Janick Gers

Srogyy said:
You probably mean this one: http://bydgoszcz.wyborcza.pl/bydgos...rzysta_Iron_Maiden__bal_sie_burzy___Skad.html (the first photo is a link to the gallery)

The article is actually pretty insightful. Lots of info about Janick's family and his early life. I'll translate the most interesting bits tomorrow.
Click to expand...

That website is weird - I can read the article and see the pictures on my tablet, but it's blocked on my PC ("subscription required" bullshit). Here's another link to the gallery: http://bydgoszcz.wyborcza.pl/bydgoszcz/56,35590,10504739,from-janick-gers-family-photo-album,,1.html I've downloaded the photos, so I can upload them if you can't open it.

So the article is apparently based on an interview with Janick's closest cousin - Mirosława Wegner. She's the lady he meets at 0:35 in the video I posted on the previous page. The text was published on the day of the 2011 Warsaw gig (great show, I was there!), so the newspaper probably got in touch with the family because of the buzz around the concert.

Here's what we learn from the article:
  • Janick's family comes from a village called Sośno
  • Janick's grandparents - Jan Gers, who was a farmer, and his wife Stanisława - come from a place called Runowo.
  • Bolesław Gers, Janick's father and son of Jan Gers, served in the navy on the ORP Burza destroyer. On September 1st 1939 the ship was berthed in a Scottish base Rosyth.
  • After the war Bolesław stayed in the UK (served in the British navy) where he met his future wife - Louis. In Poland, the rest of the family left Runowo.
  • Bolesław's brother - Józef Gers - visited him in the UK and was trying to persuade him to return to Poland, while Bolesław wanted his brother to move to the UK. None of that happened - Józef returned to Poland and met his wife, who was from Sośno, where they settled. Mirosława, whom I mentioned at the beginning, is their daughter.
  • After retiring from the British navy, Bolesław started working in some kind of chemical plant. In 1956 he married Louis, who worked in a marketing agency (the caption under their wedding photo obviously must be wrong, because it says 1965). They lived in Hartlepool and had 4 children.
  • Born in 1957, Janick is their oldest son. Interestingly, according to this article his actual given name is Jan (after his grandfather), which is the Polish equivalent of John. People started calling him Janick - and I guess that's because it sounds very similar to Polish "Janek" (Johnny). You can hear them saying "Janek" in the video (which sounds so funny to me).
  • Janick and his brother Christopher were baptised in Catholic Church and their two sisters in Anglican. A Polish-English compromise, as they put it in the article.
  • Bolesław stayed in touch with his brother Józef via letters. He often wrote about Janick (that he likes swimming, football and loud music).
  • In 1971 the Gers family visited Poland for the first time.
  • Mirosława remembers that Janick was afraid of storms and dogs. "He was fearful in general", she says. "But very likable. Smiling and kind to everybody. We were going to discos together."
  • His Polish wasn't great. They didn't teach him the language in the UK. It wasn't a problem for kids, though. They managed to communicate.
  • According to the article, Janick bought his first guitar in Poland. He received it as a gift from his uncle, when they visited Złotowo, near Piła. "There was a music shop there", Mirosława says. "Dad told us, that Janek didn't want to leave the shop when he saw that guitar. They barely fit it in the car when they were leaving."
  • Janick visited Sośno a couple more times. 1973, 1975 and 1977. The article acknowledges that when Janick was hanging out with his Polish cousins, Maiden were already conquering London pubs.
  • Louis Gers died of cancer in 1998. Bolesław has been visiting Sośno regularly once a year. His last visit was in 2005 - a few months before he died. His Brother, Józef, died 5 years later.
  • In the last paragraph it says: "Janick Gers doesn't forget about his family from Sośno. Whenever the band plays in Poland, the Gers family receive invitations and meet their famous cousin. Mirosława Wegner says - He joked that they'll play a small concert on a field in Sośno one day. They'll land their huge plane in Bydgoszcz and travel the remaining 50 km by car. How exciting that would be!" Warsaw 2011 was the first time Mirosława saw Maiden live and, thus, the first time she met her cousin in person since the 70s. I guess that's why she's so happy and moved in the video.
I'm not sure how much of it is common knowledge, but some of it is new at least to me. Mind you, these are basically memories of one person, so some stuff might be inaccurate.
 
Srogyy said:
That website is weird - I can read the article and see the pictures on my tablet, but it's blocked on my PC ("subscription required" bullshit). Here's another link to the gallery: http://bydgoszcz.wyborcza.pl/bydgoszcz/56,35590,10504739,from-janick-gers-family-photo-album,,1.html I've downloaded the photos, so I can upload them if you can't open it.

So the article is apparently based on an interview with Janick's closest cousin - Mirosława Wegner. She's the lady he meets at 0:35 in the video I posted on the previous page. The text was published on the day of the 2011 Warsaw gig (great show, I was there!), so the newspaper probably got in touch with the family because of the buzz around the concert.

Here's what we learn from the article:
  • Janick's family comes from a village called Sośno
  • Janick's grandparents - Jan Gers, who was a farmer, and his wife Stanisława - come from a place called Runowo.
  • Bolesław Gers, Janick's father and son of Jan Gers, served in the navy on the ORP Burza destroyer. On September 1st 1939 the ship was berthed in a Scottish base Rosyth.
  • After the war Bolesław stayed in the UK (served in the British navy) where he met his future wife - Louis. In Poland, the rest of the family left Runowo.
  • Bolesław's brother - Józef Gers - visited him in the UK and was trying to persuade him to return to Poland, while Bolesław wanted his brother to move to the UK. None of that happened - Józef returned to Poland and met his wife, who was from Sośno, where they settled. Mirosława, whom I mentioned at the beginning, is their daughter.
  • After retiring from the British navy, Bolesław started working in some kind of chemical plant. In 1956 he married Louis, who worked in a marketing agency (the caption under their wedding photo obviously must be wrong, because it says 1965). They lived in Hartlepool and had 4 children.
  • Born in 1957, Janick is their oldest son. Interestingly, according to this article his actual given name is Jan (after his grandfather), which is the Polish equivalent of John. People started calling him Janick - and I guess that's because it sounds very similar to Polish "Janek" (Johnny). You can hear them saying "Janek" in the video (which sounds so funny to me).
  • Janick and his brother Christopher were baptised in Catholic Church and their two sisters in Anglican. A Polish-English compromise, as they put it in the article.
  • Bolesław stayed in touch with his brother Józef via letters. He often wrote about Janick (that he likes swimming, football and loud music).
  • In 1971 the Gers family visited Poland for the first time.
  • Mirosława remembers that Janick was afraid of storms and dogs. "He was fearful in general", she says. "But very likable. Smiling and kind to everybody. We were going to discos together."
  • His Polish wasn't great. They didn't teach him the language in the UK. It wasn't a problem for kids, though. They managed to communicate.
  • According to the article, Janick bought his first guitar in Poland. He received it as a gift from his uncle, when they visited Złotowo, near Piła. "There was a music shop there", Mirosława says. "Dad told us, that Janek didn't want to leave the shop when he saw that guitar. They barely fit it in the car when they were leaving."
  • Janick visited Sośno a couple more times. 1973, 1975 and 1977. The article acknowledges that when Janick was hanging out with his Polish cousins, Maiden were already conquering London pubs.
  • Louis Gers died of cancer in 1998. Bolesław has been visiting Sośno regularly once a year. His last visit was in 2005 - a few months before he died. His Brother, Józef, died 5 years later.
  • In the last paragraph it says: "Janick Gers doesn't forget about his family from Sośno. Whenever the band plays in Poland, the Gers family receive invitations and meet their famous cousin. Mirosława Wegner says - He joked that they'll play a small concert on a field in Sośno one day. They'll land their huge plane in Bydgoszcz and travel the remaining 50 km by car. How exciting that would be!" Warsaw 2011 was the first time Mirosława saw Maiden live and, thus, the first time she met her cousin in person since the 70s. I guess that's why she's so happy and moved in the video.
I'm not sure how much of it is common knowledge, but some of it is new at least to me. Mind you, these are basically memories of one person, so some stuff might be inaccurate.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for this. :)
 
The similarity between the opening riff of this song and "2 Minutes to Midnight" is well commented upon (including by the man himself), but has anyone else noticed "Out of the Silent Planet" right at the end?

 
Whoever that uploaded this stuff on the web made this trackslist:
1. I Want your Love
2. Till the Kill (1 riff used in the The Mercenary)
3. The Way You want too See (1 riff used in Man on the Edge)
4. Lost Forever
5. Winds of Change
6. Long Lost Wisdom
7. Nowhere to Run
8. The Final Stone

I first found this demo back in 2011, but it hasn't been on youtube until this year.
 
Last edited:
It's a bit funny that the seventh song on the demo shared some of the lyrics with The Mercenary with the line "Nowhere to Run", which had nearly the same riff as the second song.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top