Michael Schenker

Michael Schenker (born January 10, 1955) is a German hard rock and heavy metal guitarist and former member of UFO and a founding member of Scorpions and the Michael Schenker Group (M.S.G). He is the younger brother of Rudolf Schenker, guitarist with Scorpions.

Born in Sarstedt, Germany, Schenker has had a long career that has seen him rise to become one of the most influential and respected rock guitarists working today. He started playing in his early teens when his brother Rudolf brought home a Flying V guitar, which captured Michael's imagination. Schenker debuted with Scorpions on their debut album Lonesome Crow at age 16 and was lauded at the time for his mature technique.

Schenker joined UFO under unusual circumstances. The band left the UK to play some dates in Germany. Their guitarist at the time, Bernie Marsden, forgot his passport and was unable to make the first gig. At the venue UFO spotted Michael playing a soundcheck with the Scorpions and managed to persuade him into playing that evening's show.

Schenker had a turbulent career with UFO, often walking out mid-song and causing shows to be cancelled. Despite having a series of successful albums and tours, Schenker finally left UFO in 1979.

Schenker re-joined the Scorpions in late 1978,when they were recording the album Lovedrive,thus resulting him to contribute lead guitars on 3 songs ("Another Piece Of Meat","Coast To Coast" and "Lovedrive").In 1979,Schenker toured with the band in support for the album but 3 months later,after numerous occasions he could not perform on stage(due to fatigue and alcohol problems),he finally left the band and was permanently replaced by Matthias Jabs(Whom originally joined the scorpions before Schenkers return,and recorded the rest of the lead guitars apart from the 3 Michael played).

Schenker was offered jobs with Aerosmith (detailed in their biography Walk This Way) and Ozzy Osbourne. Osbourne said in a 1982 Hit Parader interview that he did contact Schenker following the death of Randy Rhoads:

It so happens I did contact Michael Schenker, but he wanted a king's ransom before he'd do anything...I don't need that annoyance.

Schenker decided he wanted to play his own music and not be a hired hand for another band. In 1979, he founded the Michael Schenker Group.

Discography

with Scorpions

* Lonesome Crow (1972)
* Lovedrive (1979)

with UFO

* Phenomenon (1974)
* Force It (1975)
* No Heavy Petting (1976)
* Lights Out (1977)
* Obsession (1978)
* Strangers in the Night (1979)
* The Best Of (1992)
* Walk on Water (1995)
* Covenant (2000)
* Sharks (2002)

with Michael Schenker Group/McAuley Schenker Group

* The Michael Schenker Group (1980)
* M.S.G. (1981)
* One Night at Budokan (1981)
* Assault Attack (1982)
* Built To Destroy(1983)
* Rock Will Never Die (1984)
* Perfect Timing (McAuley Schenker Group) (1987)
* Save Yourself (McAuley Schenker Group) (1989)
* M.S.G. (McAuley Schenker Group) (1992)
* Nightmare : The Acoustic M.S.G. (McAuley Schenker Group) (1992)
* M.S.G. Unplugged (McAuley Schenker Group) (1993)
* Written in the Sand (1996)
* The Unforgiven (1999)
* The Unforgiven World Tour (2000)
* Be Aware Of Scorpions (2002)
* Arachnophobiac (2003)
* Heavy Hitters (2005)
* Tales Of Rock'n'Roll (2006)

solo

* Thank You (1993)
* Thank You 2 (1998)
* Adventures of the Imagination (2000)
* The Odd Trio (2000)
* Thank You 3 (2001)
* Dreams And Expressions (2001)
* Thank You 4 (2003)

Other Schenker projects

* Contraband (1991)
* The Plot (2003)
* Under Construction (Schugar/Schenker album) (2003)
* Schenker-Pattison Summit - The Endless Jam (2004)
* Schenker-Pattison Summit - The Endless Jam Continues (2005)

Videography

* Michael Schenker Group - Rock Will Never Die (1984)
* Michael Schenker Group - Live in Tokyo 1997 (1997)
* Michael Schenker Group - World Wide Live 2004 (2004)

See his guitar tips, guitar technique on VDO bar above

Photo from www.guitarlist.it


Read more


Michael Schenker website

Michael Schenker Group - Into The Arena