Scorpions back in India after 18 years; hope to celebrate 'love, peace and rock and roll'

Guitarist Matthias Jabs still remembers how he tried to learn sitar when he and fellow Scorpions band members -- founder-guitarist Rudolf Schenker and vocalist Klaus Meine -- toured India in 2007.

The German hard rock band is back and all the members are looking forward to collect many such memories when they perform in Shillong on April 21, Delhi-NCR on April 24, Bengaluru on April 26 and in Mumbai on April 30 as part of their Coming Home tour, produced and promoted by BookMyShow Live.

"We have great memories from playing in India almost 20 years ago. We played in Shillong, Mumbai... and we're going to play again in those cities this time around. The audience is fantastic, it's a rock audience and we have best memories. And now, since it's such a long time ago, we expect to play to a new generation also because it's almost 20 years ago and it's time for us to come back now," Jabs told PTI in an interview.

On their 60th anniversary tour, the band, which gave all-time rock hits like "Rock You Like a Hurricane", "Wind of Change", "Still Loving You", "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel", was founded in Hanover in 1965 by Schenker.

"When we were in Mumbai, I went on a day off to a music store and I bought sitar and started learning it. But I realized it's not easy. It's very difficult and you have to sit down in a certain way, which I'm not used to, because we are running around on stage with our guitars. But it was a nice experience and the very nice people in that music store tried to help me learn the instrument as a sort of a beginner," Jabs said.

Schenker, Meine and Jabs have been with the band for the longest time with bassist Paweł Mąciwoda and drummer Mikkey Dee joining in the past decades.

Asked what was the secret to their longevity and success as one of the longest surviving bands ever, Schenker attributed it to their chemistry.

"You have to make sure that the chemistry in the band is the right chemistry, because out of this chemistry, the music comes out and that's a very important point. You have lots of things to say by travelling around the world and that's what we as a band (do)...

"Also playing in India was a very outstanding kind of challenge and inspiration and that was fantastic and that makes the music even better because out of this inspiration, we had enough possibilities to write more great songs and getting more and more fans into our fan base," Schenker, who visited the country in 2012 again, said.

Meine also has fond memories of their trip to Shillong and how people there welcomed the band.

"I think it was for the children, they had a day off in school because it was such a big event in the city of Shillong and we played a big stage and the stage was made out of bamboo. And it was an amazing concert, people were so excited and we're looking very much forward to come back there," he said.

"Wind of Change", the band's 1990 hit that celebrated the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall, was written at a different time.

How would they respond to a world in crisis today?

Meine, who penned and composed the number, said all they can do is hope for peace.

"Well the world has changed, like 35 years ago, the window for peace and freedom was wide open. But unfortunately, now the clock is ticking backwards. And after all, 'Wind of Change' is still like a peace anthem and three generations around the world sing along when we play that song.

"We all hope that there will be a peaceful world and we can live in peace with our neighbours and it's difficult times. But I'm sure when we come back to India, all the fans in front of the stage will sing along with us and celebrate love, peace and rock and roll," he said.