Igor Sandler revealed the reason for the “squeal” Klaus Meine
[ad_1]
Klaus Meine – the legendary vocalist of the Scorpions and my great friend – is 75 years old! And for more than 50 years, this talented musician has been delighting his fans with a unique voice and incredible performances. I am infinitely happy that fate once brought me together with this wonderful, talented person and gave me many hours of incredible communication, filled not only with our common passion for rock music, but also with a rich human dimension. Klaus is an amazing person, a passionate professional to the marrow of his bones, an esthete, a kind man, a merry fellow…
And, of course, the historical mission that befell the Scorpions is forever imprinted in the rock chronicle – it was their 10 sold-out concerts in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in 1988 that were the first stadium shows of a Western rock band in the history of the USSR, opening a completely new era of freedom and integration of the country and its music scene into the modern world cultural process. And no matter how history zigzags later, that starting point of a great and wonderful journey remains an indisputable fact of history.
I met Klaus Meine several times, we also held press conferences of the Scorpions group in Moscow, and there were times when these visits and concerts were so regular that the group was quite deservedly recognized as genuine folk artists, albeit informally, but exactly what according to truly popular recognition and human rumor. Journalists also liked to use this stamp in their reports, reviews and chronicles, sometimes with a bit of irony, but it was the same kind irony that only emphasized the true meaning of the definition.
We talked a lot and talked about music, childhood, Klaus said that from a very early age he showed interest in music in general, but first of all in vocals. At the age of 10, his parents, noticing the boy’s passion, bought him his first guitar. Then he began to take vocal lessons. But the technique of one of his vocal teachers interested me very much – when Klaus could not take a note, the teacher pricked him with a needle, not strongly, but sensitively. It was, of course, an original method on the part of the teacher, but, to put it mildly, not very pleasant for the student. “From then on, I began to squeal so that now the whole world trembles. Thanks to this teacher! – Klaus joked, telling jokes from his childhood.
One day, my sister gave young Klaus records of Elvis Presley and Little Richard, and for the guy this was a turning point in his life, forever falling in love with rock and roll and then determining his entire future fate and professional career. When I showed him 11 original Elvis Presley negatives that Barry White’s wife gave me after his death, Klaus opened his eyes wide, he could not understand how such rare photos and negatives could be “hidden” in Russia, and not located somewhere. either at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Museum or in a private expensive collection in the West. Well, as a gift, I nevertheless gave him the Rock Archive vinyl, released in the 80s, with a red cover that reproduced the negative with Elvis Presley, which he was very happy about, since for collectors it was a true rarity. Incidentally, it remains so to this day.
Another fact of his biography: in the early 80s, during the recording of the Blackout album, Klaus seriously injured his vocal cords, he was already about to leave the group, but his childhood friend and part-time Scorpions guitarist Rudolf Schenker persuaded him to still stay in the group: they say, go to the doctors, suddenly cured. Recording of the album has been postponed. Klaus had an operation, but after some time the wound became inflamed again, after which he had to undergo another operation. What now fits into a few lines of text has been a real life test for many months. As a result, the voice returned to Klaus, the wound was healed, the record was recorded, and, which, I think, is very important, it is the Blackout album that is considered one of the most successful in the group’s work.
I have a wall in my studio, all hung with photographs of my musician friends – mute, but very expressive and colorful evidence of our meetings, working or friendly, joint trips, festivals. I jokingly call it the Wailing Wall or the Iconostasis. Seeing on this wall a photo of Brian May and Roger Taylor, Klaus spoke about his admiration for Freddie Mercury, about his great love for the Queen group, that in 2009 at a concert in memory of Freddie Mercury (on the 20th anniversary of his death) Klaus sang Love Of My Life. In a poignant ballad, then the power and sensuality of Klaus himself and the great Freddie surprisingly converged at one point.
Of course, not only the famous 10 full houses in Leningrad in the SCC, but also the legendary “Peace Festival” in 1989 at the Grand Sports Arena in Luzhniki, which for the Russian public became a genuine and unheard-of holiday, cannot be ignored. In those days of perestroika, everything changed very quickly. Not only was the ban on the performance of the Scorpions in Moscow canceled (because of which they gave their premiere concerts a year earlier only in Leningrad), but for the first time, Ozzy Osbourne, Bon Jovi, Сinderella, Aerosmith, Skid Row, previously unthinkable in the local “interiors” arrived, Motley Crue, Scorpions…
Klaus Meine, with incredible inspiration and delight, told me about his meeting with Mikhail Gorbachev, who gave them a private tour of the Kremlin, about the time of change that Europe so enthusiastically met, about the hopes for new better times, which became the leitmotif of himself, perhaps, the main hit in the history of the Scorpions – the lyric-epic ballad Wind Of Change (“Wind of Change”).
The Peace Festival has become a truly unique event. Ozzy Osbourne poured water on the front rows of spectators, which was absolutely incredible for Soviet people who were used to performances by stiff VIA in identical suits with carefully ironed arrows… It’s funny that it was the Scorpions technicians who were responsible for the sound at this festival. Klaus recalled how Ozzy cursed at them after the monitors suddenly turned off during the concert. Now all this has become just a fun story, and the world around is changing again. I have said many times that music unites, but rock and roll really brings peoples, countries, continents together, therefore our (my and my colleagues’) motto remains for all time – Peace Loves Music!
Newspaper headline:
Why does Klaus Meine squeal so expressively?
[ad_2]
Source link
