Doro Pesch says she started smoking at 11, gave up around a decade ago and turned vegan, and feels healthier now than in the 1980s.
Doro Pesch is 62 and reckons her body is in better shape than it was when she was fronting Warlock.
Asked by Kati Rausch of “Music Interview Corner” whether heavy metal keeps her young, the singer put it down to the work itself and to two changes she made about ten years ago.
“Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, totally. When you do what you love, there’s nothing, nothing better than that. No cream. Nothing. I went vegan. That’s another thing which I think it really helps the body. I think I’m more healthy [now] than I was in the ’80s. I started chain-smoking when I was 11. So I gave up smoking, and I turned vegan, yeah, maybe 10 years ago. Before I was, yeah, a vegetarian. And, yeah, I think vegan is good for your body, and I do it for the animals. But I think the skin, everything, yeah… But I think it’s a good thing. It’s a good thing,” she replied (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
Asked which point in her career she would go back to and watch as a fan, Pesch picked the early club shows rather than any of the stadiums that followed.
“Oh, actually, well, I think I always try to make the best out of each situation, and sometimes we played in little clubs — no stage — and I’m pretty small, I’m pretty petite, and all these fans, they were so tall. And sometimes people were crashing the stage. And when I started, there was no security, nothing, there was no gap, so you could just really stage dive and then stay on stage. And I always wanted to make people happy,” Pesch said.
She also described the concert that set the standard she has worked to since.
Pesch added: “I’m a big fan of many bands too, and I still go to concerts. And it always inspires me. And one moment, it was Ronnie James Dio. I went to his concert, and then the curtain opened, and I almost fell on my knees, fell to my knees because I was so touched. And I thought if I could ever do the same to the fans, then that would be good. So I could learn from the best. And I’m still a big fan, so, to me, the fans and the band, we are one. And, yeah, I think that’s the secret of doing it for such a long time. It’s the deep relationship with the fans. And I’m still a fan of many bands.”
Dio, who died in May 2010, later became a friend and collaborator of hers.
New music is on the way. Speaking to Dawn Osborne of “TotalRock“ at the Maid Of Stone festival in Maidstone, Kent last month, Pesch said she is working on a short release rather than a full album because of her touring schedule.
“Yes, yes. Got new music on the way. I think in November, December, I wanna put out a mini album, an EP. It will be not a full album because now we are always on tour and doing the summer festivals, but it will be an EP. And I think it might — the work title is Wild At Heart. And, yeah, it’s already in the making,” she said at the time.
Seven German shows follow at the end of the year under the “Winter Magic Tour” banner, presented by Metal Hammer. A fourth Metal Queen Metal Cruise has been announced for 2027, after three sold-out sailings in May and June 2025 and June 2026.
Those cruises produced her most recent release. Warriors Of The Sea came out last October through her own label Rare Diamonds Production, distributed by Edel, in a limited liquid-filled vinyl pressing as well as CD digipak and picture disc. Pesch wrote the title track as an anthem for the cruise. Side A collects rare studio recordings and Side B live material from her sold-out 2024 and 2025 dates.
In March last year she received a lifetime achievement award in Düsseldorf, her home city, presented by Klaus Meine of the Scorpions. Pesch began with Warlock in the early 1980s, among the first women to front a band in the genre, and has since sold more than ten million albums and played over 3,500 concerts in 60 countries.
Her most recent studio album, Conqueress – Forever Strong And Proud, was released in October 2023 through Nuclear Blast.
