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February 2, 2010
Scorpions Set to End Career on a High Note
At first I thought he was nuts. In the days of my youth back in the early 1980’s, I had a friend who introduced me to a rock band from Germany called Scorpions. First I’m thinking “A rock band from Germany?” It just didn’t make sense to me at the time. Everyone knew all of Europe’s great rock groups came out of the U.K., right?
Well, after riding around in his car listening to Scorpions cassette tapes for hours, I started to get it. These guys actually are pretty good. That was my introduction to the best-known rock band ever to come out of Germany. I won’t lie and say they are among my all-time favorites, but I still give their albums a listen once in a while, and usually end up enjoying their material more than I had anticipated.
After a wildly successful career which earned them a loyal fan base around the world, the Scorpions have decided to call it quits. They will, however, not be leaving quietly by any means. A new album entitled Sting in the Tail is in the works, and will be followed by a two-year tour spanning five continents.
Some fans may be wondering why they are throwing in the towel while they are still able to rock their fans like a hurricane, but as guitarist Rudolf Schenker describes it, “You can’t think about Scorpions at 70, not moving on stage, playing ‘Rock You Like a Hurricane’ — but on stage it’s not like a hurricane, it’s a very small wind," he says. "There’s no stinger, and that’s not good. You’re going back down hill, from big hall to small how, small how to club…Everything has it’s end; the question is it a good end or bad end? In this case we want to do these things and make it a good end.”
Man, I just love the way those guys put things sometimes. A “very small wind.” That’s not mean to be demeaning or to belittle their English skills in any way. It just comes out sounding rather amusing, but in a good way, and strangely endearing at the same time. Maybe it’s just me.
At any rate, Schenker is also quick to point out that they have no intention of disappearing altogether, and he eludes to all the film and other material they have accumulated during their career that they can continue releasing. In fact, the upcoming two-year tour is set to be filmed for possible release as some point.
It’s hard to blame them for wanting to go out on top. He’s very right about the “small wind.” Eventually we all reach the point where we would need a hand just getting up on a stage, and perhaps even a walker to move about once there!
It appears that these German rockers don’t have to worry about turning into a “small wind,” and will indeed be departing the scene like a hurricane. Venues around the globe are bound the be filled to capacity as they close out a pretty damn impressive career.
And to think I was doubtful about German rockers.
More details are online at Billboard.
November 20, 2009
Scorpions Announce Plans For 2010 World Tour
The latest classic rock group to announce tour plans for next year are Germany’s hard-rocking Scorpions. As the most successful rock band from Germany, the Scorpions are recognized around the world and can draw fans to arena-sized venues in from South America to Russia.
Even after working through a two-year world tour in support of their most recent album, Humanity: Hour 1, they have announced plans to hit the road again next year for a tour that is planned to last two years and bring the hard-working group to stadiums and other large venues.
With the tour scheduled to kick off in their home country next May, the group are currently working in the studio on a new album that is set for release next year. Also announced was word of a “sensational statement” that is expected from the group in January, which the group has not elaborated on.
Although no date has yet been announced for release of the new album, it makes sense to expect it to be available before the 2010 tour, which would give the Scorpions new material to showcase for their fans around the world. A new DVD, Amazonia - Live In The Jungle, which features footage from two of their shows in Brazil during the “Humanity World Tour” is available beginning today. The new DVD seeks to draw attention to the efforts of Greenpeace and their work to stop the destruction of Amazonian rain forests. Part of the proceeds from the DVD will be donated to Greenpeace.
After the start of the tour in Germany, plans are in place to bring the group to the United States, South America, Asia, Russia and other locations in Europe.
Fans will also be interested to learn that guitarist Rudolf Schenker has written a book called Rock Your Life. Although it is currently available only in a German-language version, there are other versions planned for release, including an English version. As the interview below shows, the book is less about rock and roll and more about self-improvement and fulfillment of one’s desire to be truly happy.
More information is available on the Scorpions official website.
October 17, 2008
Scorpions Have Rocked The Planet
Whether you consider their albums sales in excess of 80 million or the impressive number of locations around the world where they have performed as their most impressive accomplishment, the Scorpions are surely a band that has gone global.
When your hear reports of children on the banks of the Amazon River singing one of your songs, I suppose it is safe to assume you have made it, and that satisfaction has not come for these German rockers without logging a lot of miles and playing a lot of shows for their fans across the globe.
In addition to venues you would expect them to appear at in Europe and North America, they can lay claim to having performed at some exotic locations that a lot of other well-known rockers are unable to match. Among them is a show in Shillong, the capital of a state in India that is near the Himalayas, where the townspeople where all given the day off in honor of the event.
They have also performed during a snowstorm in the notoriously frigid Siberia where the temperature hovered around –10 degrees at the time. “With music there are no borders,” says lead singer Klaus Meine.
Although the Scorpions have an impressive list of accomplishments to be proud of, Meine says that he is most proud of the success that their song “Winds of Change” has achieved. The song has come to be viewed as an anthem of peace when the group has performed at various locations in the Middle East.
“People in Beirut told us they had only an hour of electricity a day but listening to our music gave them strength. That’s what music can do,” Meine says.
The Scorpions are scheduled to appear at Wolverhampton Civic Hall in the U.K. on Sunday.
For more, head on over to The Birmingham Mail.
July 9, 2008
Scorpions Team Up With Other Rockers For Short U.S. Tour
The month of August will give Scorpions fans in a few select U.S. locations a chance to see the group perform with 
some home-grown rockers they have teamed up with for their short visit.
The current tour schedule has them teaming up with Sammy Hagar for three shows, Alice Cooper for one show and also Ratt for one show. After visiting the U.S. the Scorpions will be headed to Latin America and then on to Europe.
The group is still promoting their most recent album release, Humanity: Hour 1, so fans can probably expect to hear a lot of material from that one, as well as some Scorpions classics from the past.
Currently, the tour schedule is as follows:
August, 2008
1 – Kelseyville, CA – Konocti Harbor Resort (Sammy Hagar)
2 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre (Sammy Hagar)
3 – Costa Mesa, CA – Pacific Amphitheatre (Sammy Hagar)
5 – Tucson, AZ – AVA Amphitheatre
8 – Saint Paul, MN – Myth
9 – Sparta, WI – Fort McCoy Army Base (Alice Cooper)
10 – Chicago, IL – Charter One Pavilion (Ratt)
March 6, 2008
Scorpions Perform ‘Loving Me To Death’ on German TV
Fortunately for those of us who speak only English, groups like the Scorpions sing in our language. I guess we might consider English as the universal language of rock and roll.
Although I didn’t understand a word of the interviews and other commentary except for the occasional mention of “Deutschland,” the following video is probably worth checking out if you are a Scorpions fan because the segment that features them playing their single “Loving Me To Death” sounds pretty good.
Scorpions news site ScorpsNews.com provided the pointer to the video as well as some news that the Scorpions are ranked as the 7th most successful German band of all time as measured by CD sales in Germany.
It would be interesting to see who ranks above them in that category since the Scorpions are so well known the world over. As they point out on ScorpsNews.com, the Scorpions are probably the most successful German band when the rest of the world is factored in.
For English-only speakers that would rather get to the performance of “Loving Me To Death” and not try to decipher the German commentary, jump ahead to about the 2 minute mark in the video.
For you Scorpions fans that speak German, enjoy the entire video!
