Scorpions Survived Grunge By Not Fighting It
Rudolf Schenker said Scorpions survived the grunge era by simply not fighting the musical revolution.
While many older bands struggled as tastes changed in the early ‘90s, the German group simply concentrated on places where they were still welcomed.
“When grunge and alternative blew up we were playing over in Asia, places like Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia where we still played in huge stadiums,” Schenker told Metal Hammer in a new interview. “Why fight grunge in Europe and America when we could play huge shows in Russia, Taiwan and so on?” He said of their approach: “It was a new generation of Germans coming into Russia not with tanks, but with guitars, bringing love and peace.”
He added: “There’s an interview with Metallica and I don’t remember if it was James [Hetfield] or Kirk [Hammett] who was asked how many countries they played; and either James or Kirk said, ‘Not as many as Scorpions!’ We had no fear! It paid off too — we sold more albums in Thailand than Michael Jackson; something like 20 times platinum.”
Describing the band’s five-decade run as “an unbelievable journey,” the guitarist admitted: “Sometimes I’ll think about it and tears will run down my face because I’m so impressed with what we’ve learned and lived through. We were the second-highest selling artist in the world behind Peter Frampton at one point; that was an amazing thing.”
Meanwhile, Scorpions have released “Seventh Son” from their new album Rock Believer, which arrives Feb. 25. You can hear the song below.
Listen to Scorpions’ ‘Seventh Son’