Scorpions, the German rock band, is as old as Singapore is independent. While Singapore has seen some personnel changes since 1965, so too has the band, except that its founder Rudolf Schenker still rocks. By Kannan Chandran
While both Scorpions and Singapore are showing signs of having lived and journeyed through a variety of challenging and significant periods, both have much to trumpet…or in this case rock.
Formed in Hanover, Germany in 1965, the band opted to play English, to break out of the domestic market. With Klaus Meine on vocals for all their albums, Scorpions scored a variety of hits by playing power ballads — Always Somewhere, Loving You Sunday Morning, Still Loving You and Holiday — to an audience that was fast growing a sense of social consciousness.
Winds Of Change, about the fall of communism, surged in popularity and showed that as long as the music resonates, it can still work.
With the passage of time and through a rollercoaster ride of music shifts and reshaping, Scorpions have remained relevant, to the surprise of Schenker, who went through the cycles of the music scene at the press conference at The Hard Rock Cafe.
Given their longevity, Klaus Meine is pleased that the legendary Bob Dylan has won a Nobel Prize, and that musicians are receiving such recognition.
Scorpions performs at Suntec on 21 October: http://www.sistic.com.sg/events/scor1016
