During a November 11 appearance on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, legendary German guitarist Michael Schenker was asked if he had been invited to participate in SCORPIONS’ upcoming 60th-anniversary concert, set for July 5, 2025, at the Heinz Von Heiden Arena in Hannover. Schenker responded candidly (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET), revealing the complexities of his relationship with his brother Rudolf, the SCORPIONS’ guitarist.
“No,” Michael replied, before adding with a laugh, “I just know that I have been a very big part of creating Rudolf as a musician. I don’t think he would have gotten there without me, and maybe it was the same the other way around. But the thing is, I have to protect myself from Rudolf. Every time he wants to do something with me or whenever they want to do something big and they need my name, he misuses me. And it’s really sad that he keeps doing that.”
Michael went on to explain that his complicated relationship with his brother has been marked by years of mistreatment. “He’s seven years older than me,” Michael shared. “He’s a bully. He’s been abusive to me for many, many years. He has distorted my image for a long time, and he just acts like nothing ever happened. I’ve asked other people, ‘Hey, how does your older brother treat you?’ and they’ve told me, ‘Oh, exactly the same.’ I think it’s just what they do—they think they own you, that they can do whatever they want. I’m seven years younger, so to him, I’m just ‘his little brother,’ nobody, blah, blah, blah.”
Michael expressed his confusion and frustration with the situation, admitting he doesn’t fully understand what motivates his brother’s actions. “I have no idea how these people think or how their brains work, but the fact is I helped jumpstart the SCORPIONS, and they’ve forgotten about it,” he continued. “It’s not the SCORPIONS that are the bad guys — or at least nobody is really the bad guy. It’s just that Rudolf is a crazy, weird person. I don’t know what drives him, but I don’t want to be connected to that. Every time I give in and say, ‘Okay, I’ll do something with Rudolf,’ he either abuses me or disrespects me in some way. I don’t know why he keeps doing this, but it’s very strange. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. And I don’t know why it’s so important for him to be bigger than his little brother.”
