Still Packing Sting In Your Tail With ULI JON ROTH

Interview by Kris Peters
German guitarist Uli Jon Roth is renowned for his work with the
Scorpions during their early, more experimental phase and for
pioneering the neoclassical metal genre. He is also known for his
innovative Sky Guitar design and his solo career exploring a unique
blend of rock, classical, and philosophical themes.
Roth joined the Scorpions during their formative years,
contributing to albums like Fly to the Rainbow, In Trance, Virgin
Killer, and Taken by Force, as well as the iconic live album Tokyo
Tapes. These albums are all heralded in the history of Rock and
Metal, with Tokyo Tapes being touted as one of the greatest live
albums of all time, with Roth's guitar playing on those albums
highly regarded for its precision and innovative style, influencing
many later guitarists.
Now, for the first time ever, Australian crowds get to witness the
majesty of Uli Jon Roth when he hits this country for a run of
three select dates this September. Uli will be performing a best of
the SCORPIONS set, amongst other songs from his extraordinary
catalogue, guaranteed to make up for lost time.
Roth joined HEAVY earlier this week to find out more details. We
start by asking why he has neglected Australian fans for so
long.
"You know what, nobody asked us to come," he laughed. "So it's
actually you, because we need an invitation if we want to play
somewhere. I would have loved to come much sooner. Having said
that, even the Scorpions - although they were so successful - even
they found it difficult to get to Australia simply because of the
logistics. When you tour America, you can do a month-long tour, and
you have a big tour bus. You sleep at night, and then the next
morning you're in Chicago, you know? I don't think that entire
industry exists in Australia in the same way. You have to fly
everything, and that makes it much more complicated to do a tour
and more expensive."
We bring up Roth's time with the Scorpions and ask how that period
shaped the rest of his life and his musical career.
"I was only 18 when I joined," he recalled. "It very much shaped my
life because it was my artistic apprenticeship and also learning
the ropes in the music business. Learning how to do an album, how
to write songs, all that came together in those five years. And we
had a great time. You know, it was wonderful. I've got only good
memories. It was just at the end, I started to write music that
really didn't fit the framework anymore."
In the full interview, Uli Jon Roth discussed his upcoming tour to
Australia and Japan, with Uli explaining the tour logistics and
musical direction for each leg. We explored Uli's history with the
Scorpions and his decision to leave the band to pursue his own
artistic vision through Electric Sun and classical
compositions.
We talked about why, after all these years, he is finally coming to
Australia and what fans can expect. He discussed curating a set
list to appease longtime followers, Tokyo Tapes and his thoughts on
the live album, plus his other musical passions. The conversation
concluded with a discussion of Uli's influence on other guitarists
and his perspective on musical collaboration and learning.


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