Ex-Scorpions drummer Herman Rarebell
Musicians and Prince Albert II are “good friends”
Herman Rarebell (left) and Prince Albert II “keep on the phone” to this day.
© imago images/Michael Wigglesworth / imago images/Chris Emil Janßen
Ex-Scorpions drummer Herman Rarebell and Prince Albert II are “good friends”. The two even shared a record label.
The drummer Herman Rarebell (72) was a member of the Scorpions for 19 years – from 1977 to 1996. During his time with the legendary German rock band, in an interview with spot on news he particularly likes to remember “the really big concerts” back, “partly before Hundreds of thousands of spectators in Rio de Janeiro or Saint Petersburg”. Rarebell is “very grateful that I was able to experience that and also contribute to the overall success. It was the golden days of the band”.
Herman Rarebell and Prince Albert II are “good friends”
After leaving the Scorpions, the drummer founded a record label called Monaco Records with none other than Prince Albert II (63) in Monaco. “We are friends,” says the musician. The royal was “a music fan and actually a Scorpions fan” in the 90s. “That’s how we met. He noticed that there was no record company in Monaco. That’s how the idea came about. It was a good time,” says Rarebell. He says of the collaboration: “Prince Albert II was informed about everything, but the signings etc. primarily went through me because I also had the contacts and know-how in the segment.”
Prince Albert II is not primarily associated with music. Herman Rarebell explains: “Musical doesn’t mean that you have to have studied music. He loves music, so he’s very musical.” He further describes the royal as “determined, warm-hearted and loyal”. To this day, the two are “good friends”. “Albert and I talk on the phone from time to time and when I’m around we meet up.”
Herman Rarebell on tour with the greatest Scorpions hits
The record label was history after a few years, but not the music: At 72, Herman Rarebell wants to do it again and goes on a big tour with the Hurricane Orchestra. Under the title “Scorpion’s Songs Symphonic” the drummer travels across Europe with the greatest songs of the Scorpions. The tour and the accompanying album are “like a rock reincarnation” for Rarebell, he says in an interview. “Performing the biggest hits of my Scorpions time in a new guise with an orchestra is an incredibly beautiful and fulfilling feeling. And when the songs that I wrote myself are played, I get goosebumps – especially with ‘Rock’, of course You Like A Hurricane,'” says the drummer.
Being on stage with the orchestra is “simply great”. “They are all young professional musicians. You can tell that they put their heart and soul into it and don’t just play notes. Every rehearsal and every concert is a celebration for me – and I think it’s mutual.” After stops in Poland, in February and March we will also go to Germany. Herman Rarebell and the Hurricane Orchestra can be seen in Stuttgart (February 27), Augsburg (February 28), Fürth (March 1), Cottbus (March 5) and Leipzig (March 8).
Herman Rarebell hopes that Prince Albert II will “one day attend a concert of ‘Scorpion’s Songs Symphonic'”. Monaco is “not yet on our tour schedule”, but this gives him a “nice idea”.