Interview – Photos Credit: Adrian Hextall and Scott Lukes
When a true legend of rock music takes to the stage, it is more than just a performance; it is an event. On Sunday, July 20th, as the Maid of Stone Festival draws to its epic conclusion, the hallowed grounds of Mote Park will bear witness to such an event. The headline act is none other than the iconic, enigmatic, and utterly seminal guitarist, Michael Schenker, who arrives on the wings of his celebratory “My Years with UFO” 50th Anniversary tour. For those in attendance, it promises to be a powerful journey back to the very genesis of hard rock, guided by the man who wrote the blueprint.
The recent tour dates have been met with ecstatic reviews, and for good reason. On stage, Schenker is a whirlwind of passion and precision, a man seemingly untouched by the half-century that has passed since he first strapped on his Gibson Flying V and changed the world. Speaking with him, you get the distinct impression that this tour is not merely an exercise in nostalgia, but the closing of a profound, lifelong circle.
“It seems like the beginning of my life, everything happened by itself,” Schenker reflects, his voice a calm and thoughtful counterpoint to his explosive musical style. “I became very famous without even looking for it. Then the middle years, I went on to express myself and used a lot of my time for learning. And then somehow, somewhere, I felt that everything was coming back to the beginning.”
This feeling of circularity is the philosophical bedrock of the 50th-anniversary celebration. For Schenker, and for the fans who have followed his incredible journey, this is a moment of shared realization. “Songs become like a wine that you store in the cellar,” he muses, searching for the perfect analogy. “You store it long enough; it becomes a good wine. It seems to be that way that after a certain period of time, all of a sudden people collectively, they want to join in and celebrate that. They know all the songs, they know all the lyrics, they know the melody lines. It’s a fantastic thing to happen so late in life.”
The Songs That Made the Legend
Crucially, this tour sees Schenker reclaiming a legacy he himself put on ice for decades. Fans who have followed his solo career with the Michael Schenker Group (MSG), McAuley Schenker Group, and his various other projects will know that he rarely delved deep into the UFO catalogue. This was a conscious decision, born from a deep-seated artistic need to constantly create and move forward.
“My vision has always been to self-express, and that is very important for me,” he explains. “I concentrate on music my whole life. It was just always about music, writing music, write music, express, express, express. I never had a goal of how much I should be able to make. It was all about wanting to express myself, and if there are people who like what I do, that’s the icing on the cake.”
This relentless drive for new creation meant the iconic tracks he penned as a teenager were largely left untouched. The result is that when he plays them now, they feel remarkably fresh, potent, and alive. “I have hardly played any UFO songs either,” he points out, before making a vital clarification. “And they’re actually not UFO songs. They are Michael Schenker songs. I’m basically celebrating my own songs that have been created for UFO 50 years ago. I am bringing back what I created when I was 17 years old to celebrate with the people who like it.”
The energy he brings to these classics is no different from the fire he possessed as a teenager, but it is channelled with the wisdom of a master. He remembers the early days as a blur of overwhelming force. “I was playing much harder than I needed to. I was holding my breath to the point of fainting. It was absolutely crazy,” he laughs. “I was getting so deep into it that I would forget the world around me. Now today, of course, I have the same passion, but I can easier express it without fainting! Everything becomes more balanced. I don’t play harder than I need to, I play as hard as it needs to be. It comes out more controlled… it’s more enjoyable for me now.”
A New Spark in the Machine
A vital component of this rejuvenated energy comes in the form of powerhouse vocalist Erik Grönwall. The former H.E.A.T and Skid Row frontman has been a revelation, injecting the classic material with a youthful ferocity that perfectly complements Schenker’s masterful playing. For Schenker, it was a partnership born of pure musical instinct.
“I didn’t even know who Erik was when I chose him to sing on the album,” he admits. “Somebody recommended him. I heard him singing a Skid Row song, ‘18 and Life’, and I went, ‘Wow, what a great singer!’ When he was singing ‘Mother Mary’ and I heard it back for the first time, I was going, ‘This is fantastic.’”
Grönwall, with his dynamic stage presence and soaring vocals, has proved to be the perfect foil for the legendary guitarist. It’s a chemistry that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Schenker himself, who sees a reflection of his own past in the vibrant young singer.
“He is such a crazy guy. I mean, he’s so young and very crazy, but completely together. The way he expresses himself is just very unusual and very much fun,” Schenker says warmly. “Do I see a little bit of myself from when I was younger? Yes, yes, exactly. He does even look a little bit like me sometimes. There was a painting, and I said to Erik, ‘Look, you look like me or I look like you!’ It could be some kind of connection there.”
A Creative Storm: Three New Albums
While the Maid of Stone audience will be treated to an evening steeped in classic rock history, Michael Schenker is anything but a heritage act. In a move that defies all industry logic and stands as a testament to his ferocious creative spirit, he has recently recorded not one, but three new albums. It’s a creative outpouring driven by a desire to present a complete picture of his life’s work, and perhaps, a sense of urgency.
“It’s very strange how things happen in my life,” he begins. “I had the desire to record three records in one go. Today, I’m asking myself, why did I come up with it? There is a reason. I wanted to let people know this is who I am, this is where I went, and this is what I did.”
The first of the trio is the recorded version of the ‘My Years with UFO’ celebration. The second is a brand-new MSG album, titled ‘Don’t Sell Your Soul’, which features Grönwall alongside other vocal titans from Schenker’s past, including Robin McAuley. In a fascinating piece of synergy, the instrumental intro music used on the current tour is the title track from this forthcoming album.
The third album is something else entirely. “It was meant to be an instrumental album,” he explains, “but my producer, Michael Voss, kept singing to it. He happened to be drawn to the tuning of the universe, 432Hz, which Pink Floyd did a tour with. [Look this up if it’s news to you – it was to me!] It’s very different, very special. I’ll call that album ‘Freedom of Expression’. When you hear that, you will not even believe it’s my music. It’s so strange but beautiful.”
This flurry of activity is Schenker’s way of summing up his journey for fans old and new, and correcting a historical record he feels has become confused over the years. But there’s a deeper, more personal reason, too.
“I only realised later, that maybe somehow I got a universal intelligence input, a sign, you know, ‘Michael, you better make these three albums. Who knows how much longer you can play?’” he states with stark honesty. “You get to 70 years old; you don’t get younger. And when you get older, you don’t know in which direction you get old. Some people die in their 70s, some people get sick, some people live until they’re 100. We don’t know. So I’ve got three albums out. I’m not going to structure the future like a 17-year-old. For me, it’s better to do what I wanted to do, which is to sum it up and let people know in one go what I have been doing.”
The Celebration Comes to Kent
This is the Michael Schenker that will grace the stage at Maid of Stone: a man at peace with his past, fully engaged in his present, and still creating furiously for the future. He is an artist who has completed the circle and is now taking a victory lap, not out of ego, but out of a shared joy with the audience that has been with him through it all.
The festival setting, he believes, is the perfect arena for this communion. “It’s perfect for a festival,” he agrees. “Like I said before, it has been preserved, it hasn’t been really done, and now is the time. Collectively, everybody shows up together. And like you said, they know the songs, and the songs have grown more and more familiar. Now it becomes like an atmosphere of celebration. It’s fantastic.”
As the final notes of timeless anthems like ‘Doctor Doctor’, ‘Rock Bottom’, and ‘Lights Out’ ring out across Mote Park, we will not just be watching a rock star. We will be watching a master craftsman sharing the art that defined a generation, a legend celebrating his own history, and a vital artist who, even after 50 years, is still finding new ways to express, create, and connect. It is the perfect, powerful, and poignant way to close a festival. The celebration is about to begin.
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