1982 he moved back to Thun, and after a year in his fathers house, he definitely moved out to live by himself. He knew the way to go: Blues singer!

In the same year he started to appear with Rolf Luginbühl as a Blues duo, which mainly played the streets of Bern. Their first Blues band had moderate success around Thun.

In 1983 he witnessed the legendary "Blues Explosion" again in Montreux: B.B. King, Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson, J.B. Hutto, Koko Taylor, Sugar Blue, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker and the young and relatively unknown Stevie Ray Vaughan; Philipp met them and they all received him well.
In the eighties Philipp met Memphis Slim, Luther Allison, Katie Webster, with whom he even toured for a short while, Piano Red, Howlin Wolf guitarist Hubert Sumlin, Carey Bell, Son Seals, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Witherspoon, and many more.

He started concentrating on solo appearances in 1984 and had quite a few concerts in that year.

It was also 1984 when Texan Blues Master Johnny Copeland blew Philipp Fankhauser completely away. Never before did he experience such intense, raw and moving Blues. Johnny Copeland would be Philipp's major influence, and in the later years would even become a very close friend and mentor.

Then, throughout the eighties he'd seen all the American Folk Blues Festivals that were touring Europe since 1962. John Lee Hooker, Son Seals, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Albert King, The Legendary Blues Band, and, foremost, the wonderful Margie Evans. With Margie, whom he met personally in 1983, he is still on very close terms and is staying in touch on a regular basis. It was Margie Evans that helped him beyond one's imagination by guesting on his first album with the Checkerboard Blues Band in 1989. "Blues For The Lady" is by many considered a classic today.

1980 - 1986 Solo concerts with acoustic Delta Blues program. Swiss correspondent for the Berlin based "Blues Forum" magazine.


TO THE YEARS 1987 - 1993