History
Like many
youngsters born in post-war Germany, Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker were
influenced by the music and other life-enhancing delights imported into their
homeland by American GI’s – Elvis Presley, chewing gum, blue jeans and leather
jackets, but most of all rock ‘n’ roll. From an early age, both of them had an
irresistible urge to grab a guitar and step into the limelight. In the early
1960s the Beatles sparked off the beat revolution. By the mid-1960s Klaus Meine
and Rudolf Schenker, both of whom were blessed with understanding parents, had
also taken to the stage with their beat groups. In 1965 Rudolf Schenker started
up the SCORPIONS in Hanover. Rudolf’s younger brother Michael Schenker was,
like Matthias Jabs, smitten by beat music and the burgeoning rock culture.
Guitarist and songwriter Rudolf Schenker’s earliest influences were the raw
riffs of bands like The Yardbirds, Pretty Things and Spooky Tooth, who in those
days were regarded as the real hard rockers. At New Year 1970, the younger
Schenker brother Michael, who despite his youth had already established himself
as an outstanding guitarist, left the Hanover-based group Copernicus, along
with singer and composer Klaus Meine, to join Rudolf Schenker’s SCORPIONS.
Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine teamed up to form the accomplished
Schenker/Meine songwriting duo, so laying the foundations for a spectacular
success story.
In 1972,
the SCORPIONS released their remarkable debut album, Lonesome Crow, produced by
Conny Plank in Hamburg. The vocal and instrumental ingredients which over the
years were to develop into the typical, unmistakable SCORPIONS sound, were
already recognisable: uncompromising, guitar-orientated hard rock, on the lines
of what Jimmy Hendrix, Cream and Led Zeppelin generated in the mid-1960s. The
distinctive SCORPIONS style came from the combination of two electric guitars,
a fusion of fabulously forceful power riffs with dazzlingly exuberant guitar
solos. Added to which was the instantly recognisable voice of singer and front
man Klaus Meine with his highly expressive and polished delivery. In one
respect, the SCORPIONS were unique on the German rock scene of the period.
Because, right from the start, the band was aiming for the very top of the
international hard rock business, Klaus Meine wrote all his lyrics in English.
In the creative partnership of Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine Germany had
finally found its answer to the famous beat and rock composing teams of the
English-speaking world. The first album Lonesome Crow set the band on the path
to international success. The SCORPIONS toured as support band with Rory
Gallagher, Uriah Heep and UFO. Throughout their history Rudolf Schenker has
been the unshakeable driving force behind the SCORPIONS. He adopted his
father’s philosophy of life – nothing is impossible as long as you believe in
it. Right from the foundation of the SCORPIONS, he had only one declared
ambition: "one day the SCORPIONS will be one of the best heavy rock bands
in the world!" It was an idea to which all the band members were
committed. The SCORPIONS were constantly on the lookout for fresh challenges.
Every change in the line-up was seen as an opportunity to move closer still to
success and the achievement of absolute professionalism.
In 1973,
following a joint tour with UFO, Michael Schenker joined the British rock
group. He was replaced as SCORPIONS lead guitarist by Ulrich Roth. He too was
an exceptional guitar player with an almost mystical talent. With Ulrich Roth,
the SCORPIONS continued unwaveringly to explore the hard rock genre. In the
1970s, the SCORPIONS undertook tours of Western Europe, playing countless
venues and conquering one country after another. They would appear wherever there
was somewhere to plug in their instruments. In 1973, they accompanied The Sweet
on their first European tour. The SCORPIONS went on to record their next four
studio albums with Ulrich Roth. Fly to the Rainbow, (1974) features a solid,
high-energy brand of heavy rock never before heard from a German band. The
title track Speedy’s Coming typifies the SCORPIONS style of ultra-hard rock
combined with catchy melodies. Beginning with their third LP In Trance, (1975),
they began their working relationship with well-known international producer
Dieter Dierks. They were firmly launched on their hard rock career. In Trance
was the best-selling RCA album in Japan, where a regular SCORPION mania broke
out. In 1975 the SCORPIONS toured Europe, sharing top billing with KISS.
1975:
Francis Buchholz, Klaus Meine, Rudy Lenners, Uli Roth, Rudolf Schenker
In
Germany that same year, they were voted best live group. During their first UK
tour in 1975, the SCORPIONS entered what might be called "the lion’s
den", playing at Liverpool’s legendary Cavern Club. In the birthplace of
hard rock, they succeeded in gaining the acceptance of the most
dyed-in-the-wool British fans. Gigs at the renowned London venue, the Marquee,
were further highpoints of the mid-1970s. The SCORPIONS achieved their ambition
to be the top German hard rock band, when their fourth album Virgin Killer
(1976) won the "LP of the Year" award in Germany. In Japan, Virgin
Killer gained them their first Gold Disc. Their follow-up album Taken by Force
(1977) was also awarded a Japanese Gold Disc. In 1978 the SCORPIONS toured
Japan, the world’s second largest music market, where they got a foretaste of
what it was like to be superstars. When they arrived at Tokyo airport, the five
heavy metal men were mobbed by adoring fans. Ulrich Roth left the band after
the 1978 Japanese tour.
The
highpoint and conclusion of the SCORPIONS’ Ulrich Roth period is the double
album Tokyo Tapes (1978) which even now is cherished around the world as a
collector’s item. Michael Schenker filled in briefly (he recorded several songs
on Lovedrive (1979) until Matthias Jabs finally entered the fray. In 1978 an
advertisement appeared in the Melody Maker: the SCORPIONS were looking for a
new lead guitarist. In London, they auditioned 140 hopefuls, before deciding on
Hanover-born Matthias Jabs. Thrown in at the deep end, Matthias Jabs
immediately joined the band in recording Lovedrive (1979) which was then in
production. The album was to be the group’s biggest triumph so far, and is
still one the SCORPIONS’ best-ever albums. The sleeve received a prize for the
best artwork of the year. In 1979, Michael Schenker rejoined the SCORPIONS for
a short spell, but left the band while on tour. In 1980, he founded MSG, the
Michael Schenker Group. Matthias Jabs once again leapt into the breach and
achieved the amazing feat of learning, literally overnight, the entire
programme for the current tour. In Matthias Jabs, the SCORPIONS had finally
found the lead guitarist whose creativity, virtuosity and enthusiasm continue
to make a decisive contribution to the band’s success. With him, the band
achieved an even more solid sound. Like the missing piece in the jigsaw, his
guitar style fitted to perfection into the group dynamic, creating the unique
SCORPIONS sound. Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs still form the
musical backbone of the band. With bass man Francis Buchholz (who joined the
SCORPIONS in 1973 at the same time as Ulrich Roth) anddrummer Herman Rarebell
(who first featured on Taken By Force in 1977), they finally established the
combination that was to continue its victorious progress across the globe right
up until Wind of Change. Already hailed as a super group during the 1978 tour
of Japan, in 1979 the band, comprising Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and
Matthias Jabs, set out to conquer the vast US market. Their weapons: a
professional attitude paired with a steely determination to succeed and a
philosophy of friendship, both within the band and towards their fans, as well
as great musicality. As a rock band working on the international scene, the
SCORPIONS had long since created their own musical identity. In the 1980s, the
built up a considerable following in the
States. Van Halen launched their musical career in the mid-1970s with cover
versions of SCORPIONS songs: Speedy’s Coming (from Fly to the Rainbow) and
Catch Your Train (from Virgin Killer).USA was the biggest market of all for
hard and heavy rock.
Since
1974, the SCORPIONS had In 1979, now professionally managed and boosted by the
success of Lovedrive, the SCORPIONS with their definitive line-up – Klaus
Meine, Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs – embarked on their first major tour
of USA rock arenas as opening act with Aerosmith, Ted Nugent and AC/DC. In
Chicago, the SCORPIONS swapped the headliner billing with Ted Nugent, since the
SCORPIONS had more fans in the city. On this first American tour, the SCORPIONS
quickly learned the rules of the game in the international rock business.
ogether
with drummer James Kottak, this hard rock bass player, steeled in the New York
professional scene, represents a pressure build-up in the SCORPIONS’ now
outstanding rhythm’n’groove section. UNBREAKABLE symbolises the musical and
personal identity that has characterised the SCORPIONS for over thirty-five
years and accounted for their lasting worldwide success. All this has ensured
that the SCORPIONS are the only German band to have unswervingly pursued an
international career for over thirty-five years. “We’ve often been through
hell, to experience heaven. We’ve always had faith in ourselves and have never
accepted limitations for ourselves,” is how Rudolf Schenker sums it up. “Doing
a world tour and seeing how people respond to the music and are carried away by
it,” is for Rudolf Schenker simply “the best there is.” An “adventure” that he
“wouldn’t miss for the world.” For SCORPIONS vocalist Klaus Meine it’s “a
fascinating experience, again and again, to contribute towards a peaceful world
through the global language of music. To show that music is a language that
crosses frontiers and overcomes differences.” The outstanding date in this
respect was the concert the SCORPIONS – from Germany – gave in 2002 in
Volgograd. For these musicians, born in post-war Germany between 1948 and 1955,
it was a deeply felt contribution towards atonement. What’s important for
Matthias Jabs is to make “music that’s enduring” and that embodies the identity
of the SCORPIONS. Over time and up there in front of the fans. Music that
satisfies the band’s own musical needs and those of their audiences. Music,
above all, that stands the test of a live concert – in the full exposure of the
spotlights, “where you can’t hide anything.” In 2004 Klaus Meine gives this
summary of the impressive history of the SCORPIONS: “There’ll never be any
substitute for live concerts with real music and real feelings.” It’s a
statement from the heart that also looks forward into the future. And
UNBREAKABLE is the musical statement of now from Germany’s only global band.
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