Group Scorpions (Scorpions), history, translations of songs. Group Scorpions (Scorpions), history, translations of songs Interlinear translation of songs of the Scorpions group

Scorpions ("Scorpions") - a cult German rock band formed in 1965. However, the debut album was released in 1972. Behind Scorpions are millions of sold discs, the same number of concerts and a huge number of fans, as well as super hits: Wind Of Change, which became the anthem of perestroika, Still Loving You, which literally caused rampant "scorpiomania" in some countries and many others.

Like many teenagers in post-war Germany, Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker were influenced by music and other delights of modern life brought to their homeland by American soldiers: Elvis Presley, chewing gum, blue jeans, leather vests and, above all, rock n -roll. From an early age, Klaus and Rudolf felt an irresistible desire to pick up a guitar and step out into the limelight. In the early 60s, the Beatles made a beat revolution. And in the mid-60s, Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker, blessed by understanding parents, also began performing with their beat groups.

In 1965, Rudolf Schenker in Hanover, Germany, Lower Saxony, created a group called Scorpions.

Years of existence: 1968-1972
Lineup: Wolfgang Dziony, Rudolf Schenker, Klaus Meine, Michael Schenker, Lothar Heimberg

Rudolf Schenker, guitarist and songwriter, was inspired by the rough riffs of bands like The Yardbirds, The Pretty Things and Spooky Tooth, who were considered real hard rockers in those days.

Rudolf's younger brother Michael (Michael Schenker) was fascinated by beat 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 the Hanoverian band Copernicus with singer and composer Klaus Meine to join the Scorpions. Klaus and Rudolf teamed up to form the excellent Meine/Schenker creative duo, laying the foundation for an impressive success story.
Line-up for 1972: Michael Schenker, Joe Wyman, Lothar Heimberg, Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker.

In 1972, the Scorpions released a remarkable debut album. Lonesome Crow produced by Conny Plank in Hamburg. The vocal and instrumental motifs that a few years later became the typical, invariable Scorpio sound are already recognizable: uncompromising guitar hard rock like that played by Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Led Zeppelin in the mid-60s.

The peculiar style of Scorpions is the result of a combination of two electric guitars: with unusually powerful riffs and with dazzling ornate solos. Add to that the instantly recognizable voice of singer and frontman Klaus Meine with his expressive, brilliant delivery.

In a way, the Scorpions were unique to the German rock scene of that period. From the very beginning, the group aimed to reach the top of the world hard rock business, so Klaus Meine wrote all the lyrics in English. In the creative union of Meine and Schenker, Germany finally found a worthy answer to the famous beat and rock teams from the English-speaking world.

First album Lonesome Crow set the band on the road to international success. The Scorpions were the opening act for Rory Gallagher, UFO and Uriah Heep.

Throughout the history of the Scorpions, Rudolf Schenker has been its unwavering driving force. He followed his father's life philosophy: "Nothing is impossible, you just have to believe." From the early days of the Scorpions, Rudolf Schenker said without too much modesty: "One day the Scorpions will become one of the best rock bands in the world!" The other members of the group were also committed to this idea.

Scorpions never rest on their laurels and are constantly looking for something new. They used every opportunity to improve their professional level and get closer to success.

1974 line-up: Uli Roth, Francis Buchholz, Klaus Meine, Jurgen Rosenthal, Rudolf Schenker

In 1973, after a joint tour with UFO, Michael Schenker joined this British rock band. He was replaced by Ulrich Roht as lead guitarist in Skorpovsky's place. He too was an exceptional guitarist with an almost mystical talent. With Ulrich, the Scorpions continued their exploration of the hard rock genre.

In the 70s they undertook several tours in Western Europe, playing in numerous venues and conquering country after country. They appeared wherever it was possible to connect their instruments. In 1973 they were the opening act for Sweet on their first European tour. 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 a German band. title track Speedy's Coming epitomizes the style of the Scorpions: ultra-hard rock in harmony with exciting melodies.

Since the third album In Trance Scorpions are working with renowned international producer Dieter Dirks. They resolutely undertook to make a career in hard rock. In Trance became a bestseller in Japan, where a real Scorpion mania erupted.
Line-up in 1975: Francis Buchholz, Klaus Meine, Rudy Lenners, Uli Roth, Rudolf Schenker

In 1975, the Scorpions toured Europe, where they were the "highlights" along with KISS. In the same year they were recognized as the best live band in Germany. While touring the UK, the Scorpions found themselves in the "lion's den": they had the honor of performing at the legendary Cavern Club in Liverpool ("Cavern Club"). In this cradle of hard rock, they have managed to gain recognition from even the most die-hard British fans. Further successes of the Scorpions in the mid-70s were concerts at the famous London club The Marquee.

The dream of the Scorpions to become the best German rock band came true when their fourth album virgin killer won the Album of the Year award in Germany. In Japan virgin killer received the status of "gold" - for the first time in the history of the group.

Next album Taken by Force also went gold in Japan.
1978 line-up: Herman Rarebell, Uli Roth, Francis Buchholz, Rudolf
Schenker, Klaus Meine

In 1978, the Scorpions toured Japan, the second largest music market in the world, where they first experienced what it means to be a superstar. Upon arrival at the Tokyo airport, the five of our rockers were surrounded by a crowd of enthusiastic fans.

After the Japanese tour, Ulrich Roth left the band. double album Tokyo Tapes sort of summed up the period of cooperation between Scorpions and Ulrich. This record is even now highly valued by collectors all over the world.

Michael Schenker returned to the Prodigal Son group for a short time (he recorded parts in some songs with love drive), and then Matthias Jabs finally took the vacant place of the guitarist. This was preceded by a huge amount of work. In 1978, an announcement appeared in Melody Maker magazine: The Scorpions were looking for a new lead guitarist. In London, they had to listen to more than 140 applicants, until they chose their fellow Hanoverian Matthias Jabs. Having joined the work at the very end, Matthias nevertheless immediately joined the recording love drive. The album was a massive triumph for the band and remains one of the Scorpions' best albums to this day. The cover won the Best Art Direction of the Year award.

As already mentioned, Michael Schenker briefly joined the band in 1978, but left it again right in the middle of the tour. In 1980 he created his own group MSG.

Matthias Jabs, one might say, jumped on the bandwagon of the departing train, having accomplished a real feat: just the night before, he learned the entire program of the upcoming tour. His baptism of fire came when the Scorpions played in front of a crowd of 55,000 as the opening act for Genesis. In Matthias, the Scorpions have finally found a lead guitarist whose enthusiasm, virtuosity and creativity have made a decisive contribution to the band's success. Thanks to him, the Scorpio sound became even richer and more expressive. Like the missing piece of the puzzle, his guitar perfectly complemented the band's dynamics, creating what we call the Scorpions' unique sound.

Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs still form the backbone of the group.

With bassist Francis Buhholz (he joined the band 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 approved the "star line-up", which was destined to continue the victorious march until wind of change.
Group in 1979: Francis Buchholz, Herman Rarebell, Klaus Meine, Matthias Jabs, Rudolf Schenker.

Already hailed as a supergroup in Japan in 1978, in 1979 the Scorpions set out to conquer the huge US market. Their weapon: a professional attitude to business, unbending will to win and a friendly atmosphere both within the group and in relation to the fans. And, of course, amazing musicality. The Scorpions had a very long way to go before they formed their own unique musical image on the world rock scene.

In the 80s. The US had the largest music market in the world. And since 1974, the Scorpions have had a lot of followers in the States. Van Halen boosted their music career by covering Scorpio hits Speedy's Coming(With Fly to the Rainbow) And Catch Your Train(With virgin killer).

In 1979, now professionally produced and buoyed by success love drive, The Scorpions, with their original line-up of Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs, began their first major American tour, playing outdoor shows with Aerosmith, Thad Nugent and AC/DC. In Chicago, the Scorpions took over from Thad Nugent and the Scorpions have had more fans in the city ever since. This tour was a good lesson for the Scorpions in the rock business.

Their seventh album love drive was released in the US in 1979 and was the first Scorpions record to be certified gold there. Next was Animal Magnetism (1980).

With these two albums - love drive And Animal Magnetism- the group finally made a breakthrough in North America. The Scorpions' second US tour was a triumph. The era of the grandiose Scorpions Tour has begun.

After an even more successful tour in 1981, while recording Blackout, Klaus Meine suddenly lost his voice. Not wanting to hinder the band's success, Klaus decided to leave the Scorpions. But the strong friendship between Klaus and Rudolph, along with the support from all the members of the group, made it possible for the almost impossible to happen. After extensive training and two ligament surgeries, Klaus managed to recover from his injury. Moreover, in 1982 he returned with a much improved vocal performance. One critic wrote: "They gave Klaus Meine iron cords!" The group's decision not to part with their constant vocalist subsequently fully justified itself. It became the most fateful in the history of the Scorpions, because it was Klaus Meine who wrote the super hit in 1989. wind of change.

In 1982, the Scorpions undertook a tour of the United States (supported by Iron Maiden) in support of a new stunning album. Blackout. The stunning cover design for this album was done by Helnwein. Album and single No One Like You hit the American "Top Ten", and the album went platinum and won the "Best Hard Rock Album of the Year" award.

One hit followed another - and in the 80s Scorpions won the hearts of rock lovers from all over the world. In 1984, the SCORPIONS became the first German band to play three successful shows for 60,000 fans at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Scorpions climbed to the very top of the musical Olympus. Three of their albums hit the American charts at once: Animal Magnetism (1980), Blackout(1982) and Love At First Sting(1984). The last album is considered the most popular and beloved in Russia. The Scorpions spent 2 years on wheels playing every major rock festival that followed Woodstock. They toured the world with entire squadrons of trucks, buses, helicopters, their own planes and traditional limousines. The Hanoverian heavy metal band has now given grandiose concerts in North, South, Central America, Europe, as well as in Asia - in Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Japan. It was the "golden age" of hard rock. Giant stages, lighting and pyrotechnic effects - Scorpions brought down on the audience a storm of light and sound.

Their inexhaustible energy drove the fans crazy. For American audiences, the Scorpions, with their brilliant, polished "melodic rock" and powerful dramatic vocals by Klaus Meine, have become the epitome of all the best in hard rock. Bon Jovi, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and Europe, who later became supergroups, played as the opening act for the Scorpions, gaining invaluable experience of performing in front of a crowd of millions.

Love At First Sting became one of the most successful albums in rock history. It includes the most furious Scorpio stuff like Rock You Like a Hurricane, Bad Boys Running Wild, As Soon As The Good Times Roll and imperishable masterpiece Still Loving You.

Critics competed in rave reviews. Rolling Stone magazine called the Scorpions "heavy metal heroes". The Scorpions have been accepted into an exclusive club of 30 of the greatest rock bands of all time. Ballad Still Loving You became an international rock anthem. In France alone, this single sold 1,700,000 copies. The song caused such a wave of hysteria among French fans, which has not been seen since the days of the Beatles, and became the hallmark of the Scorpions.

The most memorable public appearances of the Scorpions were concerts in California in front of 325,000 people and in Rio de Janeiro, where they were greeted by 350,000 enthusiastic South American fans. 1985 double album World Wide Live, twin brother of the album Tokyo Tapes captured in all colors the recent international triumph of the group.

In 1986, the Scorpions were the "highlight of the program" at the famous "Monsters of Rock" festival. And in the same year they played in the capital of Hungary, Budapest. This was their first appearance in an Eastern Bloc country.

The Scorpions have consistently featured on the charts with hits like Rock You Like a Hurricane, Blackout, Big City Nights, The Zoo, No One Like You, Dynamite, Bad Boys Running Wild, coast to coast. In the 1980s, the Scorpions created a new brand of hard rock that has not lost popularity to this day. And their powerful rock ballads like Still Loving You, holiday, wind of change, send me an angel, When You Came Into My Life, You & I along with wonderful acoustic songs Always Somewhere And When the Smoke Is Going Down- were able to conquer even the most hardened haters of hard rock.

Savage Amusement, the last album produced by Dieter Dirks, was released in 1988. It reached number 3 in the US charts and number 1 in Europe.

Even after years of touring the US and the rest of the world, the Scorpions didn't rest on their laurels, but continued to look for something new. On the eve of the "Savage Amusement" world tour in 1988, the Scorpions broke through the "Iron Curtain" and gave 10 sold-out concerts in Leningrad for 350,000 Soviet fans. They became the first foreign rock band to play in the USSR, a stronghold of communism. Hard rock, heavy metal and especially the Scorpion ballad Still Loving You have already penetrated the Iron Curtain. Scorpions still meet with an enthusiastic reception in Russia.

And a year later, in August 1989, 20 years after Woodstock, the Soviet authorities, inspired by the success of Scorpov's concerts in Leningrad, gave the go-ahead for the legendary Moscow Music and Peace Festival. Here the Scorpions performed alongside other hard rock monsters such as Bon Jovi, Cinderella, Ozzy Osbourne, Skid Row, Mötley Crüe and the Russian band Gorky Park in front of 260,000 Soviet rock fans at the Moscow Stadium. Lenin.

In September 1989, Klaus Meine, inspired by the Moscow Peace Festival, created a hit wind of change.

Then, in November 1989, a completely unexpected event happened. The Berlin Wall was destroyed. wind of change became the worldwide anthem of glasnost and perestroika, a kind of soundtrack to the fall of the Iron Curtain, communism and the end of the Cold War. A year later, in 1990, the Scorpions performed in Roger Waters' spectacular show "The Wall" at Potsdamer Platz, where a fragment of the Berlin Wall once stood.

wind of change was such a success in Russia that the Scorpions soon recorded a Russian version of the hit. Thanks to this wise decision, they gained a high-ranking admirer: in 1991, the German group was invited to the Kremlin to meet Mikhail Gorbachev, the last President of the USSR and party leader. It was a unique event in the history of the Soviet Union and rock music.

The Scorpions themselves were also touched by the "wind of change". Before recording and releasing a new album crazy world(1990) their long collaboration with Dieter Dierks, who had produced so many successful albums, came to an end. crazy world, the first album produced by the Scorpions themselves (with the help of Keith Olsen), which included wind of change, immediately became the most successful disc of the year. Not only crazy world so honored: single wind of change became a hit number 1 in the world, taking the first position in the charts of 11 countries.

Band members in 1993: Herman Rarebell, Ralph Rieckermann, Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker, Matthias Jabs

In 1992, the Scorpions received the "Music Peace Prize" as the most successful German rock band. crazy world- a vivid proof of the authorial talents of Skorpov's inspirers: Matthias Jabs made his contribution in the form of a dynamic title track Tease Me Please Me, while Rudolf Schenker once again proved his ability to hit the spot with the classic Scorpion ballad send me an angel, and Klaus Meine demonstrated brilliant skill in wind of change.

Following the "Crazy World" worldwide tour, the Scorpions parted ways with their bassist, Francis Buchholz. In recording Face The Heat(1993) (co-produced - Bruce Fairbairn) featured a new bass player - Ralph Rieckermann, with a conservatory education!

In 1994, the Scorpions received the "Peace Music Award" again.

Another significant moment in their career came when, at the invitation of the family of the "King of Rock and Roll", Priscilla and Lisa-Marie Presley, and the King of Pop Michael Jackson, they presented a cover version His Latest Time at the Elvis Presley Memorial Concert in Memphis.

In the same year, Scorpions, together with the UN, provided assistance to refugees from the warring Rwanda. In just one week, the band recorded and released a charity single white dove.

At the end of 1995, when the recording pure instinct(co-produced by Keith Olsen and Erwin Musper, veteran Scorpions drummer Herman Rabell left the band.

In 1988, during the Savage Amusement tour, the Scorpions were supported by the American band Kingdom Come, produced by Keith Olsen. Even then, the Scorpions were impressed by the playing style of the band's drummer, Californian James Kottak. In 1995, the Scorpions asked former AC/DC manager Stuart Young to call James and hire him as a drummer for the upcoming "Pure Instinct" world tour. Kottak became the first American to play in a German rock band. With 2 new members, bassist Ralf Rieckermann and drummer James Kottak, the Scorpions have a new generation of musicians.

The "Pure Instinct" world tour proved that the Scorpions were still one of the most significant rock musicians. Not only in Europe and America. In countries like Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, their album sales reached well above average levels, and their CDs continued to go gold and platinum. In November 1996, the Scorpions became the first rock band to play shows in Beirut since the end of the Lebanese Civil War.

1999 Lineup: Rudolf Schenker, Ralph Rieckermann, Klaus Meine, James Kottak, Matthias Jabs

In 1999 on record Eye II Eye(produced by Peter Wolf) James Kottak first took part in the work of Scorpions in the studio. The album cover notes some changes in the band's style. Only the founders of the Scorpions: Rudolf Schenker, Klaus Meine and Matthias Jabs are depicted on the cover. And the album itself is another a confirmation of the impressive talents of all members of the Socrpions as composers and instrumentalists. Mysterious, Yellow Butterfly, A Moment in a Million Year, Mind Like a Tree And Eye II Eye- show that the team is at the peak of creativity. IN Du bist so schmutzig (You Are So Dirty) we hear the German text from the Scorpios for the first time. As part of the "Eye II Eye" world tour, the Scorpions played at the invitation of Michael Jackson at the "Michael Jackson and Friends" benefit concert in Munich.

Following their motto "Don't Stop at the Top!"("Don't stop there!"), Scorpions welcomed the new millennium with a new beginning: a joint project with the world famous Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, formerly directed by the legendary Herbert von Karajan.In 1995 the orchestra was considering a joint project and was looking for a suitable band.Years later, even this classical orchestra recognized the success and international reputation of the Scorpions.The two "Mercedes" of German music agreed to a joint venture led by the famous Austrian producer, composer, conductor and arranger Christian Kolonovits (Christian Kolonovits Scorpions began to prepare already in 1995. Since that time, both groups, so to speak, continued to work on the project. Eye II Eye(1999) and the subsequent world tour, the Scorpions were in serious business. A harbinger of things to come was the performance of the Scorpios at the invitation of the German government at a concert held in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on November 11, 1999, on the 10th anniversary of the unification of Germany. wind of change 166 cellists performed together with the Scorpions, and the outstanding virtuoso cellist Mstislav Rostropovich performed as the soloist.

In January 2000, the Scorpions began recording in Vienna with Christian Kolonovitz. The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra recorded their parts in April. The album was finally mixed in April/May 2000 at Galaxy Studios in Belgium. Collaborative album between the Scorpions and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Moment of Glory was released on June 19, 2000.

The first concert took place on June 22, 2000 at the EXPO-2000 exhibition in Hannover. The album also includes the exhibition's official anthem Moment of Glory.

In February 2001, the Scorpions played several acoustic shows in Lisbon. As a result, a live album was recorded Acoustica, which includes acoustic versions of old Skorp hits, as well as 3 new songs. Christian Kolonovitz again took part in the recording of the project. He worked on the arrangements and also recorded the keyboard parts for the album. Without stopping studio work, in the spring of the same year, Scorpions gave concerts in Russia and the CIS countries as part of the "Moment of Glory" tour. In June, the Scorpios continued to "develop" the countries of Eastern Europe, performing for the first time in the capital of Albania, Tirana. And immediately after the release of the album Acoustica the band embarked on a world tour in support of the album.

2002 was not marked by studio projects, but was extremely rich in "live" performances. This spring Scorpions closed the "Acoustica Tour" with three concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg. During the summer, the Scorpions undertook a giant tour of the United States, and in the autumn they visited a total of 21 cities in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania.

2004 is the year the Scorpions return to hard "n" heavy. After the album Eye II Eye and experiments with symphonic/acoustic concerts, the musicians decided to shake it up... with youth:) yes, old times. Album Unbreakable became the "long-awaited bite" of a venomous creature, and, according to the band, symbolizes their former allegiance to rock music. According to Mr. Rudy Schenker, "Unbreakable" should unite the old and new generations of fans. And believe him :)

Next album Humanity - Hour 1 received enthusiastic responses from everyone: from listeners and from critics. This is not even an album, but a collection of hits - and not potential ones, but real ones. Superthing Humanity has become one of the best songs of the "scorpions" and has already entered their "golden fund". Many songs from the album are played on the radio. On TV they show clips of Scorpions. When the "scorpions" made a new album, their goal, as they themselves say, was to return to the charts, to create an album of hits. It looks like they have achieved their goal, but, as always, they do not stop there...

And at the beginning of 2009, after a long, large-scale tour, Klaus Meine in his interview announced that the idea of ​​a new album was already being created. Recording of the album starts at the end of this year. The title of the album sounds very curious - Sting In The Tail.

"It has always been a pleasure for us, our goal in life, our passion and luck to play music for you - no matter whether it is at a concert or in the studio recording new songs. All the last months, when we were working on our new album, we were literally aware how powerful and creative our work is - and how much joy it brings us in the process.But there was one more thing: We want to end the extraordinary career of the Scorpions on a high note.We are extremely pleased with the fact that we have maintained the same passion with which and started our career.This is the answer to the question why, especially now, we have decided to end our journey.We are ending our career with an album that we believe will be one of the best discs that we have recorded and a tour that starts in our home Germany and will take us to five continents in a few years.

We want you, our fans, to be the first to know. Thank you for your endless support all these years! We have published a small preview from our album especially for you on myspace. And now... let the party begin and get ready for Sting In The Tail!

See you on tour!
Your Scorpions"

Discography

Albums:

Lonesome Crow (1972)
Fly to the Rainbow (1974)
In Trance (1975)
Taken by Force (1977)
virgin killer (1977)
Tokyo Tapes (1978)
love drive (1979)
Animal Magnetism (1980)
Blackout (1982)
Love At First Sting (1984)
World Wide Live (1985)
Savage Amusement (1988)
crazy world (1990)
Face The Heat (1993)
Live Bites (1995)
pure instinct (1996)
Eye II Eye (1999)
Moment of Glory (2000)
Acoustica (2001)
Unbreakable (2004)
Humanity - Hour I (2007)
Sting In The Tail (2010)

Collections:

Best Of Scorpions (1979)
Best of Vol 2 (1980)
Hot&Heavy (1982)
Gold Ballads (1984)
best (1985)
Best Of Rockers "N" Ballads (1989)
Still Loving You (1990)
Hurricane Rock (1990)
hot & hard (1993)
Deadly Sting (1995)
Deadly Sting: The Mercury Years (1997)
Big City Nights (1998)
Scorpions best (1999)
Pictured Life: All the Best (2000)
20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Scorpions (2001)
Classic Bites (2002)
Bad For Good: The Very Best Of Scorpions (2002)
Essential (2003)
Box Of Scorpions (2004)
Hot & Slow: Best Masters of the 70's (2004)
The Platinum Collection (2006)
Gold (2006)
Taken B Side (2009)

I lose control when you look at me like that.
Something in your eyes
Says today:
“I'm not a child anymore.
Life has opened the door
To an exciting new life."

I'm losing control
When I hug you baby
I'm losing control...
Do not look at me so!
Something in your eyes...
Or is it love at first sight?
Like a growing flower...
Life just wants you to know
All her secrets.

It's written in your heart.

Find a place for our love
Where could we hide.
To love each other today
And for all eternity.

I'm losing control because of you baby.
I'm losing control...
Do not look at me so!
Something in your eyes
Says today:
“I want to know more
Like never before
In my innocent life."

It's all written in your life line.
It's written in your heart.

You and me... You and I have a dream
Find a place for our love
Where could we hide.
You and I... You and I were created to
To love each other today, forever
And for all eternity.

Time stops
When the days of innocence
End at night.
I love you girl!
And I will always love!
I swear that I will be with you
Until death!

You and me... You and I have a dream
Find a place for our love
Where could we hide.
You and I... You and I were created to
To love each other today
And for all eternity.

Group Scorpions (Scorpions), history, translations of songs

Scorpions are a German rock band founded in 1965 in Hannover by Rudolf Schenker. They are one of the most famous and longest existing rock bands in the world. Scorpions have become synonymous with melodic heavy metal as well as powerful rock ballads. The 1978–1992 line-up is considered the band's most successful incarnation, consisting of: Klaus Meine (vocals), Rudolf Schenker (rhythm guitar), Matthias Jabs (lead guitar), Francis Buchholz (bass guitar) and Hermann Rarebell (drums) .

Story

Foundation and early history (1964 - 1973)

The band was founded in 1965 by rhythm guitarist Rudolf Schenker. At first, she was influenced by the beat, and Schenker himself controlled the vocal parts. In 1970 Michael, Schenker's younger brother, and vocalist Klaus Meine joined the band. In 1972 they recorded and released the debut album Lonesome Crow with Lothar Heimberg on bass and Wolfgang Zioni on drums. During the Lonesome Crow tour, the Scorpions were the opening act for British band UFO. Towards the end of the tour, guitarist Michael Schenker accepted an offer from UFO to become their main guitarist. Uli Roth, a friend of the Schenker brothers, was then invited to end the tour.

Rise to fame (1974–1978)

In 1974, the new line-up of the Scorpions released Fly to the Rainbow. The album proved to be more successful than Lonesome Crow, and songs such as Speedy's Coming and the title track established the band's sound.
In 1975, the band released the album In Trance, which marked the beginning of a long collaboration between the Scorpions and German producer Dieter Dierks. The album was a huge step forward and created their heavy metal formula.
In 1976, the Scorpions released the Virgin Killer album. Its cover featured a nude teenage girl behind broken glass. It was developed by Stefano Bole, who was the manager of RCA Records, their label at the time.
Rudy Lenners left the following year for personal reasons and was replaced by Herman Rarebell.
For the follow-up album, Taken by Force, RCA Records made significant efforts to promote the album in stores and radio. The single Steamrock Fever, from this album, was added to an RCA radio commercial. Roth was not happy with the commercial direction the band was taking. Although he performed on a Japanese tour, he left the Scorpions to form his own band, Electric Sun. By this time, in mid-1978, after auditioning about 140 guitarists, the band accepted guitarist Matthias Jabs.

Commercial success (1978-1992)

With the addition of Yabs, the Scorpions left RCA for Mercury Records in the US and Harvest/EMI Electrola worldwide to record their next album, Lovedrive. Kicked out of UFO for alcohol abuse only a few weeks later, Michael Schenker also returned to the band for a short period during the recording of the album. This gave the band three guitarists.

In 1980, the Scorpions released Animal Magnetism, again with a provocative cover, this time with a Doberman and a girl kneeling in front of a man. Animal Magnetism contained such classics as The Zoo and Make it real.

In 1981, the band began working on their next album, Blackout. It was released in 1982 and quickly became the band's best-selling album to date, eventually going platinum. Blackout spawned three singles: Dynamite, Blackout and No One Like You.
Gaining popularity with the success of Blackout, the Scorpions performed to over 375,000 fans on Day 2 of a three-day US Festival concert held in San Bernardino on Memorial Day in 1983.

It wasn't until 1984, with the release of Love at First Sting, that the band finally cemented its status as a world-famous band. Promoted by the single Rock You Like a Hurricane, Love at First Sting climbed to the top of the charts and was certified double platinum in the US within months of its release.
After the release of Love at First Sting, the band toured extensively, which led to the decision to record and release a second live album, World Wide Live, in 1985.

After a major world tour, the band is finally back in the studio recording Savage Amusement. Released in 1988, four years after their previous studio album, Savage Amusement introduced a more refined and mature sound, similar to Def Leppard's style.
On the Savage Amusement tour in 1988, the Scorpions became the second non-US Western band to play in the Soviet Union. They returned the following year to perform at the Moscow Music Peace Festival.

In an effort to move away from the Savage Amusement style, the band parted ways with their longtime producer and "sixth scorpion" Dieter Dirks, replacing him with Keith Olsen. The Crazy World album was released the same year and featured a less "polished" sound. Much of the album's progress was due to the mainstream success of the ballad Wind of Change. The song discusses the socio-political changes taking place in Eastern Europe and other parts of the world at the end of the Cold War. On July 21, 1990, they teamed up with many other guests for Roger Waters' The Wall concert in Berlin.

Late period (1993–2009)

In 1993, the Scorpions released Face the Heat. Bass was played by Ralph Rieckermann. The Scorpions brought in producer Bruce Fairbairn to record. The sound of the album was more metallic than melodic.

Before recording their 13th studio album, 1996's Pure Instinct, drummer Herman Rarebell left the band to form a record label. Before finally moving on to James Kottak, Kurt Kress disposed of the chopsticks. The album contained many ballads.
1999 saw the release of Eye II Eye and there were significant changes in the group's style, elements of pop and techno were added. While the album was recorded quickly, it did not receive positive feedback from fans. In the video for the first European single from the album To be No. 1 featured a double of Monica Lewinsky, which didn't add to the group's popularity.

In 2001, the Scorpions released the Acoustica album. The live album featured acoustic reworkings of the band's biggest hits, plus new tracks.

In 2004, the band released Unbreakable, an album that was hailed by critics as a welcome return to the format. It was the heaviest for the band since Face the Heat.

In early 2006, the Scorpions released the DVD 1 Night in Vienna, which included 14 live tracks and a documentary. In Los Angeles, the band spent about four months in the studio with producers James Michael and Desmond Child working on a concept album titled Humanity: Hour I which was released in late May 2007 and followed by the Humanity World Tour.
On February 22, 2009, the Scorpions received the German ECHO Honorary Award for lifetime achievement at Berlin's O2 World stadium.

Sting in the Tail tour and Comeblack (2010–2014)

In November 2009, the Scorpions announced that their 17th studio album Sting in the Tail would be released in early 2010, recorded in Hannover with Swedish producers Mikael "Nord" Andersson and Martin Hansen. The album was released on March 23, 2010. On April 6, 2010, the Scorpions became part of the Hollywood Rock Walk, leaving their handprints.

Almost a year earlier, it had been announced that the Scorpions would headline the Wacken Open Air Festival on August 4th.

Despite continued rumors of a departure, on June 12, 2012, guitarist Matthias Jabs told AZ Central that the Scorpions would not disband. A month later, in an interview with Billboard magazine, Jabs said that the band was working on an album that would contain unreleased songs recorded for Blackout, Love at First Sting, Savage Amusement and Crazy World and planned to release it in 2014. On September 11, 12 and 14, 2013, the Scorpions played three MTV Unplugged shows at the Lycabettus Theater in Athens.

In 2014, the Scorpions were nominated for two Echo Awards for their performances on MTV Unplugged.
On August 16, the Scorpions announced that a new album was in the works for a 2015 release. He recorded in Sweden with producers Martin Hansen and Mikael "Nord" Andersson. Drummer James Kottak, who left the band in May 2014 for rehabilitation, played drums for the new release.