Gun smoke instead of “Wind Of Change”: The Scorpions go on tour with a version of their world hit that was changed by the Ukraine war. For singer Klaus Meine it is also an opportunity to take stock.
The end of the song came with brutal consequence. For thirty years the Scorpions ballad “Wind Of Change” resounded through concert halls in Moscow, Siberia and St. Petersburg. Then, on February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. The message of peace that had become music was gone with the wind. The Scorpions canceled planned concerts in Russia and rewrote the song.
“I don’t see that we will perform again in Russia,” says Scorpions singer Klaus Meine in an interview with the German Press Agency. “Not in the foreseeable future. That’s sad. But you have to draw your own conclusions from reality.”
For Meine, “Wind Of Change” was also a promise of peace between East and West. “It broke with the terrible war.” His thoughts are with Ukraine. “When the war is over, we will hopefully give a peace concert at the Maidan in Kiev.”
Anthem of the turning point of 1989
“Wind Of Change” expresses the longing for freedom almost 35 years ago in East and West. For many, the five-minute and ten-second song is the anthem of the turning point in 1989. Meine changed a few lines. “After the start of this unjustifiable war, we asked ourselves whether we could still play the song. Now it shows our solidarity with Ukraine instead of romanticizing Russia as we used to.” Instead of “I follow the Moskva down to Gorky Park” it says “Now listen to my heart, it says Ukrainia”.
Mine was in the Bundeswehr, 18 months with Panzergrenadiers, 1968/69 in Schwanewede. “I don’t regret going through with it, it was the split between my apprenticeship as a decorator and my life as a musician. Many who made fun of the Bundeswehr may now look at it differently.”
Is he afraid of a nuclear war? Mine hesitates. “We are all afraid that the war will escalate,” he says with a serious undertone. “But that shouldn’t tempt us to slack off in our support for Ukraine, because what comes next could be worse than what’s happening now.”
The Scorpions will be on tour with their new record “Rock Believer” from April 8th and will be coming to Germany via South America and France in May. “We’re looking forward to the German fans and will arrive well warmed up,” says Meine. There was no guarantee that the record would hit fans and critics like that. “But we were able to take our time because of the pandemic. Many are probably surprised at what the old gentlemen have concocted.”
For music expert Frank Laufenberg, the band’s success is also based on diligence. “When I first met the Scorpions, they came on an old band bus and had an album that wasn’t bad, but you didn’t break down either,” says the moderator. “But they were a unit. People who had a goal – and that’s missing from artists who give up easily.” The band had always been misjudged. “These are good musicians who always had a goal in mind. They pursued it with incredible vehemence. They never stopped believing in themselves.”
Klaus Meine turns 75
On May 25, Meine will be 75 years old. How does he look at it? “Of course you know that the distance in front of you is shorter than the distance behind you. But I’m happy that I can go a little further on this ‘long and winding road’,” says Meine. He let the day come to him. “Shortly before that we’ll be performing in Berlin. My son lives there, maybe there’ll be a dinner with family, friends and the band.”
From Hanover to everywhere: How did this career succeed? Marcus S. Kleiner, Professor of Media and Communication Studies at the SRH Berlin University of Applied Sciences, says: “They started out very German as Nameless and as a krautrock band they weren’t really anything special.” When they changed into Scorpions, the musicians “shed their Germanness” and became international.
“This at a moment when hard rock and heavy metal were still quite new and had become internationally successful music,” says the book author (“Bruce Springsteen”). “It was at the right time.”
Professor Udo Dahmen from the Mannheim Pop Academy sees it similarly. “Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker were convinced with an iron will that the world wanted to hear their hard rock. They had a clear compass, we want to do it – and they succeeded.”
Dahmen understands the rewriting of “Wind Of Change”. “Each song has its conditions in the time in which it was created. The Ukraine war destroys everything the song stands for.”
What balance does mine draw? Would young Klaus be happy with the older one? “I think so,” says the musician thoughtfully. “The young Klaus dreamed of going through life as a singer and playing concerts with his friends all over the world. I could imagine that he would be very happy with the older Klaus.”