HENNING VERNER - 2008 Q & A

February 7th, 2008 – www.panrobertlelievre.com 'Q & A' with Henning Verner
	The following new Q & A piece with Henning Verner was conducted via email. Many thanks to Henning for kindly taking time out of his busy schedule to answer my list of questions regarding Pan and Robert Lelievre – it is very much appreciated. To learn more about Henning's musical career, visit the newly updated "Henning Verner" page on this site.

PANROBERTLELIEVRE.COM: What did the band Pan mean to you as a musician, and what are your thoughts on the lack of success the band eventually ended with. From what I gather, Pan were well received by the press and on several occasions were featured on successful radio programmes such as "Dansk Beat" and "Radio Beat", so why then did the self-titled Pan record not sell too well?

HENNING: "First of all we were very young, and it was a strange world at that time 1968 – 1970. To me it was a great experience to meet these very talented people and work with them on a professional basis. As a musician it meant a lot to start out at such a high level. About Pan´s succes, I think we were quite succesful while we were together – we had many jobs, but I think it started to fall apart when we started to split up – first I left, then Arne – new people came in and so on – and maybe Robert did not really believe in it anymore. – I am not sure – I was not there. The poor selling of the record - I think it was too ”un-danish” – if it had come out in France, and other countries it might have sold much more."

PANROBERTLELIEVRE.COM: What was your honest opinion of Pan's singer Robert Lelievre? And do you have any particular stories or memories of Robert to share with the site?

HENNING: "Robert was a very nice person, and a fantastic guitarplayer. I still enjoy very much to hear him play – I cannot think of anybody who can play like him. One thing I remember was his tuning of his guitar – he had many ways of doing that – and many of them he had invented himself. – and these tunings, I think, explains some of his very special sound. I think he was a great singer when he sang in french – not quite so good in english."

PANROBERTLELIEVRE.COM: Do you remember anything about recording a 2nd Pan album for Sonet in 1971?

HENNING: "No I dont remember that."

PANROBERTLELIEVRE.COM: Somewhere in 1971, Pan recorded music for a Swedish/Danish film directed by Stellan Olsson called "Sidste Frist" aka "Deadline", and also apparently the band contributed music to an unknown short film of the time. Do you recall recording music for either films, and if so, do you remember what songs were recorded, or were they just songs from the 1970 self-titled LP.

HENNING: "Actually we acted in this film (as musicians), and I remember one scene where we play music in the film. I also remember one scene where you see Arne plaing very beautifully solo-cello. We have recently recieved a copy of the film on DVD – I think it came from Claus. I have not seen it yet."

PANROBERTLELIEVRE.COM: After the demise of Pan in 1971, did you keep in contact with Robert Lelievre, and also, what were your thoughts upon hearing the tragic news about his death?

HENNING: "I kept contact with Robert for some time – but not that long. And when he died we had not seen each other for several years. I dont know why and how it happened. I was chocked when I heard it – but in a way not surprised, cause I knew how sensitive he was and how much he suffered – not being able to go to France."

PANROBERTLELIEVRE.COM: Pan's self-titled debut has been re-released by at least three different music-reissuing labels, the last being a 2005 reissue with 7 bonus tracks by the label Karma Music. What are your thoughts regarding these reissues?

HENNING: "I think it was great that somebody would do that job – we knew that these recordings were somewhere, but I never had them."

PANROBERTLELIEVRE.COM: Lastly, if there is anything else you wish to say about your time in Pan, or about the Danish music scene of the time, please do so as I would very much like to hear any thoughts you may have regarding these things.

HENNING: "Well – I often wonder how much the world has changed since then. I guess we were sort of pioneers opening new frontiers – I mean we were quite few musicians in those days, and we all had taught ourselves what we knew. Today we have rhythmic music-academies and young musicians are incredibly good – and there are so many of them. But as my friend Jens (Rugsted) once said: I am proud and grateful for having lived in this period."