Scorpions (band)

:For other uses, see Scorpion

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The Scorpions are a heavy metal band, originally from Hannover, Germany.

Related Topics:
Heavy metal - Hannover - Germany

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Founded in 1965, by rhythm guitarist Rudolf Schenker, though the official founding year is 1969 when Schenker's little brother Michael and Klaus Meine joined the band.

Related Topics:
1965 - 1969

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After Rudolf and Klaus split with Michael and their bass-player and drummer, they joined a band called Dawn Road, which consisted of Francis Buchholz (bass), Uli Roth (guitar) and Juergen Rosenthal (drums). Together they decided to call this new band "Scorpions".

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The Scorpions did a lot of touring in Europe, came to Japan in 1978. Their first concert in America took place at a big festival in Cleveland, Ohio, USA in 1979. Still, the band made significant progress in that regard between 1979 and 1983 on the strength of the albums Lovedrive and Blackout.

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However, it was the 1984 release of Love at First Sting which finally secured the band massive commercial visibility with American audiences, where they headlined their own shows selling out many large halls. Powered by the success of the single "Rock You Like A Hurricane" the Scorpions assumed a premier role in heavy metal. The band enjoyed a high degree of success through the early 1990s thanks to the release of the Crazy World album in 1990 and the single "Wind of Change". The song muses on the socio-political changes occurring in Eastern Europe and in the other parts of the world in the end of the Cold War.

Related Topics:
1984 - Love at First Sting - 1990 - Wind of Change - Eastern Europe - Cold War

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They were the first western group to play in the former Soviet Union, and on July 21, 1990 they joined many other guests for Roger Waters' massive performance of The Wall in Berlin. Scorpions performed both versions of "In The Flesh" from The Wall.

Related Topics:
Soviet Union - July 21 - 1990 - Roger Waters - The Wall - Berlin

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In 1992 Bassist Francis Buchholz left the band.

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In 1993 the Album "Face the Heat" was published. The album opened with the heavy metal song "Alien Nation", considered by many headbangers to be the Scorpions' best work.

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For the following ten years, the Scorpions experimented with their music, trying to attract fans of styles such as hard rock, grunge, alternative and others. They experimented with pop-rock, philharmonic orchestra, and unplugged, never equaling their success in the 80's.

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Their ultimate album "Unbreakable" was a return to their roots, featuring what many fans consider one of the best ballads they have ever written: "Maybe I, Maybe You".

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Despite the fact that the Scorpions first played in Albania in the summer of 2000, early in the 1990s the popular term scorpions originated there to describe young people with trendy haircuts and with avantgarde musical taste.

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