All the reasons why Michael Schenker will not rejoin Scorpions

Michael Schenker and his brother Rudolf are still at odds, and it appears that this will prevent the latter from attending the Scorpions‘ 60th anniversary. Michael was asked if he would be able to return to the band for their anniversary celebration on July 5, 2025, in their hometown of Hannover, Germany, during an appearance on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk (as reported by Blabbermouth).

No, I just know that I have been a very big part of creating Rudolf as a musician. I don’t think without me, he would have been there, and maybe the other way around the same way. But the thing is that I have to protect myself from Rudolf. Every time he wants to do something with me or every time they wanna do something big and they need my name, he misuses me. And I’m very sad that he keeps doing that. [Rudolf is] seven years older than me. He’s a bully. He has been abusive to me for many, many years. He has distorted my image for many years, and he just pretends as if nothing ever happened. I guess, because I asked other people, ‘Hey, how does your older brother treat you?’ And they say, ‘Oh, exactly the same.’ So I think it’s just the thing they do. They think they own you, they can do with you whatever they want. I’m seven years younger. ‘That’s just my little brother, nobody, blah, blah, blah.’ I have no idea how these people, how their heads and their brains work, but the fact is I helped the Scorpions, I jumpstarted them, and they forgot everything about it. And it’s not the Scorpions that are the bad guys — or actually nobody is really the bad guy. It’s just Rudolf is just a crazy, weird person. I don’t know what drives him. But I don’t wanna be connected to it. So I don’t wanna be distracted with my vision every time I give in and say, ‘Okay, I’ll do something with Rudolf,’ and then he abuses me or uses me disrespectfully. I don’t know why he keeps going like that, but it’s just kind of very, very strange. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. I don’t know why it’s so important for him to be bigger than his little brother.

Rudolf is the sole surviving founding member of Scorpions, having co-founded the band in 1965. From 1969 to 1973, from 1978 to 1979, and for a brief period again in 2006, Michael was a member of the German band. Both personally and creatively, the gifted musicians have frequently clashed, with Michael accusing his older brother of stealing his image and sound.