German rockers Scorpions performed at Starlite Festival in Marbella. Credit: Starlite
by Kirk Blows
German rockers Scorpions drew on all their experience in a bid to carve their name into the Marbella quarry that provides the location for the latest Starlite Occident festival with a thunderous set on Monday, July 21.
After 19 studio albums and more than 5,000 live performances, the veteran quintet have earned the right to celebrate their long history, with their current tour being billed as their 60th anniversary (although their first record didn’t appear until 1972).
In songs such as ‘Coming Home’, ‘Bad Boys Running Wild’, ‘The Zoo’, ‘Loving You Sunday Morning’ and epic instrumental ‘Coast To Coast’, they proved they still have plenty of power in the engine room.
And fans of a certain vintage will have appreciated the mid-1970s medley of ‘Top Of The Bill’/‘Steamrock Fever’/‘Speedy’s Coming’/‘Catch Your Train’, although it’s later, lighter-waving ballads such as ‘Wind Of Change’ and ‘Send Me An Angel’ that have exposed them to a more mainstream audience.
Emphasising one’s longevity can be a double-sided coin, however, for while guitarists Rudolph Schenker and Matthias Jabs keep the fire burning (along with bassist Pawel Maciwoda and former Motorhead drummer Mikkey Dee), diminutive frontman Klaus Meine – one of the great hard rock vocalists at his peak but now 77 years of age – was clearly struggling.
Indeed, he told the crowd, “You’re singing much better than me tonight.”
The band closed out their 90-minute set with an encore of early ’80s favourites ‘Blackout’ and ‘Rock You Like A Hurricane’ with a giant scorpion (no, not a real one) providing the theatrical backdrop in true Spinal Tap fashion.
Klaus may have ‘Rock & Roll Forever’ emblazoned on the back of his jacket and it’s a noble sentiment, but for a band that has created a wonderful legacy and still knows what it needs to do to thrill – musically at least – the sad reality is that the finishing line surely can’t be too far away.
Other Starlite Occident events include Will Smith (July 26), the Beach Boys (July 28), Santana (August 3), Tom Jones (August 5) and Texas (August 11)…
Read the full article here
