I’m on so mailing lists for concert pre-sales!  When I received one saying that Thomas Anders was coming to a city nearby, I almost deleted.  Until I saw that his opening acts were Precious Wilson and Sabrina.  OMG – I don’t think these Europop girl singers have ever toured the United States and I love them both – especially Sabrina.  Her sexy picture sleeves and videos from the 80’s and her Stock Aitken Waterman “Boys (Summertime Love” and “All of Me” are just the ultimate epitome of the kind of stuff that I love to collect.  And the videos that I used to trade (before YouTube existed) with the wild costumes and great performances by Precious Wilson with Eruption.  SOLD!  I snatched up a ticket right away (I didn’t want to waste time trying to find somebody who even knew who these people were.  Plus, it was already almost sold out and a single ticket overlooking the stage was premium.)   

But the best part is that right after I purchased the ticket and got the email with the PDF (yes, not on an app), they followed up with a special limited offer for a meet and greet with the artists.  SOLD SOLD and SOLD!!!!!  So frickin’ excited.   

The meet and greet was promoted as a "champagne reception" with the artists and took place about an hour before the event.   There were literally only seven of us.  I declined to partake in the cheese platter and the $8 sparkling wine but I was super prepared and on an endorphin rush, waiting with my memorabilia and blue Sharpies. 

Sabrina was the first to come in and immediately came over to me after saying hi to the group. Probably because I had the high top round table in front of me strewn with her 12-in singles and photo. She KNEW the true Sabrina fan in the room was me.   

We had a little bit of a language barrier when she was trying to spell my name, and I didn't realize until that moment how strong her Italian accent was. Of course, I’d never noticed an accent in her records or videos, but it was absolutely charming.  When I mentioned that I wished I could have seen her perform earlier and I would have come had I known, she said that she had been in the U.S. only ONCE before to perform, at a private event.  Wow!  Now I felt extra-lucky that I was able to meet her!  She was polite and accommodating and I found myself babbling about my Italian heritage, with her feigning interest before we posed for photos taken by her friendly, handsome male handler.   

Clearly I was the biggest Sabrina fan in the room, and the only one with things for her to sign. When another male fan about my age was taking pictures with her he put the camera very close to their faces and inside I was thinking "don't do that" and she put her hand out and said "no no no no" with her great Italian accent. And then she put on sunglasses for the rest of the photos, before she left the room. 

He and I had a very quick discussion after she departed about taking close up pictures after you reach a certain age.  And he was trying to explain that he wanted to hold the camera high but get a selfie of the two of them together; the camera was too close for comfort bro!  Especially to a woman whose identity was/is a sexpot and who may have had some assistance over time to maintain that image. 

Shortly after Sabrina left, Precious Wilson walked in and the same male fan pounced.  Apparently they've had some interactions on social media and they were both ultra talkative. SUPER talkative. I realized this can go on forever so I sidled over with my photo and 12-in singles to catch her eye.   

As I was talking to Precious, her female handler was passing out postcards of Precious if people wanted to have them signed. Once precious and I started to engage and I started to talk to her about the video to I Can't Stand the Rain by eruption and a photo shoot that she did in 1978 I realized that the talkativeness was just the way she is.  Interesting stuff about working with Frank Farian (the guy behind Boney M and Milli Vanilli) and why "Jewel of the Nile" didn't get any promotion, how a great song can be totally overlooked, etc.  Also she talked about performing a lot in Germany before the Berlin wall went down. I said “You mean before David Hasselhoff and “Looking for Freedom” mad it possible?” – she looked at me to make sure I wasn’t serious and then we both laughed.  

You very rarely see this with autograph signings where somebody will write one word or two of an inscription and then pause to talk for 2 or 3 minutes before they write another word or two, but that's what happened. She was still signing my stuff when the handler said we have to hurry we only have 3 minutes because Thomas hasn't come yet.  So we quickly did some photos together and Precious hustled out of there. 

Then Thomas Anders came in, preceded by his stern, smooth-bald, all-business handler.  "Photos first and then autographs".  This is when the group of Europeans with Thomas Anders and Modern Talking memorabilia immediately swarmed him.   They had been seriously partaking of the champagne and cheese and were like fruit flies on a spoiled mango with Thomas.  It was hard to get in for a photo with Thomas, but this is when I had to give it up to the stern handler who kept things moving.  

When Thomas came over to my table the handler gave us 2 packets of photos and a signed CD, I told Thomas my name and asked him which side of the Modern Talking album he preferred to sign. He said it's your album wherever you want me to and I said I'm assuming you want to sign where your face is and he smiled and signed there. The young man on the opposite side of my table asked Thomas if he could record a quick video and the stern handler shut it down. Stat. One more signature for a beautiful lady fan of his and poof - Thomas was gone.  

Now on to the performances at the sold-out San Jose Civic Auditorium... 

The whole crowd hadn't filled in by the time Sabrina started her set, but she kicked off with a rousing version of Born to Be Alive. She is definitely a woman who knows the power of imagery.  She had major eye candy video clips, old and new, AI versions of herself, super glam filtered shots and non-stop sexy-pretty on the screens. Her energy was really good, and some of the vocals were over tracks, but she did do a live bit of the Boys (Summertime Love) rap - see the video clip below.   

She also "sang" while the super glam filtered gay appeal video of Blondie's call me with Samantha Fox?!? was playing above her. I didn't even know this video or song had been recorded buy two stock Aiken and Waterman bubble gum chicks of the '80s that I loved. I've met Samantha too I'll fill you in on that later ...Check out their video... this is a camp—filtered—glam-gay appeal-oldschool-legendary big boob festival! 

Sabrina closed with a pretty decent live version of I Love Rock and Roll...video here – excuse the abrupt ending and blurriness at the end.  Gen X – suck at camera recording. 

So she sang about six songs in total and I feel like I had gotten my money's worth because I never thought I would be able to see Sabrina perform, let alone meet her. 

Precious Wilson came on next and didn't have any of the frills that Sabrina did. Just a video clip or two that played on repeat during her entire set. She also had a couple of background singers to help her out. Very necessary.  Together they all did a great version of her 1980 European hit, "Cry to Me". By the end of her set the place had filled out entirely and the crowd was excited, so she got rousing applause. Precious may not sound like she used to, but she was a genuine person and a very grateful and enthusiastic performer so she set the stage appropriately for Thomas. 

Now this is where I must insert that I was sitting on aisle in the first row of the loge overlooking the stage and the 5 people next to me were European women who were filming a video or two of Sabrina and Precious with their camera lights on.  So when Thomas Anders's band got on stage everybody started going bananas even before he stepped out and these women were all filming with lights that were basically shining right into the corner of my left eye. So fucking irritating. 

This is also where I must admit, that try as I might over the years,  I have never been a huge Modern Talking fan. When Thomas came out and started his first song these women were going bananas and it was pretty clear they were going to record the entire thing with their lights full beam ahead. I literally stayed for less than his first song.  He sounded fine, but I just wasn't that into it as the rest of the crowd.  I know. I know. He was the headliner and I should have been ecstatic, but my own personal memories have fondness for the artists in the reverse order that they performed. 

I know Thomas is legend and people love Brother Louie and …. But my personal favorite is when he got the Three Degrees to back him up for a pretty good vocalization on one of my favorite songs “When Will I See You Again” 

See The Three Degrees (Valerie, Helen & Cynthia) with Thomas on a TV show … I love this! 

I figured I would beat the traffic and get out of there early with my autographed goodies and highlight memories of meeting and seeing Sabrina.  

And those autographs of Thomas with the great 80s hair.  If you read my FAQ you understand that my autograph collecting is based on encapsulating classic moments-in-time of pop culture. Done, done and done.