In 2007 German rock legends the Scorpions released their 16th album. After several misfires, Humanity – Hour 1 was an album that found the band returning to the sound that made them superstars in the 80s and 90s. It was a good time for the Scorpions to tell their story… and what a story it turned out to be.
The year is 1972. The place is Cologne, Germany. The Scorpions are in the recording studio, about to lay down their debut album, Lonesome Crow, with producer Conny Plank. But first they have an important decision to make. Do they remain the Scorpions (that’s ‘the’ all in small letters to be accurate and pedantic), a name that came with founder member, songwriter and guitarist Rudolf Schenker from a band he formed in 1965? Or do they go for a new moniker and image to celebrate the new line-up and a fresh start?
Conny, already well known for creating the krautrock sound – having worked with the likes of Kraftwerk, Cluster and Neu! – has some definite ideas about their image and direction.
“We knew if we wanted to change something we’d better do it now,” recalls vocalist Klaus Meine. “Scorpions we thought was alright, but there were names like Led Zeppelin and Jefferson Starship, and we thought our name sounded too simple. So Conny said: ‘Let’s find something more aggressive – how about Stalingrad?’
“He wanted us to dress up in army uniforms and then storm on to the stage! I think he wanted to make us into an early Rammstein, with a theatrical show.”
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. 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.
The cover of Classic Rock 108, featuring Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine
This article originally appeared in Classic Rock 108 (Summer 2007) (Image credit: Future)
But more of that later. First I have to admit that the mighty Scorps had fallen off my musical radar for about 24 years. 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. The Scorpions’ professionalism, wide-eyed enthusiasm and endearingly basic grasp of the English language made them a joy to behold.
But as the decades passed they became a distant memory, consigned to the bargain bin of musical history. 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. 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.