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Scorpions recruit Mikkey Dee to fill in on U.S. Dates!

Iconic rockers SCORPIONS will hit the road in May for twelve North American headlining dates with Mikkey Dee formerly of Motörhead sitting in on drums for James Kottak, announced today. Kottak is currently on break while he seeks medical attention. Swedish-born Mikkey Dee joined Motörhead in 1992 and is well-respected among the rock and metal community.

In 2010, Scorpions announced their farewell tour in support of that year’s Sting of the Tail album. Then came 2013’s MTV Unplugged recording and a tour behind that, and the German hard rock band decided it wasn’t done yet. When it released an album in 2015 partially comprising songs it had in the vault from the ’80s, it referenced its non-retirement by naming the set Return to Forever. And as it enters its 51st year as a band, it’s still breaking new ground by doing its first-ever residency and rereleasing a “tour edition” of Return to Forever on Century Media today (April 22) that contains an additional seven new songs and two concert DVDs that were filmed in 2015 at Hellfest in Clisson, France and Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The May U.S. tour, which includes five Las Vegas shows at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, is a continuation of Scorpions’ 50th Anniversary Tour. Guitarist Matthias Jabs tells Billboard, “Managers and promoters from around the world said, ‘Fifty years; you’ve got to do it,’” he recalls. “So we announced that we were done too early. It’s not that we were forced to do this, because we wanted to, but destiny found its own way.”

The Vegas residency is a first for the band. “The fans love it, and when I hear ‘Vegas,’ Elvis comes to mind,” says Jabs with a laugh. “Not that we’re anything like him, but a lot of great artists have played a string of shows for weeks or months or even a year. Our agent came up with the idea, and we’d had an offer before to do it for a whole month. That didn’t work out for whatever reason, but to be able to do five shows, that sounds pretty good to me.”

50 Years On, Scorpions Still Rocking Like Hurricanes: Video Interview

And despite the fact that founding guitarist and sole original member Rudolf Schenker and vocalist Klaus Meine are both 67, Jabs, 60, says it’s not getting any harder for the band to play. “The more you tour, the fitter you feel,” he says. “The old days, we were sitting in the studio for six months. Now we go for two weeks, then we take a break and play a couple shows so we don’t get the trauma of being in the studio for too long. And touring keeps you fit. You’re traveling, you’re running around the stage, you can hit the gym. We always said that as long as The Rolling Stones can do it, we can do it!”

As for the rerelease of Return to Forever, Jabs says it’s a sign of the times. “For decades, we used to release an album and go on the road to promote the album,” he says. “Now it’s the other way around, to a certain extent — you make an album for a reason to go on the road. We love the road the most, but to be able to create new music that still sounds OK for today is a lot of fun. We cannot just do the greatest hits and play the same set list again and again. We need at least a couple of new songs to refresh our minds when we go out.”

Jabs admits that as popular as Scorpions still is, it’s a far cry from the heady days of their ’80s success. “The music we were playing was so accepted and loved by everyone that you heard it in the supermarket,” he remembers. “It was almost elevator music because it was everywhere. Today we have so many different music styles, the rock music we’re making has become like a niche. It’s really hard to get new music across. Whatever we record, whatever we release, the fans might like it, but radio would rather play ‘Rock You Like a Hurricane.'”

There’s no finish line ahead for Scorpions yet, though. Jabs says that they’re booked through the end of 2016, and promoters are already calling them about next year. He knows the group is fortunate, because there are only so many rock bands with their level of box-office draw. “Sooner or later, there will be no more AC/DC, Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, Scorpions and very few other acts from that time that can not only sell out an arena, but with a good package, a stadium. We don’t have any new band from the last 10 or 15 years that can follow in their footsteps. Maybe Coldplay or Muse. They’re different styles, but they could fill a stadium. Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney and those other bands are still up there, but if they die or decide to retire, then I think that promoters have a problem.”

Scorpions’ May 2016 U.S. tour dates:

May 6     Charlotte, N.C.: Carolina Rebellion

May 9     Nashville: Grand Ole Opry

May 10   St. Louis, Mo.: The Fabulous Fox

May 13-14, 18, 20-21 Las Vegas: Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

May 24   El Paso, Texas: Don Haskins Arena

May 25   Albuquerque: Isleta Amphitheater

May 28   Pryor, Okla.: Rocklahoma

May 29   San Antonio: River City Rockfest

Scorpions Fans! Our very own Matthias Jabs will be hosting a Live Facebook Fan Q&A this Wednesday April 20th at 4pm EST (22:00 CET). #Scorpions

On Wednesday, we will do a post similar to this and ask our fans to put their questions in the comments. Matthias will reply in real time in the comments section. Feel free to put some questions in the comments below to get ready for next week!

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/scorpions-we-built-this-house-live/

The “tour edition” of Scorpions‘ Return to Forever LP is due in stores April 22, and the band’s giving fans their first glimpse of the expanded album’s bonus material with this exclusive premiere of a live version of “We Built This House.”

This recording of “We Built This House,” captured during Scorpions’ Sept. 12, 2015, stop at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, represents just a small piece of the extra content added to Return to Forever with the “tour edition.” As previously reported, in addition to the standard version’s 12-song track list, the new version packs in seven bonus cuts, a pair of complete 2015 concerts and a new 15-minute documentary, On the Road in America. Scorpions members Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs also offer commentary during an “extensive track-by-track interview.”

Meanwhile, Scorpions remain on the road for their 50th Anniversary Tour, which is currently scheduled to keep them on stage through late July. Check out “We Built This House” above, take a look at the group’s tour schedule below, and pre-order your copy of the Return to Forever “tour edition.”

Scorpions 50th Anniversary US Tour Dates:
5/06 — Charlotte, N.C.(Festival)

5/07 –   Atlanta, GA. (with Living Colour)

5/09 — Nashville, Tenn.(With Queensryche)

5/10 — St. Louis, Mo.(With Queensryche)

5/13 — Las Vegas, Nev.(With Queensryche)
5/14 — Las Vegas, Nev.(With Queensryche)
5/18 — Las Vegas, Nev.(With Queensryche)
5/20 — Las Vegas, Nev.(With Queensryche)
5/21 — Las Vegas, Nev.(With Queensryche)

5/24 — El Paso, Texas(With Queensryche)

5/25 — Albuquerque, N.M.(With Queensryche)

5/28 — Pryor, Okla.(Festival)

5/29 — San Antonio, Texas(Festival)

One of the most iconic and influential hard rock bands of all-time, Scorpions, are back on the move. After last year’s massive sold-out world tour, the band is back to rock stages even harder. On their gigantic 50th Anniversary World Tour that kicked off in 2015, the group are heading to Eastern Europe in February before returning to the US with an impressive, five-night run at The Joint inside Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and playing even more shows in cities around the globe.

The band’s first release via Century Media Records will be the Tour Edition of Return To Forever, which comes opulently stacked with two brand-new live DVDs and is bound to make fans’ hearts leap for joy. Apart from the standard album’s twelve tracks, the CD contains all seven bonus tracks, which to date, have only been released on special editions of the album. The live DVDs are even more expansive, offering generous bonus material. Look for it everywhere on April 22nd and pre-order here.

Included are two complete concerts from last year: The open air gig at the French Hellfest Festival, where they headlined in June, and their show at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York featuring an impressive guest performance on “No One Like You” by twelve-year-old guitarist Brandon Niederauer.

The brand-new fifteen-minute video documentary On The Road In America by Dennis Dirksen gets to the heart of the matter that the Scorpions are able to consistently attract new generations of fans, who are delighted by their songs, sound and shows. Shot during the current world tour in California and Las Vegas, it gives a voice to fans spanning from teenagers to rock ’n’ roll veterans. The film impressively shows how popular the Scorpions are in the US, and it’s touching to see fans burst into tears while taking photos with the musicians. One highlight is the story of the Ukrainian woman, who at the time used “Wind Of Change” as an impetus to emigrate to the US, and has been a dedicated follower of the band ever since. After all, the Scorpions have not only left their mark on history but continue to influence their fans’ biographies.

In an extensive track-by-track interview, Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs offer a sneak peak into the band’s musical universe with anecdotes about the origin and meaning of the songs on Return To Forever. The Scorpions manage to blend new songs like “Going Out With A Bang”, “We Built This House” and “Rock’n’Roll Band” seamlessly with their fulminant repertoire of rock classics from “Big City Nights” and “Blackout” to “Still Loving You” and “Rock You Like A Hurricane”. This might also be the open secret allowing The Scorpions to continuously approach their live shows with so much freshness, passion and conviction. Fans can look forward to the upcoming gigs – especially because the Tour Edition of Return To Forever is a timely release as the perfect souvenir.

The two DVDs and unreleased material, the tracklisting for the set can be seen below.

CD Disc 1:

“Going Out With A Bang”
“We Built This House”
“Rock My Car”
“House Of Cards”
“All For One”
“Rock ‘N’ Roll Band”
“Catch Your Luck And Play”
“Rollin’ Home”
“Hard Rockin’ The Place”
“Eye Of The Storm”
“The Scratch”
“Gypsy Life”
“The World We Used To Know”
“Dancing With The Moonlight”
“When The Truth Is A Lie”
“Who We Are”
“Crazy Ride”
“One And One Is Three”
“Delirious”

DVD Disc 2 – Live in Brooklyn, NY – September 12, 2015:

“Going Out With A Bang”
“Make It Real”
“The Zoo”
“Coast To Coast”
70s Medley: “Top Of The Bill” / “Steamrock Fever” / “Speedy’s Coming” / “Catch Your Train”
“We Built This House”
“Delicate Dance”
Acoustic Medley: “Always Somewhere” / “Eye Of The Storm” / “Send Me An Angel”
“Wind Of Change”
“Rock’N’Roll Band”
“Dynamite”
“In The Line Of Fire”
“Kottak Attack”
“Blackout”
“No One Like You” Feat. Brandon Niederauer
“Big City Nights”
“Still Loving You”
“Rock You Like A Hurricane”

On The Road In America:

“We Built This House”
“Going Out With A Bang”
“We Built This House”
“Eye Of The Storm”

Return To Forever Track-By-Track Interview
Return To Forever Track-By-Track Interview

DVD Disc 3 – Live at Hellfest, France – June 20, 2015:

“Going Out With A Bang”
“Make It Real”
“The Zoo”
“Coast To Coast”
70s Medley: “Top Of The Bill” / “Steamrock Fever” / “Speedy’s Coming” / “Catch Your Train”
“We Built This House”
“Delicate Dance” (Matthias Solo)
Acoustic Medley: “Always Somewhere” / “Eye Of The Storm” / “Send Me An Angel”
“Wind Of Change”
“Big City Nights”
“Dynamite”
“In The Line Of Fire”
“Kottak Attack”
“Crazy World”
“Rock’N’Roll Band”
“Blackout”
“Still Loving You”
“Rock You Like A Hurricane”

Return To Forever –  Interview
Return To Forever –  Interview