Scorpions vocalist Klaus Meine revealed during a recent conversation with Classic Rock that Eddie Van Halen mentioned Scorpions’ influence on Van Halen.
German band Scorpions have impacted the rock music scene with the glam, hard rock, and heavy metal sounds since their career began in 1965. The band has become one of the best-selling heavy metal and hard rock bands by selling more than 100 million records.
Thanks to their worldwide success, Scorpions were a significant inspiration for 1980s rock and heavy metal bands. Guns N’ Roses, Def Leppard, and Skid Row were the only three who had inspirations from the band.
Many musicians have talked about Scorpions’ success in the rock scene. In a previous interview, Skid Row guitarist Dave Sabo counted Scorpions as one of the most influential bands and added that they did not receive the attention they deserved.
Another name that Scorpions inspired was Eddie Van Halen, as Klaus Meine revealed in a recent conversation. According to Meine, Van Halen closed to Scorpions after the show in Hamburg and said that the band was an inspiration for them to play Scorpions’ songs in the clubs. Klaus indicated his admiration for Van Halen and said they had a respectful bond. The vocalist also expressed his sadness about Van Halen’s unexpected death.
Klaus Meine explained:
“Eddie’s son Wolfgang will be our special guest for our German dates in the summer, so we still feel connected in that way. When Van Halen played for the first time in Germany, they were supporting Black Sabbath. In Hamburg, Eddie was coming down after they played. They saw us in the audience and were like: ‘Hey Scorpions!’
He said: ‘You have no idea that we were inspired by you so very much. And in the early days, when we played the clubs in LA, we were playing your songs.’ When we played at the US festival together, they were just an amazing band, on top of their game. I don’t want to say it was a friendship, but it was very respectful both ways. Eddie has gone way, way too early. It’s very sad.”
Throughout their career over fice decades, Scorpions proved their success in the rock music scene by receiving many awards and inspiring impactful names. As Klaus Meine revealed in the interview, Eddie Van Halen was one of these names.
