Welcome

Group Members:
Tommy Stebel
Bernie Krauer
Francis Jost
Helmi Erdinger
Jean De Anthony
The teenage band Landscape split up in Basel in May 1975. Landscape's Bernie Krauer (lead vocals, organ, E-piano, mellotron, synthesizer) and Tommy Stebel (drums, percussion, acoustic guitar, vocals) carried on as a duo. In spite of their unusual instrumental diversity, they decided to look for backing, and, after a long search, the two found bassist Francis Jost to fill out the lineup. From that stage on, the trio called themselves Welcome. They concentrated mainly on instrumental music. In late 1975, Welcome recorded their eponymous debut LP at Aquarius Studios in Geneva, and it was published through EMI Switzerland. Initially a number of promotional gigs were played, including one in the Comedy Theatre in Basel; however, due to the ineffectiveness of the publishers and distributors, sales of their first LP were rather moderate. At the end of 1977, Jost left the group, and he was replaced by Helmi Erdinger in February 1978. More concerts followed, plus months of preparation for their followup LP You're Welcome, which was produced (as a picture LP) in 1979 by Babylon in Germany. The LP exploded Welcome's popularity in Europe, but shortly before sales of You're Welcome took off, the ex-Magma guitarist, Jean De Anthony, joined the group as the fourth member. When Krauer and Erdinger left the band for family reasons (leaving only Stebel from the original lineup), new musicians were added, changing Welcome's sound considerably. After developing their new sound through months of playing, the band entered an Austin studio to record their third LP, but the album was never released. Welcome disbanded in 1981.