2.4.2025 – 2.4.2026  –  26.7.2026

On april 2nd 2025 Samu introduced something really big.
The plan was to have a really big, big party, for his next birthday, the one in 2026, on april 2nd! Just because he would turn 50 that day! It was supposed to be a huge party, in Berlin, Max-Schmeling-Halle. Ok not really a party, but a gig, a concert. WOW!!!!
Really? I needed a ticket, got it, seat, gallery, a bit far from the stage and an iPhone with a low battery, my powerbank was in the backpack, at the clothing dropoff.

Anyway, if there is a super gig with 11,000 people, than you need something very special. Usually I am not the kind of fan action girl.

What is my strength

I am a trained media designer for printing, book layouts, website with wordpress, like this site.
Ok, let’s make a book for Samu!
I want to tell the story about the realization of this idea.
It is going to be a somewhat longer story, maybe you will come across words, strange words, technical terms, my kind of language. A friend, who is a publisher, usually says: „typesetter language“
It must be that way. I will try to explain everthing, if you got questions and google isn’t lending you a helping hand, just ask me.
The we of this projct was in april 2025 just a very small „me“.
Some people I knew, were excited, but they didn’t took part.

The website

The following weeken, I set up a website, which still ca be found here!

Purpose:

I have questioned myself, if we together could give a very special gift to him?
To me, he is one of the very rare artists, who is really dedicated towards his fans and interested in them.

How will it work?

The idea:
A book with your story to him.

• how did you get into his music solo or with Sunrise Avenue,
• what did you experience as a result,
• what kind of people have you met,
• did your live change,
• what’s important to you?

Write it down!
maximum 4 DIN A4 Seiten / 20,000 characters.
Language: English, Finnish or German

So far, so good—I had the file format ready as well, because of my experience , how it usually works. I have a lot of experience in this field, especially with customers in the self publishing department.
I also set up an email for this initiative.
Target: a professionally layouted and printed book.
Cool, I was prepared but now?
Well,

promotion

Fuck, so fucking arduous. Those, who had been so exciting in the beginning, withdraw themselves, as they realized: OMG, Helen will really do this! Sure, why not.
If I say arduous, boring, exhausting, I really mean that.
I can’t count how often I used the hashtag #Samu50 the Websitelink and the Promopictur in my story at instagram.

Instagram was the social media platform to choose, not only because Samu has there an account of his own. So bad, I couldn’t tag him for over a year.
Instagram is also social media home for many fans. I knew some of them, I wrote private messages to those. All replyed, if they replyed after all: „Nope, not interested.“
Sure, much more work to write an article then to lift a ballon or a paperback sign. I am not a huge fan of such signs, because they compromise the view of those fans standing behind. Some fans really love such signs, afterall. And I guess, with a view from stage, you also got a different opinion than I have.
Anyway, marketing or promotion is not my biggest skill, not a skill at all, coz I don’t know anything about the fine print of such skills. If you know better, please let’s have a chat.
Summer turned into fall.
Samu starte a tour.
Still nobody interested in my project. Deadline was set for December 31th, 2025
Now you might think: Quite early for a birthday on April 2n.
But keep the production time including the printing process in mind! But we will go more into details.
My project was somehow stucked, no progress after all. Probably it would end up: me writing a long letter. OK, then it will be!
June 2025 Samu a festival tour to some smaller an also bigger places. Watch the touring plan!

• Basum – somewat rainy
• München
• Ulm
• Erfurt
• Wieblingen
• Rastatt
• Meersburg
• Emmerdingen
• Saarbrücken
• Mainz
• Bonn
• Stuttgart
• Moosburg
• Wiesbaden
• Schwarzenfeld
• Helsinki
• Füssen
• Ebern
• Wiesmoor
• Lüneburg
• Chemnitz
• Northeim
• Halle
• Wolfsburg
• Bochum
• Gießen
• Spiez
• Aborn
• Husum
• Schwerin
• Timmendorf Strand

Instagram was flooded with pictures like crazy. So amazing, even if I haven’t been to any gig.
One day an Anja who managed an unfortunately no longer existing site on instagram “samuhaber.solist_supportpage“ having noticed the project. And she promised, after the ending of the tour and the latst post of tour pictures, she would help suppoprting the project.
And after all, she kept her word. And we had had fantastic chats about all and sundry.
At the beginning of october the very first article fot the project was send to the special email adress. And now blow on blow, more articles came in. And a very busy exchange of mails between the authors and me developed.
The book itself became more and more reality! WOW.
Awesome, just awesome, I was and still am thrilled. The deadline for some laggard had been extended to the mid of january. It really worked! After all we ended with 25 authors, lovely human beings, yes just girls or women, from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and even Suomi, contributing this fantastic book „You changed my life“.

Ladies, I am proud of you.
You did a really good job!

Thanks so much!