Klaus Meine: Scorpions Are ‘Not A Political Band,’ But ‘Building Bridges’

Scorpions frontman Klaus Meine has clarified his stance on the band’s role in global affairs, insisting that despite their catalog of powerful anthems, “we’re not a political band.”

In a new interview with Brazil’s 89 A Rádio Rock, Meine addressed the apparent paradox of this statement, given that he famously rewrote the lyrics to the band’s iconic peace anthem, “Wind Of Change,” to directly support Ukraine following the 2022 Russian invasion.

Meine explained that the band’s mission has always been to unite people, which he views as separate from politics.

“Well, basically we’re not a political band, but Scorpions, we’re always a band building bridges between cultures, between countries,” Meine said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “And maybe it’s because the way we grew up in the shadow of the Berlin Wall, we grew up in times of the Cold War, and we always wanted to bring people together with music in a peaceful way. And so, yeah, I changed the lyrics a couple of years ago when Russia invaded the Ukraine and I turned it into a statement into a piece of solidarity with the Ukraine.”

The change was unveiled in March 2022, during the band’s Las Vegas residency. Meine replaced the song’s original, famous opening lines—”Follow the Moskva / Down to Gorky Park”—with the message: “Now listen to my heart / It says Ukrainia / Waiting for the wind to change.”

In a previous interview with “Loudwire Nights,” Meine detailed his thought process behind retiring the original lyrics, stating he could no longer sing them in good conscience.

“I thought, it’s not the time with this terrible war in Ukraine raging on, it’s not the time to romanticize Russia with lyrics like, ‘Follow the Moskva / Down to Gorky Park,’ you know?” he said. “I wanted to make a statement in order to support Ukraine…”

The song’s original inspiration came from the band’s groundbreaking trips to the Soviet Union in 1988 and 1989, culminating in their performance at the Moscow Music Peace Festival. In a “track-by-track” video released last month, Meine recalled the profound impact of that 1989 show.

“Our parents came with tanks. Here’s a new generation. We come with guitars. We bring love, we bring music. We don’t sh**t each other. We wanna sing together,” Meine reflected. “The Russian audience, the fans were singing along. The security, which were mostly soldiers from the Red Army, they were throwing their caps in the air… It was like the whole world was changing in front of our eyes… And it was really like it was a new moment, a new time, a new future, a more peaceful future was in the air. And this was all what the song was all about.”

He concluded that this origin is why the song endures as more than just a hit, but as a “strong peace message.”

“And it seems like, especially in those very difficult times we are now, the song is very relevant… it really shows that after all in very difficult times, this song is still a very strong peace message, and we hope the window for a peaceful world will be open soon again, and the wind hopefully will change one more time.”