Whether or not rock ‘n’ roll can affect world events is up for debate, but it’s undeniable that Scorpions’ 1991 hit “Wind of Change” captured a moment when history was being written around it.
“It’s an anthem to historical changes,” singer Klaus Meine, who wrote the song, said in Martin Popoff’s Wind of Change: The Scorpions Story. “Here in our country, when the Berlin Wall came down, so many people, in the East and West … consider it the soundtrack to this very historical moment. So, that’s a very important song.”
Half a decade earlier, the band, which had formed in 1965 in Hannover, West Germany, had broken through to the U.S. with Love at First Sting and the classic “Rock You Like a Hurricane.” But the follow-up LP, 1988’s Savage Amusement, was a step down by commercial standards, selling respectably in the U.S., even though only one of its singles, the No. 75 “Rhythm of Love,” charted. But this coincided with an increasing openness in the Soviet Union to Western ideas, and another of Sting’s singles, “Still Loving You,” had become a hit in Russia.
Scorpions’ songs generally weren’t political; Love at First Sting’s antiwar “Crossfire” was a notable exception. But growing up in the aftermath of World War II, and then seeing its country divided during its youth, made the band’s decision to play rock ‘n’ roll an inherently political act. They saw themselves as ambassadors of a new attitude in West Germany – a role they took seriously.
“We always had the feeling when we went to different countries that we want to show the people that there’s a new generation coming from Germany,” guitarist Rudolf Schenker told Popoff. “Not coming with tanks – coming with guitars and bringing love. … We told the promoter, we said we want to go to Russia. So, he made it possible, we played there, and for us this was a very important part to really show the Russian people that there is a new generation coming and they’re making music.”
The original plan was to play five nights in Leningrad and five in Moscow. But the authorities were worried that a riot could break out in Moscow, so Scorpions ended up playing 10 shows in Leningrad. “And it was fantastic,” Schenker told Rolling Stone. “It was a dream come true to play in Russia.”
A year later, in August 1989, they finally got the opportunity to play the Russian capital as part of the Moscow Music Peace Festival, a two-day concert in front of 100,000 people in Lenin Stadium organized by manager Doc McGhee as part of a plea bargain to avoid jail time on drug-trafficking charges. McGhee tapped his roster, including Ozzy Osbourne, Bon Jovi and Motley Crue. In the days leading up to the show, McGhee set up a junket on a boat that took the bands and the press along the Moskva River, with a party at Gorky Park as its destination.
“We were on this boat with all the bands, with MTV journalists, with Red Army soldiers,” Meine recalled. “It was an inspiring moment for me. It was like the whole world was in that one boat talking the same language: music.”
Meine added that when Scorpions started performing at the concert, “all the Red Army soldiers, all the security, they turned around to face the stage and started throwing their caps and jackets in the air. It was amazing. It felt like the world was changing right in front of our eyes. Many young Russian kids sensed that the whole Cold War generation would be over soon. There was a feeling of hope. And that’s what I tried to express in the song.”
McGhee recalled that Meine had been whistling a melody on the bus coming back from the show, and within a day he’d written the bulk of “Wind of Change.” Meine started with the memory of the boat ride – “I follow the Moskva down to Gorky Park” – and went from there.
Watch the Video for Scorpions’ ‘Wind of Change’
“It raised the hairs on my arms,” he told Rolling Stone. “I had a copy of the lyrics, and it was just, ‘Whoa’ It was a very strong emotional statement. But it wasn’t a ya-ya-ya, rah-rah-rah political statement. It was so genuine.”
But there was one aspect of the song he had to contend with first. “I guess I just whistled my way through it because, I mean, I play guitar, but I’m not a lead guitarist,” Meine recalled. “So, I was just whistling and it went down pretty cool. I played it for the guys, and they liked the song, but they were not so sure about this whistling part.”
However, they realized that any time they tried something else replacing the whistling – a guitar or keyboard – the song didn’t work as well. So they were able to convince the record label to keep it in.
That August, Scorpions were asked by Roger Waters to participate in his performance of Pink Floyd’s The Wall at the site of the Berlin Wall. “We said yeah, and it’s a great idea,” guitarist Matthias Jabs told Popoff. “It was something we’ve never done before, to play someone else’s music onstage. It was the perfect place to play that show. Actually, being there was the greatest thrill, since we never had a chance in our whole lifetime to go to this part of East Berlin. It was right behind the wall, the bit they called the Death Zone, no man’s land, and right on that no man’s land, they set up the biggest stage in rock history.”
