Scorpions take credit for Vegas rock scene

Kirk Baird

Friday, May 31, 2002 | 9:15 a.m.

What: The Scorpions, Deep Purple, Dio.

When: 8 p.m. today.

Where: Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts.

Admission: $35, $45, $55.

Information: (702) 785-5000.

Call them rock's greatest ambassadors.

The Scorpions -- easily Germany's biggest rock 'n' roll export -- have performed all over the world since forming in 1971.

And, according to lead singer Klaus Meine, it was the band's willingness to play Las Vegas in the early '80s that helped open the city's doors for other rock groups.

"Vegas, for so many years, was always so famous for all these acts, from Dean Martin to Sinatra to the Rat Pack. But for rock acts in the '80s, it was no place to go," Meine said in a recent interview from his home in Hannover, Germany.

"We were among one of the first rock bands that put Vegas on the rock map. When we came to Las Vegas in the '80s, it wasn't like all these bands came here and said, 'This is so cool.' These days everybody goes there for concerts."

Including Deep Purple and Dio, who perform with The Scorpions tonight at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts.

Las Vegas is not the only city to benefit from the band's performances. Meine said in the 1980s The Scorpions were similar to "pioneers" who performed in places where few -- if any -- rock bands had traveled.

"In '88 we went to, what was in those days, the Soviet Union. And in '89 we were part of the Moscow Music Peace Festival. We had the feelings that so many people wanted to be a part of the rest of the world," he said. "There was a whole new generation. They didn't want to hear about communism, but about rock music."

That feeling of witnessing a new political and social movement in the Soviet Union did not abandon Meine. Shortly after leaving Moscow, he went back to Germany and wrote the ballad "Wind of Change."

The song would prove even more prophetic than Meine realized at the time.

"A couple of months later, the Berlin wall came down in November of '89," he said. "So 'Wind of Change,' in a way, became the soundtrack to those political changes."

"Wind of Change" also proved to be a monster hit for The Scorpions, and continued the metal band's success into a third decade, a career built on such hits as "Rock You Like a Hurricane," "Still Loving You," "No One Like You," "Blackout" and "Rhythm of Love."

But as the political climate changed, so did the musical taste of the band's teenage fanbase.

Grunge was in, metal was out.

And so it went for the last decade. Many metal acts called it a career -- or, at the very least, suffered through a considerably lower profile.

But all that is changing, Meine said. Metal is making a comeback.

"From a European point of view, it seems like there is a rock revival going on in the United States," he said. "When tickets (for an upcoming show on this tour) went on sale in Texas, in a couple of hours it was -- BANG! -- and it sold out. It was such a strong reaction from the audience. And that makes us feel very good and welcome back in United States."

Cynics might point out that The Scorpions are performing with Deep Purple and Dio on a triple bill, whereas in the '80s, each band would have been a sole headliner.

But that is not a reflection of the three acts' popularity, Meine said.

"These days, it seems like that's what many bands are doing," he said. "I think it's for the audience, they get a great show. This seems to be a great package."

The tour, which opens in Las Vegas, closes Aug. 4 in Los Angeles. Both The Scorpions and Deep Purple are considered co-headliners and will alternate dates as the closing act, which is fine by Meine.

"I think it's a fair split," he said. "For example, in New York, Purple will headline, and in Los Angeles, we will headline. It's going to be a great tour with a great vibe.

"There's always competition, but I think this is going to be a great competition."