Uli Jon Roth recently joined a conversation with Eonmusic and shared how he feels about Scorpions’ huge success without his contribution.
In the earlier part of the interview, the guitarist said that he enjoyed his time in the Scorpions, and their parting was not personal; it was purely about his artistic choices. He wanted to give his full attention to his Electric Sun band, and although he could have done both, he didn’t want to spread himself too thin. When the host reminded him of his decision to leave and how he felt when he saw Scorpions become a successful stadium act in America during the 1980s, he explained:
“It all passed me by because in the ’80s, I was in my own creative bubble in the south of England near Brighton, and I didn’t take much notice of what was going on in America and with the corporate rock scene. I heard the Scorpions were successful, but I didn’t really follow up on any of it.”
He further reflected on his reaction to his former band’s achievements after him:
“I didn’t really listen to any of the albums, etc. It was a part of my life, which back then, I had left completely behind. I just did my own thing and was quite content in my own Electric Sun bubble, which lasted till 1985. Then, in 1986, I started to go purely into the classical realm, starting to write concertos and stuff like that, and that occupied me for many years.”
Sharing why Scorpions’ success didn’t concern him much, the musician lastly added:
“Then I was even further removed from that mainstream, and quite frankly, back then, if I think back what did I feel like, I kind of chuckled and I thought, ‘Well, they’re doing fine,’ but it didn’t really interest me. Maybe it sounds a little weird, but I had my own life, and that was fine. I didn’t have any desire.”
Roth replaced Michael Schenker when he joined the band in the early 1970s. In a recent appearance on ‘Monsters, Madness and Magic,’ Klaus Meine disclosed that they hired Uli back then with the recommendation of Michael, and they were pretty satisfied with Roth’s contribution to the band.
