History of the Scorpions group - Stories of the Greats - Biographies of the great Rockers - Best Rockers - Rock concerts of foreign performers. Scorpions: the history of the legendary rock band Scorpions group concert in the USSR
- The tour schedule forced the musicians from Hannover to return to their homeland. In 1987, Scorpions, with the support of their producer Dieter Dierks, began work on a new album. This record was the last for the creative union of Scorpions and Dieter Dierks.
- They initially wanted to call the album Don’t Stop At the Top, but settled on the name Savage Amusement in order to cast a shadow on the content of the album.
- Basically all the lyrics and music for the album were written by Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine.
- The album sounded very fresh for the late 80s. The group experimented with sound, but all material was kept in strict style. The sound of the record remains the standard of heavy rock to this day. If we talk about themes, we need to mention songs like Media Overkill, which talks about the influence of the media on society. Passion Rules the Game talks about gambling. We Let It Rock... You Let It Roll is the rock 'n' roll anthem of a band going all out. The theme of love dominates the album - the songs Rhythm of Love, Walking On the Edge, Every Minute Every Day, Love On the Run and Believe In Love tell about wonderful feelings.
- In the summer of 1988, Savage Amusement went platinum in the United States. Sales reached the million mark.
- In April 1988, Scorpions began a tour in support of their disc. The first stop of the German musicians was the city of Leningrad. The group released a special video called To Russia with Love and Other Savage Amusements, where the musicians talked about their adventures in the Northern capital.
- It was rumored that M.S. Gorbachev personally forbade the group from performing in Moscow. It was planned to hold 5 concerts in Moscow and 5 concerts in Leningrad, but in the end it was decided to play 10 concerts in Leningrad at the SKK named after. Lenin. The concert performances of the legends were opened by the Moscow group Gorky Park.
- Klaus Meine about the events of those days: “As an artist and musician, I was lucky, I was in the center of these historical events in 1988-89 - the end of the Cold War, the fall of the Berlin Wall. Our group and me personally, as immigrants from Germany, could not help but worry about all this. Speaking in Leningrad, we said: “Our parents came to you with tanks, we came with guitars.”
- While exploring the city, the Scorpions visited the Leningrad rock club. The band played several songs on the legendary stage.
- Vladimir Rekshan (musician): “The appearance of the Scorpions group was very funny: everything was kept in the strictest confidence, but people still packed in. The stadium band played on the five square meters of the red corner, and a crowd of metalheads reached out to them. Their guards didn't know what to do. One tearfully asked me to help, suggesting that, due to my height, I was a local security guard.”
- The concert tour in support of Savage Amusement ended with two concerts at the Luzhniki Ballpark on August 12-13, 1989 as part of the Moscow Peace Festival. Klaus Meine said this: “For us it was the biggest festival we ever played at. And if you look at it after so many years, it was truly a legendary festival. As for the role of the Scorpions, having given ten concerts in Leningrad in 1988, we then opened the doors to the Soviet Union. And a year later, after Doc McGee became our manager, we returned - this time to Moscow. Doc was behind the organization of this festival, called the “Moscow Peace Festival”. And for us personally, this was also a chance to perform in Moscow for the first time - after all, in 1988, our concerts here were canceled, which made us very upset. And now, a year later, we still managed to do it, so from our position it looked like this: “Yes! Finally we got to Moscow!” Whatever the auspices of the festival, we just wanted to play for our Moscow fans. Well, if the festival eventually became the “Festival of Peace,” then it’s generally wonderful. And all these gossip and stories that began to emerge later were not yet known to anyone. It was a large-scale undertaking, no one had done anything like this before, and, apparently, only an American who was well versed in such matters could cope with such a task at that time.”
- Rudolf Schenker about the festival in Moscow: “As far as I remember, he arranged everything together with Stas Namin, who had weight here in Russia. Personally, I was very impressed that in a difficult time for himself, Doc McGee was able to find a way out and even benefit. Namely, he dealt with troubles, opened up new opportunities for everyone, and also came out of it all in a very favorable light. Which was very smart. As for us, he also used us in some way - after all, the Scorpions were already very well known in the USSR. And we were supposed to be the headliners, but because of the American MTV, which wanted to present everything as “Bon Jovi conquering Russia,” he put Bon Jovi after us. And it was only at this moment that he made a big mistake: as Bon Jovi ended up looking very pale. After us, about half of the people simply left, and Jon Bon Jovi himself was extremely upset. He even said: “I will never play again after Scorpions!” The mistake was that, having performed in front of us, Bon Jovi would have appeared in an excellent perspective - they would have been shown triumphantly on MTV, and everything would have been great ... "
The legendary group Scorpions again says goodbye to Russia as part of an additional tour. The mini-tour will end in Moscow on the stage of Crocus City Hall, which, according to the band’s vocalist Klaus Meine, will be different from previous “farewells” and, apparently, will still be the last in the capital and in Russia.
In 1972, the group released their debut album, Lonesome Crow. From the very beginning, Scorpions aimed to reach the top of the world hard rock business, so Klaus Meine wrote all the lyrics in English.
Starting with the third album In Trance (1975), the group began collaborating with the famous international producer Dieter Dierks. The album Virgin Killer (1976) won the Album of the Year award in Germany, and received gold status in Japan - for the first time in the group's history.
In 1979, the Scorpions released the album Lovedrive, which became a huge triumph for the group.
That same year, the musicians began their first large-scale tour of America. During the recording of the album Blackout (1982), Klaus Meine lost his voice. After two ligament surgeries, Klaus resumed work in the group.
After three of the group's albums - Animal Magnetism (1980), Blackout (1982) and Love At First Sting (1984) - hit the American charts, the Scorpions spent two years touring around the world and participating in all the major rock festivals.
In 1985, the double album World Wide Live was released, which became the result tour, combining songs performed during the tour. In 1986, in the UK, the Scorpions headlined the famous Monsters Of Rock festival, which included the most famous performers hard rock/heavy metal scenes.
In 1988, Savage Amusement was released, the last album produced by Dieter Dierks. It reached number three on the American charts and number one on the European charts. In anticipation of the Savage Amusement world tour in 1988, the Scorpions performed 10 sold-out concerts in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), attended by a total of 350 thousand Soviet fans.
Scorpions became the first foreign rock band to play in the USSR. In 1989, Soviet authorities allowed the legendary Moscow Music Peace Festival to be held, which was organized in support of the fight against drugs in Russia.
Scorpions performed at the Moscow Stadium. Lenin along with Bon Jovi, Cinderella, Ozzy Osbourne, Skid Row, Motley Crew and the Russian group Gorky Park. Impressed by the festival, Klaus Meine created a hit Wind of change.
That same year, the Berlin Wall was destroyed. Wind Of Change has become a worldwide anthem to glasnost and perestroika, a kind of soundtrack to the fall of the Iron Curtain, communism and the end of the Cold War.
In 2012, the last tour of Russia was announced. On April 26 and 27 there will be concerts in Moscow at Crocus City Hall.
On the film, which began filming at the end of 2011. This documentary about the group, concerts. Filming took place in London, Berlin, Paris, different corners all over the world. Latest concerts in Moscow they will also be caught on film.
The current line-up of the group includes: Klaus Meine - vocals; Rudolf Schenker - rhythm guitar; Matthias Jabs - rhythm guitar, James Kottak - drums, Pawel Maciwoda - bass guitar.
The material was prepared based on information from open sources
Which told about the group's visit "Scorpions" to Leningrad and the concert they gave at the Rock Club.
And recently I dug up a more detailed story on YouTube. There were also memories of one of the spectators of that concert.
“I have long wanted to write about this wonderful event, which I myself witnessed. After all, in fact, the Scorps were the first who managed to break through the Iron Curtain and perform in the USSR (except for the incomprehensibly permitted Elton John concert in Leningrad in 1979) .
My friends at that time were the Mitra group (there is practically no information about which on the Internet, although some came from there famous personalities) tried to join the Leningrad rock club, but were rejected by the commission with the wording “we don’t need a second Aquarium” (I must say, quite fair, since the group had many songs reminiscent of the work of the Aquarium). At the same time, the NEP group was auditioning, but they were luckier - they managed to get through to the next round. My classmate and I really liked the group, and we decided to go see them in the second round.
Taking with us my older brother (also a big music lover), we came the next weekend to 13 Rubinshteina Street. What immediately caught my eye was the unusually large number of party-goers in the courtyard of the rock club, mostly hairy metalheads in riveted leather jackets. The NEP audition took place in a small hall, but we were not allowed there (it turns out that the second round was held in closed doors). We had already decided to go home, when suddenly a whisper swept through the party: “Now the Scorps are coming!” We ask individuals and they say: “yes, there was such a rumor.” Let's wait.
Suddenly, indeed, a limousine (or maybe just some kind of foreign car, we didn’t see them in large numbers yet) drives into the yard and Scorps come out, accompanied by two huge security guards, who help them squeeze through the crowd of fans into the rock club building. Another rumor sweeps through the crowd: “there will be a session.” We are left waiting again.
After some time, everyone is allowed into a small hall, there is simply nowhere for an apple to fall. Among the audience are many famous rock club musicians. First, the Pig performs, singing his simple songs, something like “I hate all bourgeois.” He himself, as usual, in a tattered raincoat, waving a half-empty bottle of beer, periodically watering the first rows. Then the girl punk group “Situation”, probably no one remembers it anymore (at least, I never saw or heard anything about them again). The sound of the equipment is disgusting, everything wheezes, whistles, you can’t make out the words, the instruments too.
Then a short break, and then the moment of truth: the Scorpions take the stage! They pick up the instruments that our punks had just played, spend about five minutes tuning them, and start playing. To say it was a shock is an understatement! Using the same equipment, the Germans produce a sound comparable to their own sound on the record. They performed Blackout and some other killer song (I don’t remember now). The audience is even slightly stunned, but gets excited from the first chords. Security guards push particularly zealous fans away from the stage, but one of them is allowed to exchange jackets with Rudolf Schenker. Schenker becomes the happy owner of a biker jacket with a hand-stitched inscription, and the St. Petersburg metalhead gets an elegant brown cowboy leather jacket.
Well, that's all, actually. After this, the Scorps apparently went to drink with the club administration, and the stunned public went home. And the St. Petersburg musicians received a good lesson in professionalism and the correct attitude to sound."
You can immediately start watching the video from the 4th minute, when Scorpions are starting. Against their background, all ours "AU", "Situations" and others who took part then seem, of course, to be simply an anti-musical breed. And this despite the fact that I don’t like Scorpions.
By the way, the so-called Red Corner Rock Club- this is the room in which Panker and Pinochet organized a rock store in the 90s. There was also a bar there, and some concerts were periodically held on that same stage. I then worked in the Rybinsk (ex-Kino) newspaper "Nowhere" and wrote reports about these concerts. Somewhere around 97-98.
Then the Rock Club finally died.
After watching this video, for some reason it began to seem to me that the visit of the German group was the main event of the entire life of the Leningrad Rock Club.
So, Leningrad, end of April. Contrary to the opinion of some Arkhangelsk music lovers, who expected at least a hitherto unheard of excitement, the city lived and worked as before, and nothing unusual was observed in the faces of Leningraders. The surprising absence of posters about SKOPIONS concerts (I counted literally five during the week) was explained - as it later became known - not by the machinations of yet another opponents of rock music, but by the work of young St. Petersburg fans. True, the posters were of little interest, and in addition there was confusion with the designation of the guitarists. There were no problems with tickets either, since the cancellation of the Moscow concerts automatically entailed the continuation of the Leningrad ones.
And now April 20, Wednesday, evening. Sports and cultural complex. Having spat on the inconveniently distant places, I go down to the stage. Apparently this thought struck not only me, since the space between the stage and the stands was slowly filled with live masses. A vigilante standing next to me warned me that since I was not sitting in my rightful place, then in this case the administration was not responsible for my safety - in case I was hit by a bottle, sparkler, etc. I instantly remembered the gloomy statistics of Western rock concerts, periodically published by our press, and, just in case, inquired about the number of victims on previous evenings. They didn’t seem to be there, and I calmed down.
People were arriving, it became quite crowded, and some foreigners appeared. 20.00, the lights go out, finally... The concert was opened by the Moscow group GORKY PARK from the Stas Namin Music Center. If you believe the posters, it includes several people from Tukhmanov’s MOSCOW. High quality the sound at first drowned out all other emotions, but then an epiphany came - PARK played quite competently, quite heavily, but somehow rather blandly, and I parted with him - like many, indeed - without regret. Moreover, they sang in English, and we had already gotten used to it. The only thing that identified them as compatriots was the Soviet symbols on their T-shirts.
The lowering of the curtain announced a half-hour break. But none of the “bottom” left, for fear of losing their place. Meanwhile, preparations for the main event were underway. in full swing. In front of the stage, two large shields (approximately 4x5 m) appeared with the image of a girl shielding herself in horror from a scorpion. This “visual aid” was accompanied by the inscription “savage amusement” and was nothing more than an enlarged version of the cover of the latest SCORPIO album. The tension grew, currents of excitement permeated the audience. At exactly 21:00 the lights went out and it started. The curtain floated to the side, the stage suddenly lit up in red and blue, and we saw a completely different apparatus, completely different scenery than those in the first section. The sound was also completely different, stunningly clear and powerful. Already the opening “Blackout” instantly revived the audience; a massive release of “goats” began in the crowd in front of the stage, and their quality was quite consistent with international standards. The emotions of the audience were not allowed to fade by vocalist Klaus Mein, who after the first number began to greet them: “Hello Leningrad! How are you?”, to which the stands, not wanting to lose face in front of a foreigner, answered in chorus “Believe me.” Contact was established, the language barrier was successfully overcome, and it was possible to play.
Although nothing seemed to connect the movements of the musicians (the guitars were wireless), at first only the vocalist showed himself actively and freely; at the same time, his behavior was very natural, without any cheap poses, grimaces and antics. Everything was worked out very carefully, every gesture was weighed and thought out, nothing superfluous. People on stage worked, and did not take advantage of the opportunity to demonstrate themselves.
From childhood we were taught that a rock concert means wide eyes, piles of broken equipment, a maddened crowd, etc., etc. There was nothing like that here - no smoke, no chains, not a single piece of iron on the musicians - hence, perhaps, such mobility on stage? - quite nice faces, no one banged their heads on the platform or broke instruments. For some reason they played guitars with their hands, not with their teeth. And although at times the vocalist resembled a performance gymnast, and the lead guitarist was close to making a “bridge,” all this did not at all resemble a cheap farce. However, these advantages of the group are easily explained. They are the result of more than a decade and a half spent on the professional stage, almost the same number of recorded records, and hundreds of thousands of kilometers of touring routes. Comments, I think, are unnecessary. As for the music itself, there is no point in describing it long and hard, since the vast majority of music lovers know perfectly well what SCORPIONS is. It was good hard rock, the hard rock of today, so to speak.
At the concert, it became completely clear to me why many of our girls, raised exclusively on Vaikul and Leontyev, listen with such pleasure to SCORPIONS records, and not, for example, MOTORHEAD. Most of the songs, even the most “killer” ones, were very melodic, plus Klaus Mein’s vocals were sincere and pure for his four decades. No straining, wheezing, sobbing or other methods that we hear all the time.
After six or seven songs, the group slowed down and switched to the lyrics: “Believe in love.” A fresh ballad from the new disc “Hollyday”, which caused dozens of sparklers to light up in the hall and nervous trembling in those who were especially sensitive at the sight of such a spectacle, and, finally, the beautiful “Still Loving You”, which became the culmination of the concert. After this, the pace, accordingly, began to increase again. The impromptu prepared by the “scorpions” in the form of a performance of “Hey Whoop” was enthusiastically picked up by the audience, but several more numbers that followed brought the program to the finish line. For the more curious, I will provide some information of a purely statistical nature. The group performed in its fighting lineup: Klaus Mein - vocals, Rudolf Schenker - rhythm guitar, Francis Buchholz - bass, Matthias Jabs - lead guitar, Hermann Rarabell - drums. About 20 songs were performed, three of them from the 1988 album, the rest from the period 1979-84. The group's performance lasted 1 hour 40 minutes. A few words about the audience. I will express my observations about the Leningrad “metallists” by comparing them in some respects with our Arkhangelsk fans of this courageous style. If in terms of individual exoticism they may surpass us, then in such indicators as the amount of iron per capita, as well as in the “emotional perception” of the concert, our northern guys will probably surpass their colleagues from the city on the Neva. I just don’t know for whom this comparison will be a compliment - for them or for us. In general, the audience behaved quite decently - both at the concert and after it. There was no trace of an unruly crowd of fans. The people left tired and happy. I remember one young “iron maiden,” about 15 years old, wandering sadly near the stage barefoot, looking for her shoes. Whether she was lucky, I don’t know.
Summarizing my impressions, I would like to note the most important thing - the high level of the concert, its clear organization (at least check your watch at the beginning), the behavior of the musicians, everything that can be expressed in one word - professionalism. And it’s gratifying that a group with such a high world level was invited to tour with us, they were invited despite the fact that just two or three years ago SCORPIONS was one of the ensembles most reviled by our press, they were invited without any significant reservations or restrictions. Let's hope it stays that way in the future!
History of the Group
Like many teenagers in post-war Germany,
Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker were influenced by music and other tempting delights
modern life, brought to their homeland by American soldiers: Elvis Presley,
chewing gum, jeans, leather vests and, above all, rock and roll. WITH
In their early years, Klaus and Rudolf felt an irresistible desire to pick up
guitar and step out into the spotlight. In the early 60s, the Beatles made a beat revolution. A
in the mid-60s Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker, blessed with understanding
parents also began performing with their own rock bands.
Guitarist and songwriter Rudolf Schenker's inspiration was the raw riffs of bands like the Yardbirds, Pretty Things and Spooky Tooth,
who were considered true hard rockers in those days.
Rudolf's younger brother Michael (Michael Schenker) was
fascinated by rock music and the emerging rock culture.
With the advent of the New Year 1970, the younger Schenker, who despite his youth had already established himself as an outstanding guitarist, left
together with the singer and composer Klaus Meine, the Hanoverian group Copernicus,
to join the SCORPIONS. Klaus and Rudolf teamed up to create
excellent creative duo Meine/Schenker, thereby laying the foundation
impressive success story.
combinations of two electric guitars: with unusually powerful riffs and dazzling
florid solos. Add to this the instantly recognizable voice of the singer and frontman
Klaus Meine with his expressive, brilliant presentation.
In some ways, the SCORPIONS were unique in the German rock scene of that period. The group set its sights on reaching the top from the very beginning
world hard rock business, so Klaus Meine wrote all the lyrics in English. IN
creative union of Maine and Schenker, Germany finally found a worthy answer
famous beat and rock bands from the English-speaking world.
The first album "Lonesome Crow" set the band on the path
to international success. SCORPIONS opened for Rory Gallagher
(Rory Gallagher), UFO and Uriah Heep.
Throughout the history of the Scorpions group, its unshakable
driving force was Rudolf Schenker. He followed life philosophy his father:
“Nothing is impossible, you just have to believe.” From the first days of creation
SCORPIONS Rudolf Schenker said without undue modesty: "Once upon a time SCORPIONS
will become one of the best rock bands in the world!" The rest of the group also
were committed to this idea.
SCORPIONS never rested on their laurels and were constantly looking for something new. They took every opportunity to
improve your professional level and get closer to success.
In 1973, after a joint tour with UFO, Michael Schenker
joined this British rock band. In place of Skorpovsky's lead guitarist
he was replaced by Ulrich Roht. He was also an exceptional guitarist,
possessed an almost mystical talent. With Ulrich, SCORPIONS continued exploring
hard rock genre.
In the 70s they undertook several tours of Western Europe, playing at numerous venues and conquering country after country. They
appeared wherever they could connect their instruments. In 1973
The same year they opened for The Sweet on their first European tour. Into this
At the same time, the SCORPIONS continued to work on studio albums, of which
the next four were recorded with Ulrich. "Fly To The Rainbow"
(1974) features hard, energetic rock like never before heard from
German group. The title track "Speedy's Coming" epitomizes the style
SCORPIONS: Ultra-hard rock harmoniously combined with exciting melodies.
Since the third album "In Trance" (1975)
The SCORPIONS are working with renowned international producer Dieter Dierks. They
decided to make a career in hard rock. "In Trance" became
bestseller in Japan, where real Scorpio mania broke out.
In 1975, the SCORPIONS toured Europe, where they were the highlight of the show along with KISS. In the same year they were recognized
the best live band in Germany. SCORPIONS Touring UK
found themselves in the very “lion’s den”: they had the honor of performing in the legendary
Cavern Club in Liverpool. In this cradle of hard rock
they managed to gain recognition from even the most die-hard British fans.
Further successes of the Scorps in the mid-70s were concerts in the famous
London club The Marquee.
Japan 1978
SCORPIONS dream to become the best German rock band
came to fruition when their fourth album "Virgin
Killer" (1976) won the Album of the Year award in Germany.
Japan's "Virgin Killer" received gold status for the first time
in the history of the group.
The next album "Taken By Force" (1977) also
went gold in Japan.
In 1978, the SCORPIONS toured Japan, the world's second largest music market, where they first experienced
means to be superstars. Upon arrival at Tokyo airport, our five
The rockers were surrounded by a crowd of enthusiastic fans.
After the Japanese tour, Ulrich Roth left the group. Double
the album "Tokyo Tapes" (1978) seemed to sum up the period of collaboration
SCORPIONS and Ulrich. This recording is even now highly valued by collectors throughout the world.
all over the world.
Returned to the group for a short time" prodigal son" Michael Schenker (he recorded parts in some songs from Lovedrive), and then the vacant
The guitarist's place was finally taken by Matthias Jabs. This was preceded by a huge
Job. In 1978, an advertisement appeared in Melody Maker magazine:
The SCORPIONS are looking for a new lead guitarist. In London they had to listen to more
140 applicants until they decided on a fellow Hanoverian
Matthias Jabs. Having joined the work at the very end, Matthias immediately
joined the recording of "Lovedrive". The album was a huge triumph
group and still remains one of the best SCORPIONS albums. Cover
received the award of the year for best artistic direction.
As already mentioned, Michael Schenker joined briefly
joined the group in 1978, but left again mid-tour.
Matthias Jabs, one might say, jumped on the bandwagon of the outgoing
trains, having accomplished a real feat: literally the night before he had learned all
program for the upcoming tour. His baptism of fire took place when SCORPIONS
played to a crowd of 55,000 as the opening act for Genesis. In the person of Matthias
The SCORPIONS have finally found a lead guitarist whose enthusiasm, virtuosity and
creativity made a decisive contribution to the group's success. Thanks to him
Scorpov's sound has become even richer and more expressive. Like a missing piece
mosaics, his guitar perfectly complemented the dynamics of the group, creating what we call
unique sound SCORPIONS.
Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs still form the core of the group. With bassist Francis Buhholz (he
joined the group in 1973 at the same time as Ulrich Roth) and drummer
Herman Rarebell (he made his debut during the recording of the album
"Taken By Force") they finally confirmed the "star
composition", which was destined to continue its victorious march right up to Wind
Of Change.