paranoia “ • „Lion King“
You can find more acts like Deine Lakaien, Front Line Assembly, Rosa†Crvx, Eisregen and V2A exclusively in the “WGT Special Issue”, which is enclosed to the current Orkus issue. You can order the July/August issue in the Orkus! Shop or in the Onlinekiosk.
