SCORPIONS Frontman: 'Friendship Was The Foundation Of This Band'

Chad Bowar of About.com recently conducted an interview with SCORPIONS frontman Klaus Meine. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

About.com: Did you know going into the recording of "Sting Of The Tail" that it would be your last studio album?

Klaus Meine: No, we didn't know when we started. We realized in the last couple of weeks when the album was coming together and the record was shaping up. We realized that this would be a smash album, the best tradition of what the SCORPIONS are all about. Then this idea came up, and I think it was our manager who talked about it the first time. We thought he was joking, but then we said if we put this album out, go on another world tour, it's not a bad idea. We're coming out with an album that's very powerful, put it on the road with a long tour, then finish this amazing run of 40 years of rock and roll on a high note.

About.com: Is the title a nod to your "Love At The First Sting" album from the '80s?

Klaus Meine: I had the idea to use this title years ago, because it makes a powerful connection with the SCORPIONS. We were playing around with making this connection with the '80s. When we listened to this album, we had a feeling there was a lot of attitude with a lot of songs that we could play live for our fans. So it was the perfect title. The stinger is still sharp after all these years. It's like closing the circle.

About.com: What are some of the biggest changes you've seen in your 40 years in the music industry?

Klaus Meine: We started making vinyl records, and are now in the digital era. The biggest change is that young kids today download music from the internet. When we started out, for me as a fan, when a new album came out I couldn't wait to buy it, take it home and listen to the whole record. I think that's changed a lot. Die hard fans might still do this, but for the majority of people that love music, they download their favorite songs. One thing hasn't changed, and that's the desire of young kids to go to a concert and see a great live band. This explains why we see a whole new generation of SCORPIONS fans, because they know we are still a band that delivers the goods live.

About.com: How have the SCORPIONS managed to stay together for 40 years?

Klaus Meine: Well, Chad, I think the bottom line is that friendship was the foundation of this band. When we started in the early '70s making our first records, there were some member changes, but we always were looking for people we had a good feeling about. If we go out on the road and play for months and months and spend time on the tour bus, you want to hang with good people. Of course you want to have great musicians, but it's also equally important to have great guys, great people. This philosophy of friendship really paid off, because in a 40-year career you're not always on a constant high. You have to go down as well, and that's when it shows if you have the right people that stick with you, and you make it back to the top again, and that's what we did.

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