Michael Schenker Group

Michael Schenker Group

Michael Schenker Group, often abbreviated to MSG, is a hard rock and heavy metal group formed in 1979 by guitarist Michael Schenker, a former member of Scorpions and UFO. It is based in London and Germany and remains active. The band is known for hard rock songs with extended guitar solo sections, built around Schenker’s playing style and his black-and-white Gibson Flying V guitar.

Formation and early years

The group forms around Schenker after his time with UFO and an unsuccessful attempt to start a band with Montrose rhythm section drummer Denny Carmassi and bassist Bill Church. Its first release, The Michael Schenker Group, is produced by Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover. The recording line-up includes vocalist Gary Barden, bassist Mo Foster, drummer Simon Phillips and keyboard player Don Airey. The touring line-up also includes Chris Glen on bass, Cozy Powell on drums and Paul Raymond on guitar and keyboards.

The band’s first world tour helps establish it as a major live draw, including dates opening for Molly Hatchet in the United States. A live album from the Japan tour, One Night at Budokan, is recorded at the Budokan in 1981 and later released in Britain and Europe. A Japanese reissue adds the track “Tales of Mystery” and a Cozy Powell drum solo from an Osaka show.

1980s line-ups and releases

For MSG II, the touring line-up becomes the recording band. Gary Barden is then dismissed before the next studio album, and Graham Bonnet joins for Assault Attack, produced by Martin Birch. During rehearsals, Schenker is also asked to join Ozzy Osbourne after Randy Rhoads’s death, but the offer does not go ahead. Ted McKenna replaces Cozy Powell on drums, Tommy Eyre is used for recording, and Andy Nye joins the touring band.

Bonnet leaves during early live work, bringing Barden back for the 1982 Reading Festival appearance and later dates. Barden then returns on a more permanent basis for Built to Destroy, which includes the co-written track “Red Sky” with Baron Rojo bassist Jose Luis Campuzano Sherpa. The American release of the album is remixed by Jack Douglas. In 1984 the band issues the live album Rock Will Never Die, which features guest appearances by Schenker’s brother Rudolph Schenker and Scorpions vocalist Klaus Meine on “Doctor, Doctor”. The album reaches number 24 in the UK.

Line-up changes continue through the mid-1980s, with departures including Barden, Chris Glen, Derek St. Holmes, Ray Kennedy, Dennis Feldman, Andy Nye and Ted McKenna. Schenker also works with Fran Cosmo, Bruce Smith and Roland Jones on a short-lived New York line-up, but that version lasts only around six months.

Later versions of the band

In the 1990s and 2000s Schenker reforms MSG several times with different musicians. A line-up includes Leif Sundin, Barry Sparks and Shane Gaalaas, with David Van Landing replacing Sundin for some dates. Schenker performs a live show titled The Michael Schenker Story and later appears in the G3 concert setting with Joe Satriani and Uli Jon Roth. In 1999 The Unforgiven appears with Kelly Keeling on vocals, Seth Bernstein on rhythm guitar, John Onder on bass and Gaalas on drums, while Keith Slack fronts some American live dates.

The instrumental album Adventures of the Imagination follows in 2000, with Aynsley Dunbar on drums. Schenker also appears with UFO around the same period and issues the instrumental release The Odd Trio with Harry Cobham and Kathy Brown credited on bass and drums. Other projects around this period include Be Aware of Scorpions, with Chris Logan on vocals, Jeff Martin on drums and Rev Jones on bass, and The Plot, a collaboration with Pete Way.

From 2003 onwards Schenker signs with Mascot Records and issues Arachnophobiac with Chris Logan, Stu Hamm and Jeremy Colson. Other related projects include Schugar/Schenker with Amy Schugar, Fred Robinson, Mark Lehman and Matt Indes, and Schenker-Pattison with Davey Pattison, Gunter Nezhoda, Aynsley Dunbar and guest guitarist Leslie West. In 2004 and 2005, touring line-ups include Wayne Findlay, Pete Holmes, Rev Jones, Leif Sundin, Gianni, Gary Barden and Jari Tiura at different times.

Recent activity and releases

By 2006 and 2007, the band works with Jari Tiura, Wayne Findlay, Barry Sparks, Frank Rummler and drummer Bodo Schopf before a later line-up adds Chris Slade in 2008 alongside Gary Barden, Chris Glen, Wayne Findlay and Schenker. The group releases Tales of Rock ’n’ Roll in 2006 and In the Midst of Beauty in 2008; the latter charts in Germany, Sweden and Japan, reaching number 2 in the HMV Japan Rock charts and the Amazon Japan charts.

The discography also includes Immortal, Universal and Don’t Sell Your Soul. Over the years the band’s members include, among others, Denny Carmassi, Billy Sheehan, Gary John Barden, Don Airey, Mo Foster, Simon Phillips, Cozy Powell, Paul Raymond, Chris Glen, Graham Bonnet, Tommy Eyre, Ted McKenna, Andy Nye, Derek St. Holmes, Shane Gaalaas, Barry Sparks, Leif Sundin, Kelly Keeling, John Onder, David VanLanding, Keith Slack, Wayne Findlay, Rev Jones, Jeff Martin, Jeremy Colson, Stuart Hamm, Pete Holmes, Jari Tiura, Pete Way, Chris Slade, Neil Murray, Ronnie Romero and Erik Grönwall.