Flashback Interview: SCORPIONS (1989): “We Don’t Want To Shock People, We Want Strong Artwork That Fits Our Music”

For this flashback interview, step back to Oslo, January 1989. Scorpions are in the middle of the Savage Amusement world tour, fresh from making history as one of the first hard rock bands to storm Russia and sell out ten nights in Leningrad with 15,000–20,000 fans a night. In this unearthed interview they talk about bringing their high-energy show back to Norway, why the Scorpions’ “sting” needs both big stadiums and sweaty clubs, and what Savage Amusement really means – from provocative album covers and banned videos in America to the artwork’s mix of beauty and bite. They dig into bootleg culture and the black market behind the Iron Curtain, losing money but gaining a generation of Russian fans who learned every song from copied tapes, and their mission to use rock and roll as a universal language to bring East and West closer together. You’ll also hear them reflect on life as world travelers, the insanity of Monsters of Rock stadium shows in 40-degree heat, writing new material on the road, and looking for a new producer as they close the Dieter Dierks chapter and open the next era of the band.