![]() Today’s band is the same line-up that made the victorious return at the Albert Hall, featuring the long-standing triumvirate of Rudolf, Klaus and guitarist Matthias Jabs, plus relative newcomers, Pawel ‘Baby’ Maciwoda (bass) and James Kottak (drums). On the British dates in July Rudolf’s errant sibling, Michael, would also join them. ![]() The Scorpions’ long, diverse history has taken them from being underground German metal merchants to the internationally established artists they are today.Ĭlassic Rock caught up with the band in Paris in spring 2007, where they were playing one of a series of shows featuring original guitarist Uli Roth, a move inspired by the success of the reunion at Wacken. We feel that we can deliver as a live band, and we also want to deliver as recording artists.” “When you have a long career and you are a powerful and energetic band, if you can’t deliver on the same level again, it’s very hard to continue. “I am glad that you mentioned the Albert Hall,” Klaus says. Scorpions rattle and roll at the Royal Albert Hall, 2006 (Image credit: Getty Images) As my jaw hit the floor, the band proceeded to assault an initially wary audience of classic rock dilettantes with a tight, well-thought-out set of their musical highlights. Until 2006, that is, when they made a spectacular comeback at a Royal Albert Hall memorial for rock DJ Tommy Vance, with a tight, polished show that made headliners Judas Priest look positively Jurassic. The Scorpions’ professionalism, wide-eyed enthusiasm and endearingly basic grasp of the English language made them a joy to behold.īut as the decades passed they became a distant memory, consigned to the bargain bin of musical history. The last time we met was during the recording of Blackout which, along with albums such as Lovedrive, Animal Magnetism and Love At First Sting, proved to be a healthy antidote to the shambolic village hall buffoonery going under the guise of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. ![]() First I have to admit that the mighty Scorps had fallen off my musical radar for about 24 years. A band who had been abandoned by their more hard-core following for producing some execrable rock ballads – the main offender being Wind Of Change with its lamentable Roger Whittaker-esque whistling.īut more of that later. This, coupled with a recent appearance at the Wacken Festival which reunited them with most of their former members in a spectacular three-and-a-half-hour show, marks a return to form for the band. Humanity – Hour 1 was made under the guidance of über producer/songwriter Desmond Child and is an effort to re-establish their rock credentials. While other equally established groups have gone into panic mode and taken the easier route of producing lamentable covers albums or touring a greatest hits show (or even doing both) the Scorpions have invested their own money and time into the production of a new album. They have survived the current music industry meltdown by being one of the hardest-working live bands on the circuit, consistently conquering new, uncharted markets which so far this year include Mongolia and China. Thirty-five years later and the Scorpions are still rocking like a hurricane in a ruthless business that saw off punk in the 70s, shot down hairspray rock in the 80s and annihilated grunge in the 90s.
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