SCORPIONS Guitarist RUDOLF SCHENKER Speaks To ZED! ENTERTAINMENT ITALY (Video)

Zed! Entertainment Italy conducted an interview with guitarist Rudolf Schenker of German hard rock veterans SCORPIONS earlier today (Friday, July 18) ahead of the band's performance at the Hydrogen festival in Padova, Italy. You can now watch the chat below.

In a new interview with Deutsche Welle, Schenker along with his bandmates, SCORPIONS singer Klaus Meine and lead guitarist Matthias Jabs, were asked what changed their minds about retiring after announcing in 2010 that they would end their career following a three-year farewell tour.

"When you start a three-year farewell tour, you know you've got a long time ahead of you," Meine said. "But that long period went by much faster than we imagined. The closer we got to the goal — Munich in December 2012 — the stronger the feeling was that we hadn't come to the end at all. There were so many images in our minds and so many emotions in our hearts. Everything we experienced between 2010 and 2012, the 200 concerts — it was all so powerful. You stand on stage, look down and see so many fans — including the younger generation, who are really getting into it and saying: 'Guys, this is so cool. We're seeing you for the first time. When will you be back?' It's so motivating and inspiring to play for three generations. We're all having too much fun to put down the guitars."

"The success of the farewell tour bowled us over," Schenker added. "When you see you've got a whole new generation in front of you — lots of 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds — then you get a whole new kick out of it. Essentially, we announced the farewell tour because we didn't want to be standing on stage and not able to deliver what people expected from us."

"At first, there were plenty of arguments in favor of stopping," said Jabs. "But we were quickly overshadowed by the feeling of how much fun it all is. It doesn't matter where we went, the shows were packed — in South America, the U.S., throughout Europe. So, we just thought: This can't really be the end."

Meine told Classic Rock magazine in January 2013 that extending SCORPIONS' current tour was "a gradual decision," explaining, "It's one thing to say, 'This is going to be the end of the SCORPIONS' and another to do it." He went on to describe the band's 2010 album, "Sting In The Tail", as "such a success that a whole new generation of fans joined the party." Meine added: "It was amazing. And you know that with all the best parties it's sometimes hard to find the door?"

Jabs echoed those sentiments in a 2012 interview, telling AZCentral.com: "We called it the farewell tour thinking — believing — it would be the last time we would play the U.S.A., that wherever we played, that would be the last time. But the tour is still going, due to demand from the audience and promoters."

SCORPIONS' latest release, "MTV Unplugged", was made available in North America on January 21 via Sony International. Material for the set was taken from the band's first-ever "MTV Unplugged" show and features new acoustic versions of best-loved classic hits, as well as five brand new songs. "MTV Unplugged" is available in two formats — a standard CD and a deluxe version featuring CD + DVD. "MTV Unplugged" was released in 50 countries, a testament to the German band's iconic status worldwide.