"Wind Of Change"
I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change
An August summer night
Soldiers passing by
Listening to the wind of change
The world is closing in
Did you ever think
That we could be so close, like brothers
The future's in the air
I can feel it everywhere
Blowing with the wind of change
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
in the wind of change
Walking down the street
Distant memories
Are buried in the past forever
I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams
With you and me
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
in the wind of change
The wind of change
Blows straight into the face of time
Like a stormwind that will ring the freedom bell
For peace of mind
Let your balalaika sing
What my guitar wants to say
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams
With you and me
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
in the wind of change
"Wind of Change" is a song by the German rock band Scorpions, recorded for their eleventh studio album, Crazy World (1990). The song was composed and written by the band's lead singer Klaus Meine and produced by Keith Olsen and the band. It was released as the album's third single in January 1991 and became a worldwide hit, just after the failed coup that would eventually lead to the collapse of the Soviet Communist regime. The song topped the charts in Germany and across Europe and hit number four in the United States and number two in the United Kingdom. It later appeared on the band's 1995 live album Live Bites, their 2000 album with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Moment of Glory, and on their 2001 unplugged album Acoustica. With estimated sales of 14 million copies sold worldwide, "Wind of Change" is one of the best-selling singles of all time. It holds the record for the best-selling single by a German artist.
The band presented a gold record of the single to Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991. As of July 2016 the video for “Wind of Change” has been viewed more than 272 million times on YouTube to date. VEVO meticulously recorded the view requests and certified them. With this, the Scorpions are the first German band cracking the 100 million click mark.
Background and writing
Background and writing
The lyrics celebrate glasnost in the USSR, the end of the Cold War, and speaks of hope at a time when tense conditions had arisen due to the fall of Communist-run governments among Eastern Bloc nations beginning in 1989.
The Scorpions were inspired to write the song on a visit to Moscow in 1989,[2] and the opening lines refer to the city's landmarks:
The Moskva is the name of the river that runs through Moscow (both the city and the river are named identically in Russian), and Gorky Park is an urban park in Moscow named after the writer Maxim Gorky.
The song also contains a reference to the balalaika, which is a Russian string instrument somewhat like a guitar. The balalaika is mentioned in the following verse:
COMPOSITION
"Wind of Change" opens with a clean guitar intro played by Matthias Jabs, which is played alongside Klaus Meine's famous whistle. The song's guitar solo is played by Rudolf Schenker.[citation needed]
OTHER VERSIONS
The band also recorded a Russian-language version of the song, under the title "Ветер перемен" ("Veter Peremen") and a Spanish version called "Vientos de Cambio".
LEGACY
In 2005, viewers of the German television network ZDF chose this song as the song of the century. It is the highest selling song ever in Germany, reportedly selling over 6 million copies in that country alone, and is frequently played on television shows presenting video footage of the fall of the Berlin Wall.In Germany, it is remembered as the song of German reunification and a message of hope.
USES OF THE SONG
- Plays in a scene from the 2010 movie Gentlemen Broncos, when main character Benjamin Purvis walks out of a bookshop with his date.
- Popular UK football show Soccer AM uses "Wind of Change" as its tribute to UK troops overseas.
- It also features in the video game SingStar Rocks! and has been added as a downloadable content from the SingStore.
- The song was featured in the episode "Chuck Versus the Seduction Impossible" of the TV show Chuck.
- In series 15, episode 2 of Top Gear, the song can be heard during the introduction of The Stig's "German cousin".
- In the independent film In Search of a Midnight Kiss (distributed by IFC in summer 2008), writer/director Alex Holdridge has characters in the film sing an impromptu version of "Wind of Change" as the movie concludes in celebration of the main character's changing fortune, and as the credits start to roll. Austin, Texas-based rock band Sybil performs a cover of the song.
- The song was used in the Berlin Wall trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010) in the "First Strike" DLC.
- Hong Kong pop singer Alan Tam included a Cantonese version of the song called "再等幾天" (English: "Wait a few More Days") in his 1992 album Lover.
- Plays at the end of the 2014 film The Interview.
- A version was played on the church bells of the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, Netherlands as part of the project 'Recording Heaven' by the artists Roos Blogg and Maia Lyon Daw in 2009.[7]
- The song were also used during before the warm up sessions on A State Of Trance Festival 2003.
- David Lemieux used it as his entrance song in his boxing match to Gennady Golovkin on pay per view at Madison Square Garden October 17, 2015.
- It is played at the end of a sketch about the social disintegration of the suburb of 'Cowsick' in the TV series Brass Eye.
TRACK LISTINGS
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CHARTS AND SALES
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Certifications
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Chart successions
Oral History of 1990's Epic Power Ballad
How the German hard rockers' whistle-along hit became an anthem for the end of the Cold War
The Scorpions' "Wind of Change" served as a soundtrack of sorts to a political and cultural revolution.
In the 1980s and very early Nineties, every hard-rock and metal act worth their leathers scored big with a power ballad or two. But only Germany's the Scorpions can say that one of theirs — in this case, 1990's "Wind of Change" — also served as a soundtrack of sorts to a political and cultural revolution. The song's sentiments of hope and peace, broadly stated by vocalist Klaus Meine ("The world is closing in/Did you ever think/That we could be so close/Like brothers?"), not to mention an accompanying, Wayne Isham–directed video that employed footage of the construction and tearing down of the Berlin Wall, led to its being inextricably linked to the end of the Cold War and the reunification of East and West Germany.
Interestingly, especially in light of the Scorpions' background — the band hails from the city of Hannover, roughly 200 miles west of Berlin — "Wind of Change" was about neither the Berlin Wall nor their German homeland. Rather, its origins trace to the former Soviet Union, and specifically the Moscow Music Peace Festival, a two-day "hard-rock Woodstock" staged in August 1989, in the city's 100,000-seat Lenin Stadium. The event, which saw the Scorpions, Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe, Cinderella and Skid Row perform alongside homegrown bands like Gorky Park and Brigada-S, marked the first time Western heavy-metal acts had been permitted to play in the Soviet capital. Broadcast in dozens of countries and on MTV in America, the festival was a triumph (if not without drama behind the scenes), and it inspired Meine, who had grown up in the looming shadow of the Iron Curtain, to begin writing "Wind of Change."
Roughly three months later, the Berlin Wall came down. Soon after, the Scorpions — which included guitarists Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs, as well as then bassist Francis Buchholz and drummer Herman Rarebell — recorded "Wind of Change" for their 11th studio album, Crazy World. In early 1991, the song was issued as the record's third single. And though it climbed only to Number Four on the Billboard 200, "Wind of Change" became a worldwide smash, topping the charts in numerous European countries and giving the Scorpions — then 25 years into their career, and associated more with lewd album covers and loud tunes like "Rock You Like a Hurricane" than gentle, whistling-adorned ballads — their biggest hit to date.
Since then, "Wind of Change" has reportedly become one of the best-selling singles in history. And it is certainly the only power ballad to have been personally performed — and numerous times, at that — for former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (most recently in 2011, at his 80th birthday gala in London). Over the years, the Scorpions have also recorded the song in Russian and Spanish, and played it, in various configurations, with orchestras, children's choirs and even as a duet with Spanish opera tenor José Carreras. In 2005, viewers of the German television network ZDF named it the "Song of the Century," while in this country it remains a pop-culture touchstone — it was recently heard in the 2014 comedy The Interview, in a scene in which Seth Rogen and James Franco, the latter cradling a small puppy, flee North Korea by boat as Meine's serenely whistled melody plays in the background.
These days, the Scorpions, still led by Meine, now 67, and Schenker, 66, continue to rock worldwide audiences like a hurricane. They're set to release their 18th studio album, Return to Forever, stateside on September 11th (you can pre-order it here) and, also this month, are embarking on a U.S. tour celebrating 50 years as a band. But first, in anticipation of the 25th anniversary of "Wind of Change" (in November), the two Scorpions, along with key players in, and eyewitnesses to, the song's history, take us back to Moscow and the "magic of the moment."
The Scorpions at the Peace Rock Festival in Moscow on August 13th, 1989 were interviewed:-
Rudolf Schenker, guitar: We were actually supposed to play in Moscow in 1988. When we released the Savage Amusement album there was a plan for us to do five shows there and five shows in Leningrad. But the authorities, they were afraid that when rock & roll comes into their country, especially to Moscow — because there are many different nationalities from the eastern part of Europe living there, as well as Russians — they thought maybe a riot could happen. So they didn't allow us to play in Moscow, but offered to let us to play more shows in Leningrad. We were a little disappointed but we took the offer and played 10 shows there. And it was fantastic. It was a dream come true to play in Russia because, from our point of view, because of our German history, we did so many bad things in Russia that we wanted to do something good. We wanted to show the people in Russia that here is a new generation of Germans growing up, and they're not coming with tanks and guns and making war — they're coming with guitars and rock & roll and bringing love!
Klaus Meine, vocals: I guess we had opened a door by being one of the first western rock bands to play a big show in the Soviet Union. So when we played in Moscow the next year with Ozzy Osbourne and all these American bands, people knew who we were.
Schenker: The Moscow Music Peace Festival was organized by our manager, Doc McGhee, and Stas Namin, who was a big name in Russia — he was a music guy, and his uncle was the inventor of the MIG, the fighter jet. Also, his grandfather had been a leader in the Soviet Union. The two of them put this thing together.
Doc McGhee, former Scorpions manager: The Scorpions loved to play everywhere. I mean, we played Sarajevo around the time of the war. These guys, they love that stuff. So when they had the opportunity to be part of the biggest rock show in the history of the Soviet Union — this is not at like, you know, a 4,000-seater in Gorky Park, it's for 100,000 people at Lenin Stadium and it's televised everywhere, including in Russia— of course every one of the artists were jazzed to be part of that.
Meine: There were so many emotional moments in Moscow. I guess it could have been Bon Jovi or Mötley Crüe, any of these guys who had gone home inspired by what they saw, but for them it was like, "Hey! We rocked the Soviet Union, dudes!" For us maybe it was different. We saw so many changes from Leningrad in '88 to Moscow in '89. That was the inspiration for "Wind of Change."
McGhee: The Scorpions had a lot more understanding of the culture and the people in Moscow than a band coming from, say, New Jersey, you know?
Dave "Snake" Sabo, Skid Row guitarist: Their history is different than ours. So the significance of playing in Moscow was definitely more impactful for them. Russia was one of the countries that had split their country up. I can only imagine what growing up in that post-World War II environment must have been like — the split of East and West Germany, the separation of brothers and sisters and family and friends... and then knowing your country had perpetrated crimes against humanity that are beyond fathomable. They had to live with that history.
Schenker: One of the days we were there, there was a plan to go by boat to Gorky Park for a party.
McGhee: We were in Moscow for, like, a week, and we had press junkets and stuff to do. So I decided I was going to take everybody out on the river that goes through Moscow. And you have to remember, back then it wasn't like they had all these boats ready to go and you just rented one. They had nothing. So it wasn't like you called the concierge at the hotel and said, "I want to do a boat ride with a barbeque on it," like you would anyplace else. It was probably as monumental doing that as it was doing the show.
"We were not just a band singing about these things; we were a part of these things." —Klaus Meine
Meine: We took the boat down the Moskva River. And we were on this boat with all the bands, with MTV journalists, with Red Army soldiers... It was an inspiring moment for me [the first lines in "Wind of Change" are: "I follow the Moskva/Down to Gorky Park"]. It was like the whole world was in that one boat talking the same language: music.
Wayne Isham, video director for the Moscow Music Peace Festival: The fans in Moscow definitely knew the Scorpions — the Scorpions and Ozzy — better than they knew anybody else.
Sabo: Some of the other bands would be onstage, and you could hear the crowd chanting: "Scorpions! Scorpions!" They chanted Ozzy's name, too. Because that was all they knew. I guess they were nice to us and whatnot, but I had no preconceived notions that anybody was going to know us in Russia.
Isham: There were a lot of ego things with the bands, and things between Mötley and Ozzy and Bon Jovi and so on, because that's what it's all about. And poor Doc had to deal with all of them. But the Scorpions were so steady on the course. They were there and ready to rock. When they went on, the crowd went insane. I was watching it and I thought, "Wow, I didn't realize..."
Meine: When we started our show with "Blackout," all the Red Army soldiers, all the security, they turned around to face the stage and started throwing their caps and jackets in the air. It was amazing. It felt like the world was changing right in front of our eyes. Many young Russian kids sensed that the whole Cold War generation would be over soon. There was a feeling of hope. And that's what I tried to express in the song.
McGhee: The second night that we played in Moscow, we were in the bus coming back from the gig, and Klaus was whistling "Wind of Change." He had this idea in his head. And then the next day he pretty much had the whole song written. The actual basis of the song.
Schenker: The Wall had not come down yet, but it was here, in Moscow, where you could feel everything coming. Gorbachev was bringing glasnost and perestroika! The world was changing. Somehow Klaus picked up on that vibe.
Meine: We always said we were lucky we grew up in West Germany. It's hard to believe today, but there were only three channels on German television and one of them came in black and white from East Germany. And when you saw the East German television, it was just like a dark world. It was very confrontational for people in the West. It was like you could feel we were not very welcome over there, really. That divide between the East and West was very tense. We grew up with jeans, with Elvis, with bubblegum. Very much Americanized. But over there, they grew up with the Soviet Union. They grew up with Nikita Khrushchev, who banged his shoes on the table at the United Nations. That was like a threat, you know? When Khrushchev hit the table, it was, "Wow, the next war is just around the corner..."
Schenker: We wanted to get away from this German history. From the Holocaust, from our parents' generation being at war with all the world. We wanted to be musicians and hopefully join the international family of music. That was one of the reasons for us to sing in English. To leave behind the German history that of course you couldn't be proud of.
Meine: One thing that was important to "Wind of Change" was that we were not just a band singing about these things; we were a part of these things.
Schenker: Later on we were doing this album called Crazy World, and Klaus brought in the song.
Meine: Up to this point I very rarely wrote music. I focused more or less all those years on lyrics. But with "Wind of Change," I presented the whole song to the band. It was not so bad for a start, yes? [Laughs]
Keith Olsen, Crazy World producer: We did most of the album at Wisseloord Studios in the Netherlands. But for the first eight weeks or so we worked at Goodnight L.A., my private studio in California. That was where I first heard "Wind of Change." Rudolf and Klaus came in, and Rudolf played it on acoustic guitar and Klaus just sang. It raised the hairs on my arms. I had a copy of the lyrics and it was just, "Woah..." It was a very strong emotional statement. But it wasn't a ya ya ya, rah rah rah political statement. It was so genuine.
Meine: At least some of the words and the melody and the whole structure of the song came out pretty quick. And the beginning melody, I guess I just whistled my way through it because, I mean, I play guitar, but I'm not a lead guitarist. So I was just whistling and it went down pretty cool. I played it for the guys, and they liked the song but they were not so sure about this whistling part.
Schenker: Well, you know, rock & roll and whistling...
Olsen: That intro was supposed to be a guitar motif. The melody was established. And we tried it with guitars, we tried it with clean guitars, we tried it on a keyboard. But in the end, it was one of those things where it just worked with the whistle. Klaus said, "Well, this is how I first wrote it, and this was the first initial feeling." So I said, "Then just do it again." So he did the whistle a bunch of times and I comp'd together a perfect one. And it worked. It really worked. I loved it.
Schenker: The record company came and said, "You know, guys, the song 'Wind of Change,' it's great... but maybe you can cut the whistling out?'" And we tried it a few different ways, but we noticed immediately that when the whistling was out of the song, the song lost something.
Olsen: Doc McGhee said to us in the studio, "You know, I could just see it — you put out this record and all the promoters, they get out there onstage and they say, 'Ladies and gentlemen, here they are, the Scorpions! And they whistle!'"
McGhee: It was actually someone in my office who was talking to the record company, and the guys there were saying, "They gotta get the whistling out." I went, "You're crazy! You can't get the whistling out." It was just as much of a hook as anything in the song.
Meine: There were songs before "Wind of Change," from guys like John Lennon and Axl Rose, with whistling in them. But there was this whole thing in the studio where everyone wanted to replace the whistling. And we couldn't, because it worked perfectly. There was no way to put a lead guitar or something in there.
Schenker: So we said, "Fuck it! We keep the whistling.
"
Meine: I don't understand why this was such a big deal.
Schenker: When we came out with Crazy World at the end of '90, the first single was "Tease Me Please Me." Then it was "Don't Believe Her." It was actually the French people who put out "Wind of Change" as a single first. They always liked the slow songs very much. "Still Loving You" [from 1984's Love At First Sting], we say that was the song of the French baby boom — people were making love to it and making babies to it. So "Wind of Change" became very popular there. And from that came the kind of revolution of this song, from one country to the other. In the next few months, the song was Number One everywhere. The Wall had come down in Germany and this song became the soundtrack of the most peaceful revolution on earth.
Meine: The funny thing is, it's not even a song about Germany or the Wall. It's a song about Moscow. "I follow the Moskva..." People in America will run into me in an elevator or somewhere and they'll say, "Klaus, 'I follow the Moskva?' What is that?" And I just go, "Man, it's like, 'I follow the Mississippi...'" It's something we were experiencing. But the strength of "Wind of Change," or the magic of it, is that it was written before the Wall came down. That didn't happen until a few months after I wrote the song. And the single and the video didn't come out until '91, and by that time the world had completely changed. So then it made a different connection.
Isham: I got the phone call that they were doing a video for the song. So I went to Berlin, where they were playing a show, and I met with everybody there. We sat together and had a conversation about what they wanted to do. All the guys had an opinion on what was happening. Of course they did — they're Germans. More than anybody it was Klaus — he retold the story about how he wrote this song. But they all talked about what direction they wanted to take the video in. And there was talk that it had to be more than just a live performance.
McGhee: Normally, your video should be an infomercial for your live show, OK? That's the way I've always done it. But this was different. This was a song about change. And it was coming out as the world was actually changing. So you can have power ballads and do your big performance piece and all that on any song but this song. This song meant something.
Isham: It's no question that they wanted to have images of the Wall coming down [in the video]. And that was the inspiration to have more than just images of the Wall coming down. They wanted to make it more inclusive. More universal. From politics to the environment.
Schenker: The footage of the Berlin Wall is the strongest material [in the video], no question about this. All the other things, let's say the birds in oil and stuff like this, compared to this they are weak parts. The strongest parts are the parts where you can see the Berlin Wall, where you can see the happiness of the people.
Isham: They said, "Do what you're gonna do." So we told the story with this music and these awesome images of what was an incredible time period in our lives. And we took it pretty far. Some people at the record company thought it was too far. Too political. But the guys, they loved it.
Olsen: We never even knew if it would be a single. I have a feeling that it was one of those tracks that the promotion guys at the label said, "We'll never be able to get 'Wind of Change' on rock radio. We may be able to get it on Adult Contemporary." And what happened, I think, was it went to AC first and then instantly crossed over into pop and rock. And then it started climbing around the world.
Meine: In America it was played on the adult radio stations, which is so different from rock radio. Year after year, you come to America, you present your new album, you go to all the rock radio stations, they can spell your name, no problem. All of a sudden with "Wind of Change," we hit those adult stations and it was totally different. It was like we were a new band again.
McGhee: It went to AC and Hot AC and all that stuff, because it's a ballad. And at first it made more of an impact there than at Top 40 or rock radio. But then it crossed over to all formats.
Schenker: I think it went to Number One in something like 10 countries.
Meine: I'm not sure how many places it hit Number One. I know that as a single it has sold maybe 15 million copies.
Schenker: I told Klaus, "You know what would be very good? If you would sing this song in Russian." Because the Russian people have to know the message as well. And they don't understand English. So we recorded a Russian version. And the private radio in Russia, it would start at six in the morning with "Wind of Change" in Russian, and at two in the morning it would end with it, too.
Meine: We also did it in Spanish. With a lot of those hits that make it big and go around the world, the record companies want you to come up with a Spanish version. But to do the Russian version was the challenge. It wasn't easy. And until this day I don't know how good it is. But even now, when we play in Russia I sing at least one chorus of the song in their language.
McGhee: It was such a topical song, and it just connected. I mean, even Gorbachev's grandchildren loved the song. So we went to Moscow to meet with him and his family. Stas Namin, he was born near the Kremlin and he knew everybody there. He called me up one day and said, "Gorbachev would like to meet you guys." I said, "We're comin'!"
Meine: This was like the Beatles meeting the Queen, you know? We didn't know until the very last day if it would come together, but one of the reasons I think it did was that "Wind of Change" had become a worldwide hit. And when we recorded the Russian version of the song, we thought it would be really nice to give something back to the people, because they were the inspiration. So we connected it to a Russian charity for kids.
McGhee: The band performed "Wind of Change" for Gorbachev, at the Kremlin.
Schenker: There was a photo session, and after that Gorbachev sent out all the journalists and everyone, and he just wanted to be with the band and our managers and closest people. We sat with him and [his wife] Raisa, and he talked about glasnost and perestroika.
Meine: The most memorable moment probably is when I said to him, "Mr. Gorbachev, when I was a kid, Nikita Khrushchev was in power and he took out his shoe and hit the table at the United Nations. We were all in shock that there would be another war." And Gorbachev looked at me and he said, "I think that was rock & roll, wasn't it?" [Laughs] He was a very charismatic figure.
McGhee: I tried to manage him when he left office. I said to him, "People are not going to understand that you are the man who changed the world. You need to tell that story and you need to be out there. You need to have the movie and book rights to your life." But it didn't happen.
Meine: Something like that just goes to show that music is a very strong tool for building bridges. And that's what we always tried to do. Coming from Germany, with these two world wars behind us, we saw the chance to do something good with music. I think that "Wind of Change" did something good.
Schenker: I heard about how it was voted the "Song of the Century" [by viewers of the ZDF German television network]. We have heard so many things like this. Because it is a song of hope.
Meine: What comes to my mind is that still, after all these years, wherever we go and perform that song it creates a lot of emotions. You see generations of fans in the audience, and sometimes they're crying. And of course it's not everywhere the same. But when we go east — and we just came back from doing some shows in Russia — it's amazing how the song goes down and what kinds of emotions it creates.
Schenker: I remember that in 2000 or 2001 we played in Seoul, South Korea. And in those days there was a kind of possibility that the North and South would come together again. So they invited us and Art Garfunkel and some Korean bands to play, in front of 50,000 people. And I know they asked us to do it because of "Wind of Change" — because of this symbol. I think "Wind of Change" has given us the possibility to be invited to play many different places. In Lebanon we came after the war and played. A little bit later on we played in Israel.
Meine: In fact, we just played in China for the very first time in early May. The Chinese authorities wanted to see all the songs and the lyrics up front, and I thought "Wind of Change" might be an issue. But it went very smooth. We were invited to come back next year. And to see a Chinese audience singing "Wind of Change," it was fantastic. We've even heard Chinese versions of the song.
Schenker: In the Scorpions we have this kind of saying: Love, peace and rock & roll. The love stands for "Still Loving You." The rock & roll stands for "Rock You Like a Hurricane." And the peace? That's for "Wind of Change." That is the message of the song. It's a song about the desire for people all over the world to live in peace together. And now it has reached people in all parts of the world.
Meine: Was I trying to write something that would be so universal? I was not thinking about it. It just came out. And I had written anti-war songs before — there was one on Love at First Sting called "Crossfire," which was about living between East and West. So sometimes, in between the "Bad Boys Running Wild"s and the "Rock You Like A Hurricane"s, I was able to squeeze in a song with a deeper meaning. And one of those songs was "Wind of Change." It was just something I wanted to say. I needed to say it.
Scorpions are a German rock band formed in 1965 in Hanover by Rudolf Schenker.Since the band's inception, its musical style has ranged from hard rock to heavy metal.The lineup from 1978–92 was the most successful incarnation of the group, and included Klaus Meine (vocals), Rudolf Schenker (rhythm guitar), Matthias Jabs (lead guitar), Francis Buchholz(bass guitar), and Herman Rarebell (drums). The band's only constant member has been Schenker, although Meine has been the lead singer for all of the band's studio albums, and Jabs has been a consistent member since 1979.
During the mid-1970s, with guitarist Uli Jon Roth part of the line-up, the music of Scorpions was defined as hard rock. After the departure of Roth in 1978, Matthias Jabs joined and, following the guidance of producer Dieter Dierks, Scorpions changed their sound towards melodic heavy metal, mixed with rock power ballads. Throughout the 1980s the group received positive reviews and critical acclaim from music critics, and experienced commercial success with the albums Animal Magnetism (1980), Blackout (1982), Love at First Sting(1984), World Wide Live (1985) and Savage Amusement (1988).
Their best-selling album Crazy World (1990) includes the song "Wind of Change", a symbolic anthem of the political changes in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s and the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is one of the best-selling singles in the world with over fourteen million copies sold. Scorpions have sold over 100 million records in total. They have released 18 studio albums, 27 compilation albums and 74 singles. Six of their singles have reached number one on the charts in different countries. Their albums, singles, compilations and video releases have reached 200 times gold, platinum and multi-platinum status in different countries.
Rolling Stone magazine describes Scorpions as "the heroes of heavy metal", and MTVcalled them "Ambassadors of Rock". The band was ranked number 46 on VH1's Greatest Artists of Hard Rock programme,with "Rock You Like a Hurricane" at number 18 on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs."Still Loving You" ranked 22nd place among the greatest ballads. Scorpions have received prestigious awards such
History
Rolling Stone magazine describes Scorpions as "the heroes of heavy metal", and MTVcalled them "Ambassadors of Rock". The band was ranked number 46 on VH1's Greatest Artists of Hard Rock programme,with "Rock You Like a Hurricane" at number 18 on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs."Still Loving You" ranked 22nd place among the greatest ballads. Scorpions have received prestigious awards such
History
Formation and early history (1965–1973)
Rudolf Schenker, the band's rhythm guitarist launched the band in 1965. At first, the band had beat influences and Schenker himself handled the vocals.Things began to come together in 1970 when Schenker's younger brother Michael and vocalist Klaus Meine joined the band. In 1972 the group recorded and released their debut album Lonesome Crow, with Lothar Heimberg on bass and Wolfgang Dziony on drums. During the Lonesome Crow tour, Scorpions opened for upcoming British band UFO. Near the end of the tour, guitarist Michael Schenker accepted an offer of lead guitar for UFO. Uli Roth, a friend of Michael's, was then introduced to the band and he helped them to finish off the tour.
The departure of Michael Schenker led to the breakup of the band. In 1973, Uli Roth, who had helped Scorpions complete the Lonesome Crowtour, was offered the role as lead guitarist, but turned the band down, preferring instead to remain in the band Dawn Road. Rudolf Schenker eventually decided that he wanted to work with Roth, but did not want to resurrect the last Scorpions lineup. He attended some of Dawn Road's rehearsals and ultimately decided to join the band, which consisted of Roth, Francis Buchholz (bass), Achim Kirschning (keyboards) and Jürgen Rosenthal (drums). Uli Roth and Buchholz persuaded Rudolf Schenker to invite Klaus Meine to join on vocals, which he soon did. While there were more members of Dawn Road than Scorpions in the band, they decided to use the Scorpions name because it was well known in the German hard rock scene and an album had been released under that name.
Rise to fame (1974–1978)[edit]
In 1974, the new line-up of Scorpions released Fly to the Rainbow. The album proved to be more successful than Lonesome Crow and songs such as "Speedy's Coming" and the title track established the band's sound. Achim Kirschning decided to leave after the recordings. Soon after,Jürgen Rosenthal had to leave as he was being drafted into the army. In 1976, he would join a German progressive rock band called Eloyrecording three albums. He was replaced in July 1974 by Jurgen Fechter. In 1975 Rudy Lenners from Belgium became the next drummer.
That year (1975) the band released In Trance, which marked the beginning of Scorpions' long collaboration with German producer Dieter Dierks. The album was a huge step forward for Scorpions and established their heavy metal formula. It garnered a fan base at home and abroad with cuts such as "In Trance", "Dark Lady" and "Robot Man".
In 1976, Scorpions released Virgin Killer. The album's cover featured a nude prepubescent girl behind a broken pane of glass. The cover art was designed by Stefan Bohle who was the product manager for RCA Records,[22] their label at the time. The cover brought the band considerable market exposure but was subsequently pulled or replaced in other countries. The album itself garnered widespread praise for its music from select critics and fan base. In 2008 this image was blacklisted from the English wikipedia by the Internet Watch Foundation, see Internet Watch Foundation and Wikipedia.
The following year, Rudy Lenners resigned for personal reasons and was replaced by Herman Rarebell.
For the follow-up Taken by Force, RCA Records made a determined effort to promote the album in stores and on the radio. The album's single, "Steamrock Fever", was added to some of RCA's radio promotional records. Roth was not happy with the commercial direction the band was taking. Although he performed on the band's Japan tour, he departed to form his own band, Electric Sun prior to the release of the resultant double live album Tokyo Tapes. Tokyo Tapes was released in the US and Europe six months after its Japanese release. By that time in mid 1978, after auditioning around 140 guitarists, Scorpions recruited guitarist Matthias Jabs.
Commercial success (1978-1992)[edit]
Following the addition of Jabs, Scorpions left RCA for Mercury Records in the United States and Harvest/EMI Electrola worldwide to record their next album Lovedrive. Just weeks after quitting UFO, Michael Schenker returned to the group for a short period during the recordings for the album. This gave the band three guitarists (though Schenker's contribution to the final release was limited to only three songs). The result wasLovedrive, an album which some critics consider to be the pinnacle of their career.[23] Containing such fan favourites as "Loving You Sunday Morning", "Always Somewhere", "Holiday" and the instrumental "Coast to Coast", it firmly cemented the 'Scorpions formula' of hard rock songs mixed with melodic ballads. The album's provocative artwork was named "Best album sleeve of 1979" by Playboy magazine, yet ultimately changed for American release. Lovedrive reached No. 55 on the US charts, demonstrating that the band was gathering an international following. After the completion and release of the album the band decided to retain Michael in the band, forcing Jabs to leave. However, in April 1979, during their tour in France, Michael quit and Jabs was brought in permanently to replace him.
In 1980 the band released Animal Magnetism, again with a provocative cover this time showing a girl kneeling and a Doberman Pinscher sitting in front of a man. Animal Magnetism contained classics such as "The Zoo" and "Make It Real". Soon after the album's release, Meine began experiencing throat problems. He required surgery on his vocal cords and doubts were raised about whether he would ever sing again.
Meanwhile, the band began working on their next album, Blackout in 1981. Don Dokken was brought in to provide guide and backing vocals while Meine recovered.[24] Meine eventually healed completely and was able to finish the album. Blackout was released in 1982 and quickly became the band's best selling album to date, eventually going platinum. Meine's voice showed no signs of weakness and fan response to the album was good. Blackout spawned three singles: "Dynamite", "Blackout", and "No One Like You".
Gaining in popularity from the success of Blackout, Scorpions performed to over 375,000 fans on Day 2 at the three-day US Festival concert held in San Bernardino, California during Memorial Day Weekend of 1983. The concert was aired live on MTV, giving the band wide exposure in a live show.
The 1984 album Love at First Sting cemented Scorpions' status as an internationally popular band. Propelled by the single "Rock You Like a Hurricane", Love at First Sting climbed the charts and went double platinum in the USA a few months after its release.
MTV gave the album's videos "Rock You Like a Hurricane", "Bad Boys Running Wild", "Big City Nights", and the power ballad "Still Loving You" significant airtime greatly contributing to the album's success. The channel even supplied Scorpions with the nickname "The Ambassadors of Rock" to the chagrin of industry insiders who recognised the executive influence behind the scenes. Rolling Stone magazine named them "The Heroes of Heavy Metal".
The band toured extensively behind Love at First Sting and released their second live album, World Wide Live in 1985. Recorded over a year-long world tour and released at the height of their popularity, the album was another success for the band, peaking at No. 14 in the charts in the US and at No. 18 in the UK.
After their extensive world tours, the band finally returned to the studio to record Savage Amusement. Released in 1988, four years after their previous studio album, Savage Amusement represented a more polished and mature sound similar to the style Def Leppard had found success with. The album sold well but was considered somewhat of a critical disappointment. However, British heavy rock magazine Kerrang! did award the album five K's out of five.
On the Savage Amusement tour in 1988, Scorpions became only the second Western group (not American) to play in the Soviet Union. Uriah Heep had performed in December, 1987 in Leningrad. The following year the band returned to perform at the Moscow Music Peace Festival. As a result, Scorpions developed an extended Russian fan base and still return to perform.[25]
Wishing to distance themselves from the Savage Amusement style, the band separated from their long-time producer and "Sixth Scorpion", Dieter Dierks, replacing him with Keith Olsen when they returned to the studio in 1990. Crazy World was released that same year and displayed a less polished sound. The album was propelled in large part by the massive success of the ballad "Wind of Change". The song muses on the socio-political changes that were occurring in Eastern Europe and in other parts of the world at the end of the Cold War. On July 21, 1990 they joined many other guests for Roger Waters' massive performance of The Wall in Berlin. Scorpions performed both versions of "In the Flesh" from The Wall. After the Crazy World tour Francis Buchholz, the band's long-serving bassist, left the group.
Later days (1993–2009)
In 1993, Scorpions released Face the Heat. Bass was handled by Ralph Rieckermann. For the recording process, Scorpions brought in producerBruce Fairbairn. The album's sound was more metal than melodic. Neither the heavy metal single "Alien Nation" nor the ballad "Under The Same Sun" came close to matching the success of "Wind of Change". Face the Heat was a moderate success. In 1995, a new album, Live Bites, was produced. The disc documented retro live performances from their Savage Amusement Tour in 1988, all the way through the Face the Heat Tour in 1994. While the album had a technologically cleaner sound in comparison to their best-selling live album, World Wide Live, it was not as successful.
Prior to recording their 13th studio album, 1996s Pure Instinct, drummer Herman Rarebell left the band to set up a recording label. Curt Cress took charge of the drumsticks for the album before Louisville, Kentucky-born James Kottak took over permanently. The album had many ballads. Still, the album's singles "Wild Child" and the soothing ballad "You and I" both enjoyed moderate success.
1999 saw the release of Eye II Eye and a significant change in the band's style, mixing in elements of pop and techno. While the album was slickly produced, it was not received well by fans. The video to the album's first European single, "To Be No. 1", featured a Monica Lewinsky look-alike which did little to improve its popularity.
The following year, Scorpions had an artistic collaboration with the Berlin Philharmonic that resulted in a 10-song album named Moment of Glory. The album went a long way toward rebuilding the band's reputation after the harsh criticism of Eye II Eye. However, critics accused them of following on the coattails of Metallica's similar collaboration (S&M) with the San Francisco Symphony which had been released the previous year, even though the orchestra had first approached Scorpions with the idea in 1995.
In 2001, Scorpions released Acoustica, a live unplugged album featuring acoustic reworkings of the band's biggest hits, plus new tracks. While appreciated by fans, the lack of a new studio album was frustrating to some, and Acoustica did little to return the band to the spotlight.
In 2004, the band released Unbreakable, an album that was hailed by critics as a long-awaited return to form. The album was the heaviest the band had released since Face the Heat. Whether a result of poor promotion by the band's label or the long time between studio releases, Unbreakable received little airplay and did not chart. Scorpions toured extensively behind the album and played as 'Special Guests' with Judas Priest during the 2005 British tour—these were the Scorpions' first dates in the UK since 1999.
In early 2006, Scorpions released the DVD 1 Night in Vienna that included 14 live tracks and a complete rockumentary. In LA, the band spent about four months in the studio with producers James Michael and Desmond Child working on a concept album titled Humanity: Hour I, which was released in late May 2007,[ and was followed by the "Humanity World Tour".
In 2007, the band collaborated with two of their signature tracks in the video game series, "Guitar Hero." "No One Like You" was featured on the "Rocks the '80s" version of the game while "Rock You Like A Hurricane" was released on "Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock."
On May 14, 2007, Scorpions released Humanity – Hour I in Europe. Humanity – Hour I became available in the U.S. on August 28 on New Door Records, entering the Billboard charts at number No. 63.
In a September 2007 podcast interview, Meine said the album was not so much a "concept album", but rather a collection of songs with a common theme. "We didn't want to make another record with songs about boys chasing girls. I mean, come on, give me a break," Meine said.
Asked in 2007 if the band was planning to release a Humanity – Hour II, Meine replied:
On December 20, 2007, Scorpions played at a concert for the elite of Russia’s security forces in the Kremlin. The concert was a celebration of the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Cheka—predecessor of the KGB. The band has claimed that they thought they were performing aChristmas concert. They have said that their concert was by no means a tribute to the Cheka, communism, or Russia's brutal past. Members of the audience included Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev.
On 22 February 2009, Scorpions received Germany's ECHO Honorary Award for lifetime achievement at Berlin's O2 World.
Sting in the Tail, touring and Comeblack (2010–2014)
In November 2009, Scorpions announced that their 17th studio album, Sting in the Tail, would be released in early 2010, recorded in Hanover with Swedish producers Mikael "Nord" Andersson and Martin Hansen. Sting in the Tail was released on March 23, 2010.
On 24 January 2010, the band announced their intentions for Sting in the Tail to be their last album, with the tour supporting it being their final tour, although the band later made the decision to continue recording past the end of the tour. Dokken was scheduled to open for them but cancelled after a dispute.
On 6 April 2010, Scorpions were enshrined in Hollywood's Rock Walk in a handprint ceremony, with the band members placing their hands in a long slab of wet cement next to other musical artists.
An album of re-recordings of older songs, Comeblack, was released on 7 November 2011.
Frontman Klaus Meine was asked in a July 2011 interview about the future of Scorpions and whether the band was going to make another album. He replied, "Our newest project comes out in the next few months. It gives you a chance to experience the Scorpions in 3D. You can actually feel the smoke string out of the guitar like it is a live show. It is an incredible experience. The DVD features our concerts in 3D in Germany. We are just about to do the mix and it should be in the Middle East and Saudi Arabia hopefully soon. Indeed, the strong 3D technology makes us feel like pioneers after all these years (he says, laughing). We have an album coming out later this year featuring classics. You know our love for them. The '60s was the era for our inspiration. Our movie/documentary also is soon to be released. We have cameras with us on tours, so this documentary is being made during our tours. It also gives you a picture of the Scorpions career and journey."
Almost a year in advance it was announced Scorpions would headline the Wacken Open Air Festival on 4 August.
Despite ongoing rumours of a break up or retirement, guitarist Matthias Jabs told AZ Central on June 12, 2012 that Scorpions would not be splitting up. A month later, Jabs told Billboard magazine that the band has been working on an album that will contain unreleased songs they recorded for the albums Blackout,Love at First Sting, Savage Amusement and Crazy World and plan to release it in 2014. In April Scorpions announced shows in Russia and Belarus with an orchestra in October 2013. On 11, 12, and 14 September 2013, the Scorpions played three MTV Unplugged concerts at the Lycabettus-Theatre inAthens. On November 6, 2013 they announce 4 more MTV Unplugged Concert in Germany 2014. In December 2013 in an interview at Rock Show radio programme in Greece, Klaus Meine said he is not sure if the album that will contain unreleased songs they recorded for the albums Blackout, Love at First Sting, Savage Amusement and Crazy World is going to be released in 2014 or later on.
On 2014 Scorpions were nominated for two Echo Awards ("Euro Grammy's") for their 'MTV' Unplugged.
On August 16, Scorpions announced that there's a new album in the works due for release sometime in 2015.
50th anniversary and Return to Forever (2015–)
On October 23, 2014 Scorpions' leader Klaus Meine spoke to the band's French fan-club Crazyscorps, and announced that the new record would be published in February or March 2015, to coincide with the band's 50th anniversary. Contrary to what the band said in 2013, the new record will present not only newly recorded versions of never-published songs, but also new material, written between 2011 and 2014. The album is being recorded in Sweden, with producers Martin Hansen and Mikael Nord Andersson. Drummer James Kottak, who left the band in May 2014 for rehab, would return to play drums on the new record.[44] The new album Return to Forever was released on February 20, 2015.
On August 29, 2015, the Scorpions announced 50th anniversary deluxe editions of their albums Taken By Force, Tokyo Tapes, Lovedrive, Blackout, Love At First Sting, World Wide Live, and Savage Amusement which were released November 6, 2015. These deluxe releases include "dozens of unreleased songs, alternate versions of big hits, rough mixes, and rare live concert recordings". On April 28, 2016, it was announced Motorhead drummer Mikkey Dee would fill in for James Kottak and play drums on 12 North American headlining dates, including a run of shows at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas dubbed "Scorpions blacked out in Las Vegas" with Queensryche opening the Vegas shows.
BAND MEMBERS
Current members
- Klaus Meine – lead vocals (1969–present)
- Matthias Jabs – lead guitar, backing vocals (1978–present)
- Rudolf Schenker – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1965–present)
- Paweł Mąciwoda – bass, backing vocals (2004–present)
- James Kottak – drums, backing vocals (1996–present)
Former members
Vocalists
- Werner Hoyer – lead vocals (1967–1968)
- Herby Spamfritter – lead vocals (1968)
- Bernd Hegner – lead vocals (1968–1969)
Bassists[edit]
- Achim Kirchoff – bass (1965-1966) (died)
- Lothar Heimberg – bass, backing vocals (1967–1973)
- Francis Buchholz – bass, backing vocals (1973–1992)
- Ralph Rieckermann – bass, backing vocals (1993–2000, 2000–2003)
- Ken Taylor – bass, backing vocals (2000)
- Ingo Powitzer – bass (2004)
Drummers
- Wolfgang Dziony – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1965–1972)
- Harald Grosskopf – drums, percussion (1967)
- Joe Wyman – drums, percussion (1972)
- Werner Lohr – drums, percussion (1973)
- Jürgen Rosenthal – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1973–1974)
- Jurgen Fechter – drums, percussion (1974)
- Rudy Lenners – drums, percussion (1975–1977)
- Herman Rarebell – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1977–1982, 1984-1995)
- Curt Cress – drums, percussion (1995–1996)
- Mark Cross – drums, percussion (2014)
- Johan Franzon – drums, percussion (April–September 2014)
- Mikkey Dee – drums, percussion, backing vocals (6 May 2016 - 2 December 2016)
Guitarists
- Karl-Heinz Vollmer – lead guitar, backing vocals (1965–1967)
- Ulrich Worobiec – lead guitar, backing vocals (1968–1969)
- Michael Schenker – lead guitar, backing vocals (1969–1973, 1978–1979)
- Uli Jon Roth – lead guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Drifting Sun", "Fly to the Rainbow", "Dark Lady", "Sun in My Hand", "Hell Cat", "Polar Nights" (1973–1978)
Keyboardists
- Achim Kirschning – keyboards (1970–1974, 1975–1977 as support member)
Manager
- Krebs/Leber (Management 1979–1988)
- Doc McGhee (Management 1988–1994)
- Peter F. Amend (Lawyer, Booker and Manager 1991–2014)
- Jens-Carsten Schneider (Lawyer, Booker and Manager 2014–present)
- Stewart Young (1995–present)
- Rod MacSween ( –present, International Booking Agent Worldwide)
- Steve Martin ( –present, Booking Agent for USA and Canada )
- Tom Consolo (Front Line Management;Frontline Management Group, Azoffmusic Management; North-America, 2011/12)
- Steve Martin (The Agency Group, 2012)
Timeline
DISCOGRAPHY
- Studio albums
- Lonesome Crow (1972)
- Fly to the Rainbow (1974)
- In Trance (1975)
- Virgin Killer (1976)
- Taken by Force (1977)
- Lovedrive (1979)
- Animal Magnetism (1980)
- Blackout (1982)
- Love at First Sting (1984)
- Savage Amusement (1988)
- Crazy World (1990)
- Face the Heat (1993)
- Pure Instinct (1996)
- Eye II Eye (1999)
- Unbreakable (2004)
- Humanity: Hour I (2007)
- Sting in the Tail (2010)
- Return to Forever (2015)
TOURS
Scorpions have played around 5,000 concerts in over 80 countries.
- 1972: Lonesome Crow Tour
- 1974: Fly to the Rainbow Tour
- 1975–1976: In Trance Tour
- 1976: Virgin Killer Tour
- 1977–1978: Taken by Force Tour
- 1979: Lovedrive Tour
- 1980: Animal Magnetism Tour
- 1982–1983: Blackout Tour
- 1984–1986: Love at First Sting World Tour
- 1988–1989: Savage Amusement Tour
- 1990–1991: Crazy World Tour
- 1993–1994: Face the Heat Tour
- 1996–1997: Pure Instinct Tour
- 1999: Eye to Eye Tour
- 2000: Moment of Glory Tour
- 2001: Acoustica Tour
- 2002: Scorpions Tour 2002
- 2003: Scorpions Tour 2003
- 2004–2006:Unbreakable World Tour
- 2007–2009: Humanity World Tour
- 2010–2016: Get Your Sting and Blackout World Tour[41]
- 03/2010–10/2011: Get your Sting and Blackout
- 11/2011–12/2012: Final Sting
- 07/2013–11/2014: Rock 'n' Roll Forever Tour
- 05/2015–2016: Return to Forever / 50th Anniversary Tour
IN OTHER MEDIA
Musical theatre
The Scorpions song "Wind of Change" appears in the Off-Broadway production Power Balladz.
Awards and honours
- 1975: Best German Live Band
- 1976: Album of the Year in Germany - Virgin Killer
- 1979: Playboy magazine: Best artwork of the year for the Lovedrive cover
- 1985: Entry into the Golden Book of Hanover
- 1986: Bravo-Otto Band in Silver Category, Hard & Heavy
- 1991: Bravo Otto in Gold Category band, Hard & Heavy
- 1991: Invitation to the Kremlin, reception in the former Soviet state with party leader Mikhail Gorbachev
- 1992: Bravo Otto in bronze category band, Hard & Heavy
- 1992: World Music Award as the most successful German rock act
- 1992: Echo as the best national group
- 1992: Europe Golden (German: Goldene Europa)
- 1994: World Music Award
- 1998: Radio Regenbogen Award, Rock International
- 2000: Town of Hanover Plaque (German: Stadtplakette)
- 2000: Entry into the Golden Book of Hanover
- 2000: Cultural Prize of the City of Hanover
- 2001: Scorpions Street in Leganes, Spain
- 2009: Echo Lifetime Achievement award
- 2010: Star on the Hollywood Rock Walk, Los Angeles
- 2010: Rock Legend Award - the World Music Award (special award for outstanding contribution to the development of rock music)
- 2010: Special postage stamp Scorpions for the Brazil tour, published by the Brazilian postal service
- 2010: Lifetime Achievement Awards, the Hard Rock Cafe chain
- 2011: Radio Regenbogen Award in the category Lifetime Rock
- 2011: Pioneer of Pop - awarded by SWR3-New-Pop-Festival
- 2011:Metal Guru Award from Classic Rock (magazine)
- 2012: CGDC Award for Music for Dialogue from the Center for Global Dialogue and Cooperation (CGDC)
- 2012: Deutscher Nachhaltigkeitspreis der Städte und Gemeinden
- 2013: Steiger Award
