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Arguably the band that put Germany onto the world metal map the Scorpions blew away millions with their albums and live shows in the late 70s and 80s. Meeting these guys after gigs was nearly always impossible as they’d always sneak off - usually in equipment cases! Then all was quiet in the 90s until the release of ‘Unbreakable’ in 2004. Following a blistering live show this year with Ulrich Roth and the release of their new album
‘Humanity ~ Hour 1’, Shan Siva finally caught his dream to chat to Scorpions legendary founder Rudi Schenker!

Rudi, I can’t believe the Scorpions have been going for 42 years - as the founder of the band did you ever think you would go this long and be as big?
Rudi: well you never know with these things....I knew we would be a big band but what really surprises me is how long we have managed to stay together and that we are still rocking the world and enjoying ourselves. That’s not normal in this kind of business ha ha!! Actually that’s why we decided to put out a new album, to let the fans know that we’re still out there. But that wasn’t enough and we felt we really had to prove ourselves and create a masterpiece so although we initially wanted to produce it ourselves we then started to look for producers. We found a few that we were interested in and so Klaus and I flew over to LA and there we met Desmond (Child) who was the closest to what we were looking for. He had the right vision, personality and also the right team around him so we started working together around October.

Ok, so onto your new album, the obvious thing to me when I look back at your discography is that earlier on, the band pretty much collaborated to create all the material whereas I think on ‘Humanity Hour 1’ you, Klaus and Matthias each have 4 songs and are working independently of one another each with your own writing teams...
Correct, that was the idea of Desmond because when we put out ‘Unbreakable’ we liked the album, but I was sure that we could have done more with the song writing and Desmond is well known as an amazing song writer. We already had a few songs when we arrived at the studio and then Desmond presented us with the idea of ‘Humanity Hour 1’ including the album cover done by Liam Carl. He felt that we needed to make a more mature album and a special one so he connected us with his team. ‘Humanity Hour 1’ is a concept album in a loose way which shows both the dark and hopeful side of human beings. It visualises humanity 10,000 years from now looking back at what we have done and where we go from here. It shows how we need to take care of our mother earth. It’s not about preaching although we are trying to raise the collective consciousness over such issues. The other thing about ‘Humanity Hour 1’ is that we did the mixing on line because we finished recording around Feb and then had to go play a show for Vladimir Putin in Red Square as well tour Kazakhstan.

Would you say that the impact of the band has been greater than that of politicians for example in the way that you have built goodwill between the German and Russian people after WW2?
You know, Gorbachev told us the same thing, that music had the ability to build bridges so you are absolutely correct, that’s a good point. Also, it’s the same with us working with the other writers on this album as we are also trying to build a bridge here between the older style of the Scorpions in the 80s as you remember us to the newer ways of production without going too far. It was also a great opportunity for us to learn again about song writing both in terms of the spirit of it as well as the technical aspects of it. After 35 years of composing with Klaus it was important for us to get fresh blood in and not get stuck and then lose it. That’s why we are also touring in many different places including Manaus in Brazil which I think you have also been to. It’s in the middle of the Amazon! Our South American promoter told us about it and said that we could do something with Greenpeace in respect of the rainforest, as it’s the lungs of the world. That will be in a DVD that will be out soon and the money will be going to save the rainforest which again is bringing us closer to humanity. As I said we don’t want to preach but all the 13 songs on ‘Humanity Hour 1’ have messages and also one can find one’s own message there too. So enjoy the music ha ha!

Talking about lungs Rudi, I couldn’t believe how energetic you were at the Sweden Rock Festival in 2004 - just what are these ‘persistent exercises’ that you state you do?!?!
Ok, if you programme your mind wrong then you can never do what you want to do. So, in my case when I was already 20 years old I was into meditation and yoga. I lost it a little bit in the 80s because of too much partying and success but then I came back into thinking the right way. I’ll say this, when you build up your mind in the right direction, you have more power than you think. Also, I don’t feel I can go onstage and be sincere to all the people without supporting the music with energy. Rock music without attitude is dead. That’s why in the 80s I saw a lot of bands play better than ever until they lost their attitude. This is a very important part of both recording and being onstage. Bands that have been built up on the philosophy of having great musicians in the band but also having people in a band whom you can build up a great friendship creates the right spirit in the band. When you go onstage and you see all the people there you want to give them the best. And the best for us is not 100% but 120%, 130%...you will not feel good if you are not giving that. The stage itself is a very good place to build that power but also you need physical exercises. It was the same with ‘Humanity Hour 1’, Desmond didn’t want us to come out of the studio after 5 months of recording and not have the energy for touring so he got us a team of personal trainers so after the studio we also went to get fit. It was a collective thing, everybody went together so we were together recording and then we were training together.

If I may ask you a personal question Rudi, your philosophy sounds completely different to your brother Michael whom we both know has struggled with various rock n roll demons.
You know, we are not that far apart as people but I will tell you what the problem is. When I explained to you about energy it’s important to realise that it starts with the mind. My brother left the Scorpions to play with UFO and then went solo because he’s really a solo star. He’s not a team player. It’s the same with Uli (Jon Roth) and that’s the reason why he left the Scorpions. When Uli left we looked for our third guitarist in London. There were some great players but we didn’t feel that they were team players. Someone that I always had in my mind was Matthias so I gave him a call and when he came over to jam with us he was the right guy as he was playing for the band. This was the right decision as then the band was playing one style supported by everybody, not two styles. Going back to my brother, he got so good and was worshipped so much by the fans he thought he was God! Now, if you are this young and you get treated like this - and also he was a German playing in a crazy band like UFO, with Phil Moog, Pete Way....you will get twisted, brain twisted. In this case he lost the philosophy that we believed in when he was in the Scorpions. This is the problem and that’s why I mentioned the importance of the philosophy of friendship and of the team. With a team you can do anything, its just like soccer - if you are the best you still need the others because you can’t be sure if you can make it by yourself. So this was the case with Michael, too much success at too early an age. Also he got cheated by management. With us, it was different as there were five of us and we all watched the management. In 1979 we were with David Krebs and if we didn’t like something we’d say “look, we want to do it this way..” so it always a partnership between the band and the management. We didn’t party too much to the point where we didn’t know what was going on and what decisions were being made. It was a great way of surviving as it gives you, the musician, the chance to play in this kind of business. On your own, you will attract sharks and in this business there are a lotta sharks so make sure you don’t taste so good!

Were team issues also a factor with Herman (Rarebell) and Francis (Buchholz)?
No, this was a different story. Even if you’re with long time members there can be problems on a physic level. When you are becoming successful there will be different dynamics in the band. If the attention is going to one or two members, the other guys in the band may feel they are not getting treated right and almost immediately a different chemistry will start working in the band. It was the same with me and Klaus getting all the attention from the press, fans and management so Francis didn’t feel he was being treated right. Instead he formed a partnership with another member of team who dealt with the finances. After ‘Crazy World’ we felt this guy had given us the wrong advice and so we wanted to get rid of him and Francis said ‘ok, then I go with him’. So that was his decision. I don’t know why he did it. That’s up to him. But he left because of this guy. With Herman, another situation. He got the chance to make a record company - Monaco Records - with Prince Albert of Monaco. But he couldn’t make it as there were some wrong decisions taken so he sold up and wanted to get out too. It’s very difficult for some people to go out on tour again and again. But here is Klaus and me, we enjoy going around the world and we found some other guys like James (Kottak) - in fact Herman found him and said ‘guys, the only one who can replace me is James’. We took Herman’s advice and were happy to meet him and now he’s part of the team. With Pawel, he’s from Poland, he’s a great bass player and a great guy. We’ve tried to create a good vibe even with past members: at Wacken 2006 we had Michael, Uli and Herman there in front of 60,000 fans and you know we did it. The guys there were surprised that a band like the Scorpions who wrote ‘Wind of Change’ and were pussies came along and kicked ass like crazy ha ha! You can do what AC/ DC do which is very constantly do what they do best - kick ass rock n roll - and it pays off in the end. But we have many possibilities too such as with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. At first we thought ‘no, we can’t do this’ but then we found the right conductor and did it. I think these side projects like ‘Eye To Eye’ and ‘Acoustica’ helped us survive the 90s and then coming back with ‘Unbreakable’ and now ‘Humanity Hour 1’.

So what do you think you’re gonna do next Rudi, you’ve done hard rock, power ballards - can you get heavier?
I don’t know - maybe smarter ha ha! I think its important today for a band like us to use the technology to make our sound more commercial but also more brutal. Just like in a band which I very much liked until they broke up, System Of A Down who were also big fans of ours, were doing something very good. Maybe there is a possibility for the Scorpions to make a rock opera where you put all the elements in and create a medium between very heavy stuff but also melodic and ballards. There’s so many possibilities today especially when you can create and design sound. Hey, don’t get me wrong of course its still gonna be Scorpions but its gonna be Scorpions + 20!!! I know you like the ‘Blackout’ album so maybe in a few years you will hear the elements of that album but much stronger, more powerful, songs even better and that’s the kind of things we want to challenge, to come out with something truly outstanding. Today the creative record industry is so fucked up, you really should only come out with an album when you really have something to say and it’s with really outstanding production. Look at Queen with ‘Night At The Opera’ – it was unbelievable! This kind of stuff I think is the possibility of the Scorpions, to do this kind of masterpiece.

Speaking of possibilities, I know you are renowned as a rhythm guitarist but have you ever considered switching to lead?
I’ve always tried to put in lead sections on all our albums and its a kind’ve of hobby. When I was with Uli I used to look up to him as his playing was amazing but he used to say to me “its better to be a great rhythm player than a mediocre lead guitar player” - and he’s right, look at Malcolm Young or look Keith Richards, they have the right groove…amazing! When I did lead on previous songs it was only because I composed the song and I had the right idea for what would fit into the song so then everyone would say ‘ok, then play it’. So in these situations I play lead but my heart remains with composing and rhythm guitar.

Speaking of Ulrich (Roth), having witnessed the spectacular re-union shows, will you ever try to work with him again?
Ha ha, you will like this…..we actually had in mind on ‘Humanity Hour 1’ to have both my brother and Uli on the album! I will say to you that it was very close to happening but Michael had to gig in Japan and Uli said that the time was too short. However, this bid is still open. Right now we are working on the Wacken 2006 DVD but we are ready for the next project or a special project to include both Uli and Michael. We are open and they are open so we only need to find the right timing. I think that on ‘Humanity Hour 1’ there were already so many people that perhaps Michael and Uli would’ve got lost but I think it would work for a special collaboration on the next album.

I think that would make my day - also, is your sister Barbara still involved in the music business? I remember her in Viva....
Ha! Can you believe this - I’m gonna see her tomorrow in San Francisco - she’s coming to our show there ha ha! Ok, just to let you know, that she is working on a reunion of Viva right now so I hope that makes you happy!

Very much so! Ok, trivia question - I’ve always wanted to know the motivation behind the highly controversial ‘Virgin Killer’ album cover - what made you put something out like this?
Ok, the idea was actually from the record company and a friend of ours. When we first heard about this we said ‘no, we can’t do this’ but then because we didn’t get enough attention from the press we thought it would be a good idea to shake people. As you know we have a song called ‘Virgin Killer’ which talks about the time when childhood ceases and the adult comes into being, all the childhood naivety is gone - you can read this in the lyrics. Even the record company guy said ‘ok, even if I have to go to jail I will do it” ha ha although I think it was a little bit too far and no way would we do something like that today. We did it cos we were young guys and we wanted to become famous and get attention. You know, the woman on the cover actually has nothing against it. We actually met her 10 - 15 years later and she was happy to be on another one of our covers ha ha!!

Its hard to imagine but are there any places that the Scorpions have never toured that you’d like to?!
Hmmm, China would be good. We have had invitations before but they wanted us when they wanted us and when we couldn’t make it they got very upset! But still it would be good. Also, Australia because we have many friends there. We tried in 1991 but the tour was already too long, about one and a half years so we now have to do Australia!!

Thank you Rudi, you’ve completed the circle for me, it was great to finally talk to you after all these years.
Thank you for your support over the years Shan and also I want to thank all your readers for supporting the Scorpions and let them know that we are still ready to make good music, kick asses and rock you like a hurricane!!!!