Muscorpions talks to RS about shows in Brazil, Judas Priest, Mikkey Dee and German Timopiography, one of the greatest in hard rock history, arrives in the country as the main attraction of the Monsters of Rock 2025 and makes two more presentations by newsroom

Klaus Meine It is certain that the relationship of Scorpions With Brazil’s public is special. “Our history with Brazilian fans dates back to 1985, when we played in the first edition of Rock in Rio, so coming back is always very special”says the singer, in an interview with Rolling Stone Brazil with the presence of the guitarist also Rudolf Schenker.

The singer does not lie. The German band, one of the greatest in hard rock history, has come to the tropical country eleven times. And soon arrives for the twelfth tour.

Complete by Matthias Jabs (guitar), Pawel MacIwoda (low) and Mikkey Dee (battery), the quintet presents itself as the main attraction of the Monsters of Rockfestival that takes place at Allianz Parque, in São Pauloon April 19th. Judas Priest, Europe, Savatage, Queensrÿche, Opeth and Stratovarius complete the lineup.

Parallel, they also play in Brasiliaat the festival Arena of Rockwith Priest and Europe, besides the Kisser CLANon April 16th. They also meet a solo date in the donkey, Rio de Janeiroon April 21. Tickets can be purchased at links on the official website.

Although it is one of the most constant and professional rock bands at all times – to the point of being founded by Schenker 60 years ago and having Meine 56 – fans recently scared with the health problems of one of the members. Just one of the younger ones. Dee, now 61, was hospitalized for three weeks at the end of 2024 due to a sepsis he defined as “very serious.” He had twisted his foot and opted for self -medication, but the picture worsened to the point of putting his life at risk.

Fortunately, Mikkey – also famous for the long relationship with Motörhead – recovered, but the band had to relocate from February to August a season of shows in Las Vegas. In addition, the return to the stage, during the Mexican Festival Vives Latino on March 15, had the support of his son, Marcusassuming the drumsticks in one of the songs, “Big City Nights”while the father rested.

Klaus defined the drummer’s situation as “tragic” and explained that the decision to postpone the season in Vegas occurred due to caution. He says:

“He had to undergo a foot surgery. We didn’t know if he would be well and fit in March. So we had to postpone the shows in Las Vegas. Then we rehearsed the set and he brought his son Marcus, who is also a fantastic drummer. It was amazing to see them together in Mexico City, this Mikkey staff to the new generation, while the father had a little breath. If you put it at risk, because in Latin America, we want Mikkey in the way. I think we deal well with Mexico and fans loved it. ”

And how did the public react? Meine pointed to a curious reaction from the fans:

“A lot of people kept asking, ‘Who is this beautiful young drummer?’ And I think Mikkey stayed – and still – very proud to see his son playing in front of 80,000 mexican fans crazy.”

Now, the singer – who spoke much more than Rudolf during the interview – is eager to bring the current show to Brazil. The current tour celebrates two landmarks at the same time: the 60th anniversary of the foundation and the 40 years of Love at First Sting (1984), ninth studio album and one of its most popular, with hits of the size of “Still Loving You”, “Rock You Like a Hurricane” and “Big City Nights”. If Mexico’s repertoire is maintained, fans from Brasilia, Sao Paulo and Rio will hear this album almost in full, along with successes of other works, such as “Wind of Change”, “Send me an angel”, “The Zoo” and more.

“Sao Paulo is a very ‘hard and heavy’ city, you can feel that they love the band, love this musical genre. They are true headbangers! We are very excited to be part of it, especially with the other lineup bands, such as Judas Priest. This will be a very special year for us and we will go through all of Latin America.

The drunken with Judas Priest and Def Leppard

The history of Scorpions with Judas Priest, by the way, comes from a long time. The English colleagues – probably the most important heavy metal band to be still active – were responsible for Rudolf Schenker break their silence during the interview. The guitarist recalled a curious story involving Priest and another British group, DEF Leppardin the midst of a tour in 1980.

Initially, he tells:

“Kk [Downing, ex-guitarrista] and Glenn [Tipton, guitarrista afastado] They are responsible for the title of our album Blackout (1982). They came to my hotel room with two or three bottles of beer and said, ‘Let’s drink to celebrate the tour.’ I agreed, but said it was not enough. We would have to drink the way Scorpions: whiskey, red wine and, on top, beer, because of white foam. Suddenly Glenn asked, ‘Hey, where are the leppies?’ It was the nickname of DEF Leppard. We went to their room. I said, ‘I can’t believe you are here watching TV’. I grabbed the glass and poured the whole drink on TV. The result? I was almost arrested and didn’t even remember anything. ”

The next day, Schenker shared the story with Meine and the drummer of the time, Herman Rarebell. That’s when the guitarist discovered the term that would appoint the classic album “No One Like You”.

“The first thing Herman said when he learned of what happened was: ‘Do you know what you had? A Blackout.’ I asked, ‘What a Blackout?’. And he replied, ‘Yes, when you don’t remember these things, it’s called Blackout.’ Herman was already leaving when he turned and said, ‘By the way, that’s a good name for an album.’ And so it was born Blackoutthe album! ”

Klaus also joked that, perhaps, the Judas Priest hit “Breaking the Law” It also arose from this story. The chronology does not hit – since the track was released before the tour in question – but the singer, of course, was just making fun. Rudolf adds:

“We had great moments together with Judas Priest. We have a great friendship, especially with Rob [Halford, vocalista]. He’s an amazing guy. The last time we played in Las Vegas, their drummer [Scott Travis] He went to visit us and watch the show. It is important to have friends around the road. This creates a different atmosphere on stage. ”

Scorpions on the screens

Scorpions’s 60th anniversary should also be celebrated with a movie format. Also called Wind of Changethe feature film has no date yet to debut, but filming is known to begin in this first half. Alex Ranarivel will be the director, while the producer ESX Entertainment Take care of development.

According to Klaus Meine, Ranarivel is a big fan of the band and departed from him the idea of ​​doing a biography instead of a documentary. The vocalist tells:

“We are still in the phase of configuring the whole project. We want filming to start soon, but we still don’t know exactly when. We hope they can finish everything in the coming months, so that it coincides with the band’s 60th anniversary. They will tell the story of Scorpions from a different point of view.

Rudolf Schenker, at the last moment of the interview, breaks the silence again. Laughter, he says:

“It will be with real actors, not us! They are looking for a young Klaus Meine and a young Rudolf Schenker.”

*Scorpions performs in Brasilia (Arena of Rock – 16/04), Sao Paulo (Monsters of Rock – 19/04) and Rio de Janeiro (Dalaristage – 21/04). Tickets can be purchased at the links highlighted on the band’s official website.

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