“If I stopped what I was doing because I was blinded by fame and money, that would be selling my soul”: Why Michael Schenker didn’t join Ozzy Osbourne’s band
Michael Schenker has explained why he chose not to join Ozzy Osbourne’s band after the tragic death of Randy Rhoads in 1982.
It was Jake E. Lee who went on to take up guitar duties for the Prince Of Darkness after Brad Gillis first stepped in, but a number of players were asked to audition, including Vito Bratta, George Lynch, and others. At the time, Schenker had not long left bands UFO and Scorpions, the latter of which he joined in support of his brother Rudolf.
READ MORE: “I didn’t want to go into that situation again where you are an expendable guy”: Gus G on why he turned down all auditions following his stint in Ozzy Osbourne’s band
Speaking to Guitar World, he says, “With Scorpions, I helped them out as a gesture to my brother. They were lost; they couldn’t do an album, so I worked with them as a jump-starter.
“When Ozzy approached me, there was an inner warning light that said, ‘Don’t do that because you have just left UFO and Scorpions.’ I had time to digest my situation and the message was clear to me. I wanted to carry on doing my thing and purely self-express, and not run after a trend, which Scorpions and UFO had been trying to do since I left.”
He adds, “I’ve always believed in doing exactly what I feel like. That’s freedom of expression. If I did something just because it was what people expected, or if I stopped what I was doing because I was blinded by fame and money, that would be selling my soul.”
In other Michael Schenker news, the guitarist’s iconic 1971 Flying V was recently recreated by the Gibson Custom Shop, as a limited launch of just 50 hand-signed Collector’s Edition models. The run sold out in just one day. Take a look below:
Based on 3D scans of the original instrument, which is currently owned by Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, the guitar was used to record UFO’s first three records, and went on to earn a striking black and white makeover.
The post “If I stopped what I was doing because I was blinded by fame and money, that would be selling my soul”: Why Michael Schenker didn’t join Ozzy Osbourne’s band appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
