This year sees Schenker celebrating 50 years in the business, and as part of the celebrations, he has revisited his classic years with UFO by re-recording some of the group’s greatest hits for a newly released album, My Years With UFO, which sees him collaborating with some of rock’s greatest musicians such as Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose and Slash, Deep Purple’s Roger Glover and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider to name but a few.
“I bumped into a few of them personally myself,” Schenker says, explaining how he ended up with an esteemed list of guest musicians for the album.
“How Axl Rose came to sing on one of the tracks was purely through happenstance.
“Slash had come over to the studio to play on a song and told me that he had told Axl he was going to be working with me.
“When Axl heard that, he asked if he could sing a song as well.
“So, Axl ended up singing three songs on the album sessions: Only You Can Rock Me, Too Hot To Handle and Love To Love.
“But because he’s a perfectionist, he wasn’t happy with his performance on Only You Can Rock Me and Too Hot To Handle. He decided to focus on one song, Love To Love, taking his time until he was happy with it.
“And once that happened, he only allowed that song to be included.”
Schenker affirms that much of his song catalogue with UFO started out as instrumentals before lyrics were added later.
“Songs such as Doctor, Doctor and Love To Love all began as instrumental pieces,” he says.
“Then Phil Mogg, the singer with UFO, would hear my instrumentals and would be inspired to turn them into songs with vocals.”
While Schenker has a dedicated following worldwide and a fan base in Australia, our country is one place he’s never visited. When asked why, Schenker muses philosophically.
“Maybe if it was meant to be, it would have happened,” he says.
“And while it’s certainly a long way to come, I’d love to tour Australia if the opportunity still presented itself.”
Schenker’s passion for the guitar and his music is evident, having been integral to his art for the past 50 years.
“To be myself and to express myself has been my greatest lesson,” he says.
“I’m very happy that I’ve lasted for 50 years, as it was definitely my mission.
“So, I’m very happy that I did it and I couldn’t be more happier.
“It’s so fulfilling to be able to do something like that.
“I was really convinced it had to be my life.”
For more info on Michael Schenker, visit michaelschenkerhimself.com
Music news
Kylie Minogue has announced a world tour for 2025. The ‘Tension Tour’ will see her performing shows in Australia in February and March. Minogue’s last tour was in 2019. And speaking of Kylie, her new album, Tension II, hit the streets on October 18.
For country music fans, a new album from Australia’s King of Country, the late, great Slim Dusty, hits the streets on October 4. Titled Gone Truckin’, it collects 24 songs about trucking, drawn from all eras of Slim’s illustrious and prolific recording career.
This week, Aussie country star and ARIA Hall-of-Famer Kasey Chambers announced a huge Australian tour for 2025 ahead of the release of her 13th album, Backbone, which is out on October 4. The 30-date tour kicks off in January and will take in capital cities and regional centres over a five-month period.
Is new music from Guns N’ Roses on its way? According to the group’s bassist, Duff McKagan, fans can expect new music from the group “sooner than later”.
The recent trend of rock and pop artists going country continues, with Gwen Stefani going down that route on her upcoming new album, Bouquet, due on November 15.
Also releasing a new studio album is Franz Ferdinand, with the Scottish group’s sixth outing, The Human Fear, due on January 10.
The view from here
Onstage dramas and altercations among band members have become more frequent in recent years. In the past, one would never have seen such display of unprofessional behaviour onstage, no matter whether it was fuelled by animosity between band members, or any personal issues a musician may had been dealing with. Whatever the scenario, it was always kept away from the stage and dealt with in a private manner, away from the prying eyes of fans.
But now, sadly, it’s becoming a bit too common. The latest display occurred last week when ’90s alter-rockers Jane’s Addiction ended their show in Boston with a brawl. Mid-set through the group’s performance on their current North American trek, lead vocalist Perry Farrell began jabbing guitarist Dave Navarro before it escalated to the point where Farrell threw a punch at Navarro, leading to the band’s crew restraining Farrell and forcing him offstage.
In the aftermath, the band cancelled the rest of the tour, and the incident most likely spelled the end of the group. A statement released later by the group cited “a continuing pattern of behaviour and mental health issues” as to the cause of the onstage drama. But could this incident be representative of something that is happening on a larger scale and on a deeper level? A reflection of the turmoil musicians and artists are experiencing from the current state of the music industry, which itself is in turmoil? What occurred last week was a cry for help. The mental health of musicians must be given utmost priority of care, or else it will only lead to further episodes. And possibly, the next time it could end a lot more tragically.
This week’s global classical music album charts
United Kingdom: No.1: Islands: Essential Einaudi — Ludovico Einaudi
United States: No.1: Genesis — The Spiritual Ensemble
Australia: No.1: In A Landscape — Max Richter
Fun fact
Belinda Carlisle’s 1989 hit song Leave a Light On, which peaked at No.5 on the Australian music chart, features the slide guitar playing of the late George Harrison from The Beatles for the song’s guitar solo.
Joe Matera is a local singer-songwriter, recording artist, guitarist and music journalist providing readers with all the latest music news.
