Bassist Dennis Ward outlines his reasons for leaving Pink Cream 69
Bassist Dennis Ward outlines his reasons for leaving Pink Cream 69
Yesterday, bassist Dennis Ward announced that he was leaving Pink Cream 69 after 32 years. The remaining band members are guitarists Alfred Koffler (1987–present) and Uwe Reitenauer (2003–present), lead vocalist David Readman (1994–present) and drummer Chris Schmidt (2012–present).
The following message was posted on Ward‘s Facebook page yesterday:
“Attention all Pink Cream 69 Fans!
It’s time that I make the official announcement of my departure from Pink Cream 69. I’ve had a wonderful time over the past 32 years meeting so many fans and making music with fantastic people. I want to thank all the guys, Alfred, Dave, Uwe and Chris, for the years of fun and adventure. I hope that they continue to carry out the legacy of PC69 and I wish them many great concerts and musical experiences.
This departure is in no way a spontaneous decision. Many of you might have noticed that I have not performed with the band (other than a couple of shows) over the past few years. Fortunately Roman Beselt was able to step in for me often. I had been contemplating my departure for awhile now but have held on for no actual reason other than to not make any waves. My decision has nothing to do with my other activities; performing with Gus G, joining Magnum or my studio work as a producer/engineer. I have no hard feelings towards anyone in the band either, I just wasn’t enjoying the very few shows we’ve had the past few years and quite simply did not feel comfortable on stage anymore. I hope that will be reason enough for anyone curious.
So let’s all wish the guys a great future and please continue to support the band as much as possible! Take care 
In an interview with Greece’s Rockpages TV a few weeks earlier, Ward stated (as transcribed by Rockpages TV with slight edits):
“Today, Pink Cream exists, but it doesn’t… They play two three shows a year, maybe. So, we made a record not long ago, which I’m a little unhappy because we did so little. Because, I was really really really happy with the last record and we did nothing to promote it. Nothing! One short tour and that was it, which bothered me to be really honest and I expressed my feelings. And I said that I wanted to do more and I don’t think there was a shot [to] go any further, unless we worked on it. Yeah, we played our little tour and that was pretty much it. But, you know, the guys also expressed to me that they’re not interested in doing many shows and they’re happy like it is. I said, ‘Okay, that’s fine. It’s absolutely your choice. Absolutely. No problem!’
There’s no life in Pink Cream right now though. There’s nothing to lose. We have no loss. It’s not like the band falls apart… Sad story! Nothing like that. It’s just sort of slowly dissolved. Like bubbles in your beer, you know, it’s still a beer but it has less bubbles. Like I said, the band has told me they were vocal about it that they don’t want to do too much because they’re happy with the way things are and I have to accept that. What I don’t enjoy at all is like for example here playing with Gus… Originally, we were supposed to play one show and I said to Gus, ‘You know what, after three months of a break, playing one show…’ It’s kind of a pain in the ass, you know, because I prepare well. And I don’t want to prepare well for one show and just go home. So we arranged three shows in Greece, thank God! That makes it all worthwhile… And Pink Cream are still playing a show here… Half a year later another show… I’m not into it because I know that these shows are not going to be as good as I wanted them to be and I’m not in the mood to do that anymore.
So, I told the guys I think it’d be a good idea to get someone to replace me in this situation. I’ll be there if you want to do some touring… Some real stuff. I’m ready to go! If not… There’s no emotion in Pink Cream right now. There is nothing there that’s fighting to stay alive. Okay? It’s individual people that come together to make Pink Cream every now and then… It’s sad, but you know, it is what it is. That’s why I keep doing my thing and working with people like Gus. So, that I can still have my life as a musician, which I still enjoy doing it and I want to keep doing it. And if I can’t do it with my own band, then I’ll do it with somebody else’s… No problem.”
Interview with Dennis Ward by Rockpages TV:
Dennis Ward explains why he left Pink Cream 69
Σε μια ανακοίνωσή του στο Facebook χθες το απόγευμα (25 Νοεμβρίου) ο Dennis Ward έθεσε εαυτόν εκτός Pink Cream 69. Μια απόφαση η οποία δεν ήταν αυθόρμητη και…