Scorpions singer - Klaus Meine hopes for a new "wind of change"
Around 30 years after the global success of the song "Wind of Change", Scorpions singer Klaus Meine is sobered by the current world situation with wars and the rise of right-wing extremism. He is angry, frustrated and sad because he has the feeling that time is being turned back again, the 75-year-old told the German Press Agency in Munich. "We hope for 2024 that the wind will change again and that the new year will bring lasting peace." He dreams that the killings and all their victims will stop, "not only in Ukraine or Israel, but also in the Gaza Strip, where many innocent people also lose their lives".
On Tuesday evening, the German band, which has enjoyed success all over the world, was honored in Munich with the Signs Award for its life's work. The event was held under the motto "Wind of positive change", an allusion to the song that accompanied the upheaval in the Soviet Union in 1990 under its then president and later Nobel Peace Prize winner Mikhail Gorbachev and celebrated the end of the Cold War. When the Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1990, the song became the anthem of an entire generation. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine under Vladimir Putin, however, the Scorpions rewrote the song to show solidarity.
"It was basically just a small window of time at the end of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s through which the wind of change blew and people could have hope for a peaceful future between West and East," said Meine. He and his band colleagues saw themselves as bridge builders. "Our music has always brought people in all parts of the world together, they sang along to our songs so passionately at our concerts. It was a feeling that we are all people on one planet and are so similar." The reality is different: "The reality is what's on the news in the evening."
Meine called for vigilance: "We have to make sure that what makes Germany what it is and what we grew up with as the post-war generation is preserved: a stable democracy," he demanded. "Democracy must never be lost, and this is also an appeal to the younger generation, who did not experience the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall. We must not forget that it is worth fighting for freedom and democracy."
Music gives the star, who lives near Osnabrück, hope. "Music is always something like soul food, food for the soul." The fact that bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones are successful again also gives him hope. "Music can build bridges and connect people, across all political divides, we might all find ourselves listening to a Beatles song or a Stones song and say, now let's think about it."
Scorpions Wind of Change Scorpions for Ukraine - Wind of Change 2022 Signs Award
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- Klaus Meine, the Scorpions singer, expresses his concern about the rise of right-wing extremism and wars in the current global situation, reminiscing the global success of their song "Wind of Change."
- The German Press Agency interviewed Meine in Munich, Bavaria, where the Scorpions were honored with the Signs Award for their life's work, under the theme "Wind of positive change."
- The Soviet Union witnessed change during the end of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s, with Mikhail Gorbachev's leadership, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the song "Wind of Change" serving as an anthem for the generation.
- Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine under Vladimir Putin, the Scorpions revised their song to express solidarity with Ukraine.
- Klaus Meine considers the time of change a brief window, emphasizing the role of Scorpions as bridge builders, uniting people across the world through music.
- He reflects on the contrast between the passionate connection at concerts and the harsh reality depicted in the news, wishing for the preservation of a stable democracy in Germany.
- Meine encourages vigilance and appreciates the power of music, like Beatles and Rolling Stones, to connect people and promote positive change, despite political divides.
- Scorpions' song "Wind of Change" resonated once again in 2022, with the band releasing their new song "Scorpions Wind of Change for Ukraine," highlighting their solidarity and hope for change in difficult times.
Source: www.stern.de
