The Scorpions
The internationally most successful German rock band is on tour in Germany.
They have sold more than 100 million records, performed in around 5,000 concerts, composed worldwide hits such as ‘Wind of Change’, ‘Rock you like a Hurricane’ or ‘Still loving You’, are regarded as the internationally most famous German rock band and went on their farewell tour in 2010. Now they are back again: the Scorpions. During their 50th Anniversary Tour in March 2016 they will be giving nine concerts in Germany.
The Scorpions inspired Shakira and Pink
When the band formed in 1965 in a small town near Hanover, Ludwig Erhard, the ‘father of the German miracle’ was still federal chancellor. The musicians surrounding Rudolf Schenker and the singer Klaus Meine, who joined the line-up in 1969, played everything from the British hit parade that inspired them. They eventually started composing their own songs in 1969. The Scorpions embarked on their first bigger tour in 1972 as the opening group in shows with Rory Gallagher, Uriah Heep and Ufo. For a long time the German music critics refused to take them seriously, so the band sought their fortunes abroad, and found it. In 1975 they made a name for themselves in Britain. This was followed in 1976 by their first golden record in Japan and their first tour of the USA in 1979, where they played with bands such as Thin Lizzy, Aerosmith and AC/DC. Only later did the Scorpions achieve real recognition in Germany with ‘Wind of Change’ which became an anthem in the lead-up to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Klaus Meine had written it in September 1989, inspired by the atmosphere in the then Soviet Union which they had toured that same year. All in all, they toured a total of more than 80 countries including the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Mongolia and Trinidad & Tobago. They played at the Kremlin, in front of the pyramids and in the capital of Amazonas, Manaus. Their music often inspired bands like Metallica and Bon Jovi. In their early years Iron Maiden and Def Leppard played as an opening act for the Scorpions. The Scorpions were a source of inspiration for Shakira and Pink. Their early international orientation is probably why the Scorpions are still hardly recognised as a German band to this day.
So why have they now decided on a comeback after retiring? As Klaus Meine told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in 2014: ‘Well, our friends from the Stones are still delivering such fantastic shows at over 70, and naturally we reckon that’s really sporting. None of us need to do it to boost our egos or because of the money. It’s purely our pleasure in the music that’s driving us.’
