Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

are a German

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band from

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, formed in 1965. The band went through numerous changes in personnel in its early years. Founding by rhythm guitarist

Rudolf Schenker Rudolf Schenker (born 31 August 1948) is a German guitarist and founder of the hard rock band Scorpions. He is the rhythm guitarist, primary songwriter and longest-serving original member of the band. He is also the CEO/owner-manager of the Sco ...

and drummer Wolfgang Dziony; both at that point shared lead vocals. In addition to them, the band also included lead guitarist Karl-Heinz Vollmer and bassist Achim Kirchoff. By 1967, Schenker, realizing that he could not sing and play the guitar at the same time, invited the 15-year-old

Werner Hoyer Werner Hoyer (born 17 November 1951 in Wuppertal) is a German economist and politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) who is currently serving as the President of the European Investment Bank. Education and early career Hoyer graduated as ...

to take the place of the vocalist. At the end of that year, Hoyer and Vollmer left, and their places were soon taken by Bernd Hegner and Ulrich Worobiec, respectively. In the spring of 1968 bass guitarist Achim Kirchoff was replaced by Lothar Heimberg. In late next, 1969 Hegner and Worobiec also left. After that the group settling on a lineup which included lead vocalist Klaus Meine, lead guitarist

Michael Schenker Michael Schenker (born 10 January 1955) is a German guitarist. He played in the rock band UFO and leads the Michael Schenker Group. He was an early member of the hard rock band Scorpions, a band co-founded by his elder brother Rudolf Schenker ...

(Rudolf's younger brother), bass-guitarist Lothar Heimberg and drummer Wolfgang Dziony. It is in this composition that they to record their debut album ''

Lonesome Crow ''Lonesome Crow'' is the debut studio album by the German hard rock band Scorpions. It was recorded soon after Scorpions became a fully professional band under the production of Conny Plank, apparently in only six or seven days, and released 9 F ...

'', released in 1972. Michael Schenker, Heimberg and Dziony all left after the album's release, with Rudolf Schenker and Meine briefly disbanding the group and joining Dawn Road, featuring guitarist

Uli Jon Roth Uli Jon Roth (born Ulrich Roth; 18 December 1954) is a German guitarist who became famous for his work with the hard rock band Scorpions and is one of the earliest contributors to the neoclassical metal genre. He is also the founder of Sky Aca ...

, bass-guitarist

Francis Buchholz Francis Buchholz (born 19 February 1954) is a German musician best known as the bass guitarist of German rock band Scorpions from 1973 until 1992. Since leaving Scorpions he has been a member of Michael Schenker's Temple Of Rock. Biography Born ...

, drummer Jürgen Rosenthal and keyboardist Achim Kirschning; the six-piece later opted to adopt the Scorpions moniker, and in 1974 released ''

Fly to the Rainbow ''Fly to the Rainbow'' is the second studio album by the German hard rock band Scorpions. It was released on 1 November 1974 in the United States through RCA Records. This was their first release with guitarist Uli Jon Roth and bassist Francis ...

''. Rosenthal left after the recording of ''Fly to the Rainbow'', being replaced first by Jürgen Fechter and later by Rudy Lenners, who performed on ''

In Trance IN, In or in may refer to: Places * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Independ ...

'' and '' Virgin Killer''. In 1977, Lenners was replaced by

Herman Rarebell Herman Rarebell (born 18 November 1949 as Hermann Josef Erbel) is a German musician, best known as the drummer for the hard rock band Scorpions from 1977 to 1995, during which time he played on eight studio albums. Aside from playing drums, Rare ...

, whose first recording with the band was ''

Taken by Force ''Taken by Force'' is the fifth studio album by German band Scorpions, released by RCA Records in 1977. This was the first Scorpions album to feature drummer Herman Rarebell and the final studio album to feature guitarist Uli Jon Roth. Roth lef ...

''. Roth left Scorpions the following year, which he has since explained was because he "began getting dissatisfied with the direction of the music" the band were making. Michael Schenker briefly returned to the band after being fired from

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

in late 1978, performing on four tracks for the album ''

Lovedrive ''Lovedrive'' is the sixth studio album by German band Scorpions, released in 1979. Considered by some critics to be the pinnacle of their career, ''Lovedrive'' was a major evolution of the band's sound, exhibiting their "classic style" that wo ...

'', although he was replaced the following year by

Matthias Jabs Matthias Jabs (born 25 October 1955) is a German guitarist and songwriter. He is best known for being the lead guitarist in the hard rock band Scorpions. He has played on all but the first five Scorpions studio albums starting with '' Lovedri ...

who had joined around the same time. The Scorpions lineup of Meine, Rudolf Schenker, Jabs, Buchholz and Rarebell remained constant from 1978 and through the 1980s. After 19 years with the band, bassist Francis Buchholz left Scorpions in 1992. He was replaced by Ralph Rieckermann later in the year. Drummer Rarebell also left three years later, claiming that he was unsatisfied with the band's changing musical direction, and the lack of songwriting input he was able to have in the band. He was replaced in 1996 by

James Kottak James Kottak (born December 26, 1962) is an American drummer. Kottak is best known for his work with the German hard rock band Scorpions, which he joined in 1996. At the time of his firing from the band in 2016, he was their all-time longest-s ...

, after Curt Cress performed on '' Pure Instinct''. Rieckermann left Scorpions in 2003, with

Paweł Mąciwoda Paweł Mąciwoda (; born on 20 February 1967) is a Polish bassist who began playing with the hard rock band Scorpions in 2003 and became an official member in January 2004. Early career Born in Wieliczka, Mąciwoda began playing bass guitar se ...

taking his place early the following year. Former

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

drummer

Mikkey Dee Micael Kiriakos Delaoglou (born 31 October 1963), known professionally as Mikkey Dee, is a Swedish musician, best known as the last drummer for British heavy metal band Motörhead from 1992 until its dissolution in 2015. Dee also played temporari ...

Members

Current

Former

Timeline

Lineups

References

External links