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 Scorpions (band) |
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Scorpions (band)
This article is about the rock band. For other uses, see Scorpion (disambiguation).Scorpionsare a German rock band formed in 1965. Since the band's inception, their musical style has ranged from hard rock to heavy metal. The band's only constant member is guitarist Rudolf Schenker, although Klaus Meine has been lead singer for all their studio albums. They are known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and many singles, such as "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel", "Still Loving You", and "Wind of Change". The band was ranked No. 46 on VH1'sGreatest Artists of Hard Rockprogram. "Rock You Like a Hurricane" is also No. 18 on VH1's list of the100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs.
The band is one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time, with claims of sales of 75 million records worldwide.
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 did 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 albumLonesome Crow, with Lothar Heimberg on bass and Wolfgang Dziony on drums. During theLonesome Crowtour, 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 the Schenker brothers, was then called in 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 theLonesome 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). 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)
In 1974, the new line-up of Scorpions releasedFly to the Rainbow. The album proved to be more successful thanLonesome Crowand 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 Eloy recording three albums. He was replaced by a Belgian drummer Rudy Lenners.
In 1975, the band releasedIn 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 releasedVirgin 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, 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 demographic praise for its music from select critics and fan base.
The following year, Rudy Lenners resigned for personal reasons and was replaced by Herman Rarebell.
For the follow-upTaken 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 albumTokyo Tapes.Tokyo Tapeswas 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 (1979–1991)
Following the addition of Jabs, Scorpions left RCA for Mercury Records in the States and Harvest/EMI Electrola worldwide to record their next albumLovedrive. Just weeks after being ejected from UFO for his alcohol abuse, Michael Schenker also 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. 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.Lovedrivereached 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 after a few weeks of the tour, Michael, still coping with alcoholism missed a number of gigs and at one point collapsed on stage. Jabs was brought back to fill in for him on those occasions when he could not perform. In April 1979, during their tour in France, Jabs was brought in permanently to replace Michael.[img]//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Scorpions-29.jpg/200px-Scorpions-29.jpg[/img]The Scorpions' logo
In 1980 the band releasedAnimal Magnetism, again with a provocative cover this time showing a girl kneeling and a Doberman Pinscher sitting in front of a man.Animal Magnetismcontained 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,Blackoutin 1981. Don Dokken was brought in to provide guide and backing vocals while Meine recovered. Meine eventually healed completely and was able to finish the album.Blackoutwas released in 1982 and quickly became the band's best selling to date eventually going platinum. Meine's voice showed no signs of weakness and fan response to the album was good.Blackoutspawned three singles: "Dynamite", "Blackout", and "No One Like You".
Gaining in popularity from their success from "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.
It was not until 1984 http://www.aizhan.com/siteall/www.wsb-nlu.edu.pl/ and the release ofLove at First Stingthat the band finally cemented their status as metal musicians. Propelled by the single "Rock You Like a Hurricane",Love at First Stingclimbed 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 recognized the executive influence behind the scenes. The Rolling Stone magazine named them "The Heroes of Heavy Metal".
The band toured extensively behindLove at First Stingand decided to record and release their second live album,World Wide Livein 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 recordSavage Amusement. Released in 1988, four years after their previous studio album,Savage Amusementrepresented 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 magazineKerrang!did award the album five K's out of five.
On theSavage Amusementtour 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.
Wishing to distance themselves from theSavage Amusementstyle, 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 Worldwas 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 ofThe Wallin Berlin. Scorpions performed both versions of "In the Flesh" fromThe Wall. After theCrazy Worldtour Francis Buchholz, the band's long-serving bassist, left the group.
Later days (1992–2009)
In 1993, Scorpions releasedFace the Heat. Bass was handled by Ralph Rieckermann. For the recording process, Scorpions brought in producer Bruce Fairbairn. The album's sound was more metal than melodic and divided the band's fan base. Many "headbangers" responded positively to the album while many longtime fans were put off. 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 Heatwas 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, 1996sPure Instinct, drummer Herman Rarebell left the band to set up a recording label. Curt Cress took charge of the drumsticks for the album before Kentucky-born James Kottak took over permanently. Many feelPure Instinctis a response to the complaints levied againstFace the Heat. 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 ofEye II Eyeand a significant change in the band's style, mixing in elements of pop and techno. While the album was slickly produced, fans were unsure what to make of the band, responding negatively to almost everything from pop-soul backup singers to the electronic drums present on several songs. 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 namedMoment of Glory. The album went a long way toward rebuilding the band's reputation after the harsh criticism ofEye 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.[img]//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Scorpions_%2810%29_cropped.jpg/250px-Scorpions_%2810%29_cropped.jpg[/img]Scorpions in 2007
In 2001, Scorpions releasedAcoustica, 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, andAcousticadid little to return the band to the spotlight.
In 2004, the band releasedUnbreakable, an album that was hailed by critics as a long-awaited return to form. The album was the heaviest the band had released sinceFace the Heat, and fans responded well to tracks such as "New Generation", "Love 'em or Leave 'em" and "Deep and Dark". Whether a result of poor promotion by the band's label or the long time between studio releases,Unbreakablereceived 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 DVD1 Night in Viennathat 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 titledHumanity: Hour I, which was released in late May 2007. 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 releasedHumanity – Hour Iin Europe.Humanity – Hour Ibecame available in the U.S. on August 28 on New Door Records, entering theBillboardcharts 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 aHumanity – 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 a Christmas 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 February 21, 2009, Scorpions received Germany's ECHO Honorary Award for lifetime achievement at Berlin's O2 World.Sting in the Tail, touring and next album (2010–present)
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 Tailwas released on March 23, 2010.
On January 24, 2010, the band announced their intentions forSting in the Tailto 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 canceled 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 toldBillboardmagazine that the band has been working on an album that will contain unreleased songs they recorded for the albumsBlackout,Love at First Sting,Savage Amusementiconjunctioniiand"],,0.731615603],["aandzand"],,0.00122707128],["tajandadverbcoraz"],[["corazandiandiaorazCrazy Worldand plan to release it in 2013. In April Scorpions announced shows in Russia and Belarus with an Orchestra in October 2013. On 11., 12 and 14. September 2013 The Scorpions Gives three MTV Unplugged Concerts at the Lycabettus-Theatre in Athen.
Band members
Current members
- Rudolf Schenker — rhythm and lead guitars, backing vocals (1965–present)
- Klaus Meine — lead vocals (1970–present)
- Matthias Jabs — lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals (1978, 1979–present)
- James Kottak — drums (1996–present)
- Paweł Mąciwoda — bass, backing vocals (2004–present)
Former members
- Lothar Heimberg — bass, backing vocals (1965–1973)
- Wolfgang Dziony — drums, percussion, backing vocals (1965–1973)
- Karl-Heinz Vollmer – lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals (1965–1970)
- Michael Schenker — lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals (1970–1973, 1978–1979)
- Francis Buchholz — bass, backing vocals (1973–1983, 1984–1992)
- Uli Jon Roth — lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Drifting Sun", "Fly to the Rainbow", "Dark Lady", "Sun in My Hand", "Hell Cat", "Polar Nights" (1973–1978)
- Jürgen Rosenthal — drums, percussion, backing vocals (1973–1975)
- Achim Kirschning — keyboards (1973–1974)
- Rudy Lenners — drums, percussion (1975–1977)
- Joe Wyman - drums, percussion (1977)
- Herman Rarebell — drums, percussion, backing vocals (1977–1983, 1984–1995)
- Ralph Rieckermann — bass, backing vocals (1993–2000, 2000–2003)
- Curt Cress — drums, percussion (1996)
- Ken Taylor — bass, backing vocals (2000)
- Ingo Powitzer — bass, backing vocals (2004)
Manager
- Peter F. Amend (Lawyer, Booker and Manager 1991–present)
- Stewart Young (1995–present)
- Tom Consolo (Front Line Management;Frontline Management Group, Azoffmusic Management; North-America, 2011)
- Steve Martin (The Agency Group, 2012)
Timeline[img]//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/timeline/3035aa12c62583b9944b4d40f94ced18.png"/>
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