I had the pleasure of speaking with vocalist Klaus Meine, who has been in the band since 1969. He looks ahead to the new album and tour, and also back to the past, talking about his favorite Scorpions albums, biggest changes in the music industry and his plans after the band is done.
Chad Bowar: Did you know going into the recording of Sting Of The Tail that it would be your last studio album?
Klaus Meine: No, we didn't know when we started. We realized in the last couple of weeks when the album was coming together and the record was shaping up. We realized that this would be a smash album, the best tradition of what the Scorpions are all about. Then this idea came up, and I think it was our manager who talked about it the first time. We thought he was joking, but then we said if we put this album out, go on another world tour, it's not a bad idea. We're coming out with an album that's very powerful, put it on the road with a long tour, then finish this amazing run of 40 years of rock and roll on a high note.
Is the title a nod to your Love At The First Sting album from the '80s?
I had the idea to use this title years ago, because it makes a powerful connection with the Scorpions. We were playing around with making this connection with the '80s. When we listened to this album, we had a feeling there was a lot of attitude with a lot of songs that we could play live for our fans. So it was the perfect title. The stinger is still sharp after all these years. It's like closing the circle.
How did you collaboration with Tarja Turunen on the song “The Good Die Young” come about?
We played together a few years ago at a big rock festival in Sao Paulo, Brazil when she was still in Nightwish. I always liked her voice a lot. We thought it would be a cool thing to have a collaboration with another singer. With her voice and my voice it was perfect. She was excited about it as well, so we went for it. She has a powerful voice.
Do you have anything special planned for your farewell tour cycle, such as playing an album in its entirety or having former members play with you or anything like that?
It would be very excited to bring back Herman (Rarebell), Uli (Roth), Michael Schenker. We've done that in the past, like at Wacken. For the former members it's a lot of fun, and of course the fans love it. It would be a good thing at some point to have them with us. But since they are very busy with their own schedules, we'll have to see. Right now nothing is planned out, but it would be very special.
What are some of the biggest changes you've seen in your 40 years in the music industry?
We started making vinyl records, and are now in the digital era. The biggest change is that young kids today download music from the internet. When we started out, for me as a fan, when a new album came out I couldn't wait to buy it, take it home and listen to the whole record. I think that's changed a lot. Die hard fans might still do this, but for the majority of people that love music, they download their favorite songs. One thing hasn't changed, and that's the desire of young kids to go to a concert and see a great live band. This explains why we see a whole new generation of Scorpions fans, because they know we are still a band that delivers the goods live.
What are your favorite Scorpions albums?
From Lovedrive to Blackout to Crazy World, there are a lot of albums with songs that are for many fans, all time classics. Of course all those albums from the different decades bring back great memories. Tokyo Tapes from the '70s was the first time we played in Japan. On Blackout I lost my voice, but fortunately it came back. We toured America as a headliner for the first time, and “No One Like You” was a smash.
Love At First Sting with “Rock You Like A Hurricane” was big in the U.S., and “Still Loving You” was a huge ballad here in Europe and Asia. Crazy World had “Wind Of Change,” when we played in the Soviet Union for the first time. The albums all tell a story with different moments, they are all very much connected to that part of history, what we all went through.
How have the Scorpions managed to stay together for 40 years?
Well Chad, I think the bottom line is that friendship was the foundation of this band. When we started in the early '70s making our first records, there were some member changes, but we always were looking for people we had a good feeling about. If we go out on the road and play for months and months and spend time on the tour bus, you want to hang with good people. Of course you want to have great musicians, but it's also equally important to have great guys, great people.
This philosophy of friendship really paid off, because in a 40 year career you're not always on a constant high. You have to go down as well, and that's when it shows if you have the right people that stick with you, and you make it back to the top again, and that's what we did.
Once the Scorpions finish your farewell tour in a few years, what are your plans?
When we made this announcement, this ugly word “retire” kept popping up. It's not a word we use in our vocabulary. I am a musician, and will always be a musician. After the last chapter of the Scorpions, after this tour that will take us all over the world, the feeling right now is to finish this off on a high note with a strong album and a good tour. The energy level is still extremely high, we still enjoy it a lot, and we want to keep it this way until the very end, the very last concert.
It's for our fans. Of course our fans are sad, but at the same time this is a chance to celebrate the outstanding career of a band who started in Germany and took our music all over the world. We want to celebrate with our fans. After that, we'll see. In 40 years, I've never done a solo record. So there's plenty of stuff to do.
