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Ciao Klaus, so here we go with the questions for our interview:

In the 1965 Rudolf Schenker found the Scorpions. To be right, you Klaus, started to play in the group just few years later becoming straight away the first singer, getting the position of a frontman of the band. Is so determinant be the creator of a band or is possible to take over in a second time and get the role of leader?

In the 1965 the band was not knew as “Scorpions” and for 4 years Rudolf was the only leader of the band. In that times I had a band called the “Copernicus” and one of mine guitar player, was just the brother of Rudolf: Michael Schenker. He was not an easy boy, I still remember that I had to ask to his parents, with the help of his brother, the permission of make him play with my band. I had the success in so few time, untill the band broke up for the immaturity of the members and I left for the military service. Some years later, at the end of ‘60s, Rudolf asked to me of take part in his group, so we named it “Scorpions”. This was borned by Rudolf, that him-self had some problem with one of his guitar player, so with my entry, he could pay much more attention to the music instead the lirycs that he sang too. Honestly, I didn’t come in as a leader of a band, but we was me and Rudolf that created the “Scorpions” working together and writting the lirycs, we did the bases for our future success.

What exactly happened in the 1971 when Rudolf and the other members decided of self-finance their-selves to product the first album “Lonesome Crow”? Which one was in that moment your role in the group and in that situation too?

Before the publication of our first debuting album as “Scorpions”, I had some problems with my voice, so that my manager of that time decided to don’t help us financing the album. Was just the tenacity of Rudolf, that from always was the engine motor of the band, to put together all our efforts and our savings too, for the creation of one album that was a real international success, depending also that we started singing our songs in english and they was really well accepted by the German hard rock underground. For me was a real change, you have just to think that few years before my performances was in front of maximum 500 people, than with the “Scorpions” I started to sing in front of a lots of people that filled up the stadiums too.

In the 1975, the Scorpions had a huge success even outside the European’s borders thank to the albums “In Trance” and “Virgin Killer”. This last particulary loved by Japanese people even for the “original” cover-design: where does born the inspiration and especially wich is the importance that all you give to your covers, that rarely have you as protagonists?

In the times of “Virgin Killer” our cover made a real scandal, that probably in our times haven’t to exist. It’s great that you defined it “original” and it is for real!
The inspiration and the importance that we give to our covers depend by create a self identity, never mind how our faces are, but for the music that we play. Also these chioces borned for the need of going trough in what in the past was the business’s rules of the international hard rock.

At the beginning of ‘80s happened the ascent of the group, the band is enriched by the new guitar player Matthias Jabs and your first Tour starts in the United States.
All seems going well, when you are forced in a very long stop for some problems at your vocal cords. How did you react at this unpleasant situation and what helped you to surpass it?

For sure that was one of the worst moments of my life. There was a lots of gossip about it, within one my possible goodbye at the “Scorpions” and at all the World of music in general. My family doctor even suggested me to change job. After two operations at my vocal cords, I had to stop. Principally two things helped me to surpass this trauma: the first one was my huge friendship with Rudolf and the moral support that I had from all the band, that was aspecting my fast recovery; the second one was my hatred for the intolerance, I mean that I couldn’t support the idea to give up at the music so fast, just after that I caught the World success, distinguished as you said, by one tour in the Unted States. The band stop them-selves to wait for me and so I did it. Not just this, I was come back in so good conditions that a journalist wrote about me, in a ironic way, that during my operations I had metal vocal cords!

In the 1985 is the moment of “Black Out”, one of the album much more sold in the music history, giving to you the ultimate consecration in the World scale. Wich are your memories that you have about that time? Wich one was the determinant element for the success of that album?

Beside to be the moment of “Black Out”, that was even my moment. Infact, after the operations at my vocal cords, I decided to come back with the band making a new album. We had the success thank to the singles “Dynamite”, “Blackout” and “No One Like You”, winning the most wanted platinum disc, for the most number of saling that we reached with that album. I have to thank again Don Dokken that helped me a lot in the chorus part, so I didn’t have to force me and going on with my treatments. Was a double joy to me the same year, because I had the fame in all the World and I became dad of my son Christian Julien.

A wonderfoul Tour in Russia, then in the 1991 you sang in the Re-United Germany having an esibiton for the first time by your-self in front of Mikhail Gorbacëv. But already one year before, you playied as a opening band for “The Wall” live in Berlin, defined from Roger Waters: “...a celebration of the freeing up of the feelings between the peoples of the East and the West...” As a German Band, how did you live that important moments for the history of the music and your Country too?

Our music and most in general the rock music of that time, been the soundtrack of all changes at the end of ‘80s. I remember when we playied at the Moscow Peace Festival and few months later there was the Berlin’s Wall Opened. You can felt how the young boys of that age was tired about the “Cold War”, and you can even felt the new generation’s needs about a new kind of society, most opened, that had to make everything different. It’s so sad see what is goin’ on in Russia today, seems like we are going back... Anyway, when we met Mikhail Gorbacëv in the 1991, 11 days before the end of Soviet Union, was a real intense time because that huge nation was going through an innovative process, and I couldn’t believe in that. Also, we was invited at the Cremlin by the President him-self, probably because his family liked the song “Wind of Change”, the it-self was the soundtrack of the Perestroika, but probably was a pleasure for the russian people that a german singer, sang a world hit even in their language, so was an honour for them meet us.

During your Russian Tour was born the inspiration for “Wind of Change”, for sure the piece much more identificatived of your productions, especially for the new audience. How was born the piece and wich is your connection with it? Is that too restricted?

“Wind of Change” is a song from the album “Crazy World”. It’s not a casually that the Cd’s title wants to explain the meaning of the lirycs, that are based on the political pain life of that times, just in fact of changing. It is for sure the most identificatived piece of all our production, that went with the Berlin’s Wall Opened and the end of Communism in Russia. It doesn’t have to be restricted, because that was a message for the ‘90s, now we are in the 2007. In our new songs, we still trying to train people about unpleasant things that happen every day and we can know that by news paper or television. All of this makes me scare and my question is: How we are going to end?

In the ‘90s you start with the best album ever “Face the Heat” that was not really well accepted, it was a flop especially in Italy. For you: why the italian audience didn’t understand the album going in this way far from the Scorpions?

With this album and with the next albums too, we decided to experiment a new kind of music, giving at our songs much more metal sound and this made us, lost many fans, especially in Italy. At the end of ‘90s, we gave to our albums a pop/techno style, that finally in Italy made us lost a big part of audience. Probably was our stylistic choice that make the audience go far from us, maybe it was not ready to that new kind of music that we wanted suggest.

After same attemptes, in the 2000 you are re-discovered by the new generations (we are involved too...) with “Moment of Glory”. This album was criticized a lot by the those in the know, but for real, it is a good marriage with the classical music, like other famous heavy-metal bands did in the past. Which is the reason for a group of your musical genre to challange with a so different kind of music?

The project of “Moment of Glory” borned starting by 1995, even if untill the 2000, unluckyly, was never realized before. Unluckyly because we had many negative critics and we was accused of have copied the idea from a very well know band named “Metallica”; I was called on the court for some reasons, winning anyway the lawsuit about me, even for the song that I wrote for the Hannover Expo, just “Moment of Glory”. I’m really happy that you liked our job, that took us a lots of time, to the detriment of criticized us in a negative way.

2001: Acoustica, tell about your experience with the band during this important event.

Acoustica was the last hope to make the band going straight again, but we had a meagre success, meagre than we had in our passed history. We get anyway a discreet job, we arranged for the occasion many of our pieces making them easy to be play in the acoustic key. We published a Cd with the most caratteristic tracks of ever and a DVD with all the live exhibition.

Within your plans, we know that your are already working for a new studio album (Rudolf Schenker has declared that 40 new pieces are ready) and the announced partecipation at the “Gods of Metal” in Milan, after more then eight years far from the italian scenes. Can you confirm these notices? Would you send a message at the most audacious italian fans?

I can fully confirm all our news about it. We are already having an exhibition tour all around Europe and not only that, with the new songs from our new album “Humanity”, with lirycs about our future and the one of the next generations created by our sons and the following. The idea borned just from the wish of looking around us and find again our humanity, our love and our rispect for the others, starting from anybody that we meet. The album is characterized by songs that talk about the darker moments of anyone’s life, but even by songs full of hopes from always sang by the “Scorpions”. I can even officialized our presence at the “Gods of Metal” in Milan, where we are going to have a little exhibition for the occasion, with a lot of pleasure after so many years far away from Italy.
A message for the fans? Well, the most audacious must to go in Milan, for the one that will be an our incredible performance in your country, while I have to thank with all my heart, who from always, and who like you from few time, support as and still believe in our desire to make music, that never mind where it is listened, but that is listened and discussed, because this is what give us the hope to let play music.