Seventy Klaus became mine on 25 May. And although the Scorpions announced a few years ago that the band was going old, the opposite is the case. When we meet her front man, he is already sitting on packed suitcases again for a mini tour through Mexico. And the man with the leather cap, which has been covering his thinning head for many years, is still excited and euphoric when it comes to concert tours even after half a century in the service of the hard rock formation. In an exclusive conversation on his birthday, the worldwide celebrated star looks back on his life in business for us.
In 1991, "Wind Of Change" was a huge hit with the Scorpions. At the same time some of their old fans turned away from them. The most successful German band to date had damaged their rocker image. Yet melt-in-the-mouth ballads were not just part of the Scorpions overall package since "Wind Of Change": songs like "Holiday", "When The Smoke Is Going Down" or "Still Loving You" showed early on that the band had a knack for soulful numbers. Which is why she has already published several compilations that highlight exactly this side of her.
eclipsed: Aren't there enough ballad albums of you already?
Rudolf Schenker: Actually, the idea for this compilation didn't come from us, but from our record company. What we liked best about the idea was that from the beginning there was interest in new songs for the album. That convinced us in the end, because good ballad compilations have already been made by us.
LED ZEPPELIN - The last flight of the Zeppelin: the history of "Physical Graffiti" in the
mid-seventies Led Zeppelin had reached its second artistic zenith and documented this in a unique way with "Physical Graffiti", the band's only double album. Until today it is Robert Plant's favourite record with the group, probably also because the formation before and after has never been more expressive and multi-faceted. Released on February 24, 1975, "Physical Graffiti" was the first record in rock history to achieve platinum status through pre-orders alone.
"The band will soon be able to stand on their own two feet," Michael Schenker muses. Temple Of Rock is not only the name of his group, it was also the name of the album with which the 60-year-old guitarist opened a new chapter in 2011. A permanent band with singer Doogie White, guitarist/keyboarder Wayne Findlay and the former Scorpions rhythm team, drummer Herman Rarebell and bassist Francis Buchholz, has crystallized out of this. The main singer of the debut, Michael Voss (MadMax), holds the reins as producer. The third studio work "Spirit On A Mission", like its predecessor "Bride The Gap" (2013), was written in Münster, Westphalia.
Internationally, there are three sustainably successful musical flagships from Germany: Rammstein and the Scorpions. After a few years of alienation, the hard rock heroes from Hanover are again considered a rock jewel at home. And will be honored for 50 years of band history accordingly. So also from us - with an eclipsed shopping list XXL.
