Throughout their 50-year history, Scorpions have undergone numerous lineup changes. Early in the band's career, after the release of the album Lonesome Crow (1972), Michael Schenker left the group, one of the most difficult separations for Klaus Meine .
In an interview with Scorpions Brazil , the vocalist recalled the departure of Rudolf . At the time, Michael "saved the tour" for UFO by playing with Scorpions, the opening act, and replacing a guitarist from the headliners who had passport problems.
“I think one of the [changes] that touched me the most was right at the beginning, when we were a new band and had just recorded our first album,” Meine said. “He played with us, the opening band, and with the headliners UFO. And then he went to London to join UFO, which became very popular. And Michael wrote wonderful songs and left his old friends behind in Germany.”
Even though he was happy for the unique opportunity for his friend, Meine was disheartened after the separation. “And without a doubt, we wish him the best of luck in England. In the 1970s, for a German musician to have the chance to go to London was a dream,” the singer continued. “It wasn’t a bad atmosphere, but when I look back, it was right when we started and someone left the band. It was positive, but it was like a cut. I remember thinking, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore’”.
Despite the public spats with his older brother, Michael has fond memories of the early days of Scorpions and recorded the band's first album at the age of 15, as he told Wikimetal a few years ago in a spectacular interview. “I was 15 when we recorded it and it was released probably a year or two later. I remember almost everything,” Michael recounted. “And it took us seven days, we were in the studio in Hamburg and we were all prepared. We made the album and not long after we heard it on the radio, it was an incredible experience.”
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