People - Scorpions singer 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 Hanover, 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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- In response to the current rise of right-wing extremism and ongoing conflicts, Klaus Meine, the singer of the German band Scorpions, expressed his frustration and sadness during an interview with the German Press Agency in Munich.
- The Scorpions were honored in Munich on Tuesday evening with the Signs Award for their lifelong contributions to music, under the theme "Wind of positive change."
- Meine recalled that the song "Wind of Change" played a significant role during the upheaval in the Soviet Union in 1990, leading to the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
- The Scorpions rewrote their iconic song to show solidarity after Russia's invasion of Ukraine under Vladimir Putin.
- Meine emphasized that the 1980s and 1990s was a rare window of opportunity for peace between West and East, and that the Scorpions saw themselves as bridge builders through their music.
- The band's music, he said, has always brought people together, regardless of their location, as they sang along passionately to their songs during concerts.
- Meine urged vigilance for preserving democracy and freedom, mentioning the historical context of the post-war generation in Germany.
- The singer also highlighted the hope that music, particularly from successful bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, can build bridges and connect people, regardless of their political beliefs.
- In Lower Saxony, Meine, who lives near Hanover, continues to find solace in music as soul food, serving as a reminder that it can unite people across political divides and promote understanding.
Source: www.stern.de
