Michael Schenker (guitarist for UFO and early Scorpions) has again spoke out at his brother and Scorpions guitarist Rudolf Schenker, telling Nuclear Blast Records on how the Scorpions came to be (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar):
[metalwani_content_ad]
“Scorpions vocalist Klaus Meine was Rudolf’s favorite singer, but Rudolf can’t really play guitar so he had nothing to offer to get him. So he sent his little brother, who was doing pretty well.
“Klaus, great singer. We had the potential of becoming the next Robert Plant and Jimmy Page or something like that. [Laughs] And Rudolf was watching it, if his vehicle for success was ready.
“Basically, Rudolf calculated everything. He is the mastermind behind putting something together that he is not actually suitable for as a musician. But he knew how to dance and make it look like he was playing an important part.
“But really, what he was doing – his vision was to figure out how to become successful like The Rolling Stones or Elvis Presley. He couldn’t do it by himself but he was looking for people who could do it for him.
[metalwani_content_ad]
“I think he was very pissed off when I didn’t join the Scorpions because America was going crazy about that situation. When I left, I had to force myself away from the Scorpions because I was only asked to help. But when I did my part, they didn’t want to let me go.”