SCORPIONS' KLAUS MEINE: If I'm Honest, Nothing We've Done In The Past Three Decades Matches 'Crazy World'

September 30, 2020

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of their classic album "Crazy World" and its worldwide smash hit single "Wind Of Change", lynchpin SCORPIONS members Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs have all given extensive and exclusive interviews to Rock Candy magazine for a huge 16-page cover story feature. Together with respected musician and lyricist Jim Vallance — who co-wrote seven of the album's 11 tracks — Meine, Schenker and Jabs open up like never before to reveal in forensic detail how the "Crazy World" project came together.

"If I'm honest, nothing we've done in the past three decades matches 'Crazy World'," says vocalist Meine with admirable candor. "I think it's a classic, and any SCORPIONS fan would agree. It's the last album from what I'd say was our golden period."

The bandmembers recount the story of the album's creation, from splitting with long-standing producer Dieter Dierks ("We'd been together for too long and we felt we needed new energy," says guitarist Schenker),to a false start with Bruce Fairbairn, and then finding the perfect producer in Keith Olsen.

The writing and recording process is described in detail, including the story behind the groundbreaking "Wind Of Change" single.

"The record company was very concerned about the whistling on it, because they thought it would hurt sales," explains Meine. "I insisted that it should stay, because, to my mind, it was a vital part of what made the song work so well."

"At first, even I didn't like it," admits Schenker. "I didn't think it was a good thing for a rock band to do, but we tried something else and it just didn't work. The song only worked with the whistling."

Of course, "Wind Of Change" went on to become the SCORPIONS' biggest ever hit, becoming a worldwide anthem for the changing political times of 1990 when the Soviet bloc collapsed.

With the SCORPIONS currently working on a new album, Rock Candy's cover story provides a must-read look back at a key moment in this legendary band's history.

Rock Candy is a 100-page, full-color bi-monthly rock mag, created in the U.K. It covers the sights, sounds and smells from the greatest era in hard rock music, the '70s and '80s. Put together by respected U.K. rock journalists Derek Oliver, Howard Johnson and Malcolm Dome — all frontline writers for the legendary Kerrang! magazine in the golden era — Rock Candy is available in print format with a free digital download version for anyone who buys the mag online at www.rockcandymag.com.


Find more on Scorpions
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).