Scorpions (band)

The Scorpions are a German hard rock/heavy metal band formed in Hanover in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker. The longest-running and most successful line-up of the band included Schenker, Klaus Meine (vocals), Matthias Jabs (lead guitar), Francis Buchholz (bass), and Herman Rarebell (drums), and lasted from 1978 to 1992. The band's only continuous member has been Schenker, although Meine has been with the band continuously since 1969, while Jabs has been a consistent member since 1978 and bassist Paweł Mąciwoda and drummer Mikkey Dee have been in the band since 2003 and 2016, respectively. The band's debut album, Lonesome Crow (1972), featured Schenker's younger brother Michael on lead guitar, before he departed to join UFO. He was replaced by Uli Jon Roth, who played with the band on their next four studio albums, Fly to the Rainbow (1974), In Trance (1975), Virgin Killer (1976) and Taken by Force (1977), and their first live album Tokyo Tapes (1978).