80's Metal Band 'The Scorpions' are Breaking Up...They were Still together?!?

[Brian Damage]

BERLIN—The German rock band Scorpions is bringing down the curtain on a career spanning more than four decades.
The band, known for its early 1990s hit "Wind of Change" among others, said on its Web site Sunday that "we agree we have reached the end of the road."

It said it would end its career with a final album—"Sting In The Tail," to be released in March—and a tour that will start in Germany in May and take it across the world "over the next few years."

Guitarist Rudolf Schenker founded the band in Hannover in 1965. Singer Klaus Meine joined a few years later. Both men are 61.



Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/entertainm...#ixzz0daZzPZYr

[catlover79]

I thought they went out with the 80s.

[Brian Damage]

Originally Posted by catlover79

I thought they went out with the 80s.

same here lol

[ABlairican Pie]

Of course, I, your walking encyclopedia of metal knowledge, knew that the Scorpions were still popular everywhere else in the world in the 90's and in the early 2000's. Of course, everyone seems to think that grunge "killed" metal and invented sliced Velveeta, also. This announcement of their pending
breakup is a surprise, as the last I heard, they were planning on a new album and tour--but I guess this was the last one. Oh well, it was an awesome ride.

In fact, I was into the Scorpions LONG BEFORE "Rock You Like a Hurricane",
"No One Like You", and "Winds Of Change". Back in 1978, I heard this single called "Steamrock Fever" that was featured on this RCA 45 sampler, and it rocked. (Back then you had to look high and low for stuff that rocked, in the era of disco and fluffy 70's pop bands.) This got me interested to find a killer double live album, the Scorpions' 'Tokyo Tapes', which featured the band with its amazing first lead guitarist, Uli Jon Roth. I bought the album, and I need to find a new copy of it somewhere. Great songs, "Fly To the Rainbow", "We'll Burn the Sky", "Suspender Love", "She's a Woman, He's a Man", "Speedy's Coming", "Top Of the Bill", and of course, "Steamrock Fever".

I was amazed, and excited when the Scorpions broke through in America.


Btw, did anyone know that guitarist Rudi Schenker is brother to UFO guitar legend Michael Schenker?

[ABlairican Pie]

Here's the album that started it all for me:

[Schmoopie]

Originally Posted by ABlairican Pie

Of course, I, your walking encyclopedia of metal knowledge, knew that the Scorpions were still popular everywhere else in the world in the 90's and in the early 2000's. Of course, everyone seems to think that grunge "killed" metal and invented sliced Velveeta, also. This announcement of their pending
breakup is a surprise, as the last I heard, they were planning on a new album and tour--but I guess this was the last one. Oh well, it was an awesome ride.

In fact, I was into the Scorpions LONG BEFORE "Rock You Like a Hurricane",
"No One Like You", and "Winds Of Change". Back in 1978, I heard this single called "Steamrock Fever" that was featured on this RCA 45 sampler, and it rocked. (Back then you had to look high and low for stuff that rocked, in the era of disco and fluffy 70's pop bands.) This got me interested to find a killer double live album, the Scorpions' 'Tokyo Tapes', which featured the band with its amazing first lead guitarist, Uli Jon Roth. I bought the album, and I need to find a new copy of it somewhere. Great songs, "Fly To the Rainbow", "We'll Burn the Sky", "Suspender Love", "She's a Woman, He's a Man", "Speedy's Coming", "Top Of the Bill", and of course, "Steamrock Fever".

I was amazed, and excited when the Scorpions broke through in America.


Btw, did anyone know that guitarist Rudi Schenker is brother to UFO guitar legend Michael Schenker?

Thanks for the info! I love that song "Rock You Like a Hurricane"! Sorry to hear that they are breaking up, though.

[ABlairican Pie]

Originally Posted by Schmoopie

Thanks for the info! I love that song "Rock You Like a Hurricane"! Sorry to hear that they are breaking up, though.

I always cringe, though, when people hear that a metal band popular in the 80's announces they are going on a major tour, they say, "Iron Maiden? Slayer? Def Leppard? Bon Jovi? I didn't know they were still around!" I HATE that! Like the trendy stuff of the past 15 years or so was much more popular, and therefore "better", and more deserving to obliterate awesome bands that dominated the 80's. It's just another pathetic example of 80's-bashing.

[phoebe7165]

Originally Posted by ABlairican Pie

Of course, I, your walking encyclopedia of metal knowledge,

Btw, did anyone know that guitarist Rudi Schenker is brother to UFO guitar legend Michael Schenker?

Ooo, ooo, ooo, I knew that!! In fact, way back in 1989/1990, or somewhere around there, I won a contest from our local radio station to have dinner with Michael at Hard Rock Cafe in Orlando, when he was with the MacCauley-Schenker Group. So I also had dinner with Robin MacCauley and Jeff Pilson. These guys could not have been nicer!!

[ABlairican Pie]

Originally Posted by phoebe7165

Ooo, ooo, ooo, I knew that!! In fact, way back in 1989/1990, or somewhere around there, I won a contest from our local radio station to have dinner with Michael at Hard Rock Cafe in Orlando, when he was with the MacCauley-Schenker Group. So I also had dinner with Robin MacCauley and Jeff Pilson. These guys could not have been nicer!!

Jeff Pilson was with MacCauley-Schenker Group??! I didn't know that!! (And here I am, supposed to be the walking encyclopedia of metal knowledge... ) I knew that Dokken had broken up by then, so he must have been a free agent.

[phoebe7165]

Originally Posted by ABlairican Pie

Jeff Pilson was with MacCauley-Schenker Group??! I didn't know that!! (And here I am, supposed to be the walking encyclopedia of metal knowledge... ) I knew that Dokken had broken up by then, so he must have been a free agent.

Probably so about Jeff. You do know he's now playing in Foreigner?

[ABlairican Pie]

Originally Posted by phoebe7165

Probably so about Jeff. You do know he's now playing in Foreigner?

I think I did, come to think of it. From what I've heard, I think that Dokken reunited with George Lynch, I have to check to make sure. Seems that one of the reasons Dokken broke up is that Don Dokken and George Lynch couldn't get along. I did see Dokken in 1997 at Universal Ampitheatre in L.A.,
though their hair was much shorter, and that was kind of a disappointment to me. Though George Lynch was amazing on guitar!

[ABlairican Pie]

Aniruddh "Andrew" Bansal of Full Metal Rock recently conducted an interview with SCORPIONS guitarist Rudolf Schenker. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Full Metal Rock: What made you decide that this is going to be the farewell?

Rudolf: We were mixing the album and we realized how good the album is. It is like an anthem of the whole of the best songs of the '80s. After working so much on the album, you know, we didn't realize. But you do when you have the whole picture in front of you. I said to the guys, "Hey, I can see how excited you are with this amazing album and I think that this could be a fantastic thing for you guys. If you know what I'm talking about, it could be a good last album and a last tour." So in the first place they said, "Hey, are you kidding or what?" I said, "No, think about it." Then we started talking and then we noticed that really it is in an outstanding kind of way how this album sounds like. We had some producers where the chemistry worked out so amazing. Two guys from Sweden, one is a very good guitar player and the other one is a very good technician on the boards, and somehow the chemistry was working in my studio and also in Stockholm. We recorded the parts of the backing vocals, guitars and bass here in my studio and other parts like main vocals and drums we did in Stockholm, working together with these guys and really they somehow got this special guitar work out of us, which is really really kicking ass. So this is right essence of the SCORPIONS to really go on tour again with amazing '80s kind of rock show, the kind of big show we are known for from the '80s. To do that and release the album, that would be fantastic and make it a really big world tour. So more and more we thought about it, the more we came to the point that, yes, this is the right situation because SCORPIONS being on stage we make our name as a great live band because of the very powerful act on stage. When that acting gets less and less, it means that the "sting" is not there anymore. And SCORPIONS is nothing without the "sting." In this case, we know now that we are fit enough to really present a 100 percent SCORPIONS show with a 120% SCORPIONS album, which would make it a successful tour, especially for a band from Germany where people thought that rock music never can come out of Germany. So we are now aware of that and we will give everything to make this last tour around the world a big rock and roll party.

Full Metal Rock: Your upcoming album was supposed to be "Humanity Hour II", but it's not. What happened to that?

Rudolf: The truth came after "Humanity Hour I". We talked about the fact that we had to be careful with the "Humanity Hour I" album. Our fears and everything came true, and because of financial crisis and everything, even a band like LINKIN PARK was talking about the same thing. So in this case, we didn't have anything, any reason to discuss about another concept album. So we said you know, why talking again and again [about it]? Now is the time to say, "Hey, guys, now we are in deep s***, let's rock, let's get positive energy and let's get out of this s*** and make our world positive again." And that's what we did with "Sting In The Tail".

Full Metal Rock: You recorded this one in Germany as compared to the previous album that you did in the U.S. How much of a difference you think that has made?

Rudolf: It [recording in the U.S.] was fantastic! I tell you what, we really enjoyed being in Los Angeles and America is still our dream country. It's pure rock and roll and it was really fun. They gave us personal trainers to be fit, especially coming out of the production and to go on tour again. It was a great idea because after doing this program that time with the personal trainers, we are still doing it because it helps us really to be powerful on stage.

Full Metal Rock: Your farewell tour is supposed to last for two years. During this time, can we expect the SCORPIONS to play in as many cities around the world as possible, covering places you've never been to before?

Rudolf: Of course! We are ready to rock everywhere in the world. Because we did already, but you can talk about SCORPIONS even playing in the jungle in Amazon, playing in Mongolia, the pyramids in Egypt and there are so many places. The fun thing about it is, its so great to see people who may be never saw a rock and roll band, like when we played in the eastern part of the Europe in Russia. They never saw a rock band live before. We enjoyed very much to play in front of the Russian audience and also we like to play in front of American audience or South America. It's great to see the different mentalities and it's fantastic to see that rock music is really building bridges between generations, between continents and religions.

Read the entire interview at Full Metal Rock.

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/bla...sitemID=134253