The Michael Schenker Group (often abbreviated as MSG) is an English

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

band, formed in London in 1979 by former

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

and UFO guitarist

Michael Schenker Michael Schenker (born 10 January 1955) is a German guitarist. He played in the rock band UFO and leads the Michael Schenker Group (MSG). He was an early member of the hard rock band Scorpions, a band co-founded by his elder brother Rudolf S ...

. After the release of their second live album, 1984's '' Rock Will Never Die'', The band went on a two-year hiatus and Schenker disbanded the band in 1986. In 1986, Schenker and vocalist

Robin McAuley Robin McAuley (born 20 January 1953) is an Irish singer. He is best known as the vocalist for the rock band McAuley Schenker Group from 1986 to 1993, during which time the band released three studio albums: '' Perfect Timing'', '' Save Yoursel ...

formed the McAuley Schenker Group, which lasted until 1993. Afterwards, in 1996, the Michael Schenker Group was reformed. The group has had many different members over the years, with Schenker the only constant presence.

History

The band was formed in 1979, following

's departure from UFO the previous year, in an attempt to have a band that better suited his style. He therefore decided to move to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

; a few weeks after his arrival in the city, he met Gary Barden, vocalist of Fraser Nash, who along with bassist Billy Sheehan and drummer Denny Carmassi formed a new band, simply called Michael Schenker Group. The following year, the band recorded their second album, '' MSG'', which placed at No. 14 on the UK charts. During their promotional tour, they played at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan in Japan, where their first live album was recorded titled '' One Night at Budokan''. It was released in 1982 with great success in the UK where it was certified

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

after exceeding 60,000 copies sold. In October 1983, the band released '' Built to Destroy'', the first with keyboardist Andy Nye and which also featured Derek St. Holmes, best known at the time as

Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He goes by several nicknames, including Uncle Ted, the Nuge, and Motor City Madman. Nugent initially gained fame as the le ...

's vocalist and rhythm guitarist. To promote it, they gave several concerts in the UK and later went on tour to other European countries as the opening band of

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

. Their farewell concert was held on 18 December 1983 at the Dortmund festival, after which the band disbanded, and the guitarist founded the McAuley Schenker Group. After deciding to disband the McAuley Schenker Group, Schenker decided to reform the band in 1996 with Leif Sundin on vocals, Barry Sparks on bass and Shane Gaalaas on drums with whom he recorded ''Written in the Sand''. Two years later, they released '' The Unforgiven'', with Kelly Keeling replacing Sundin and with John Onder replacing Sparks.

Discography

Studio albums

Michael Schenker Group

* ''

The Michael Schenker Group The Michael Schenker Group (often abbreviated as MSG) is an English hard rock band, formed in London in 1979 by former Scorpions and UFO guitarist Michael Schenker. After the release of their second live album, 1984's '' Rock Will Never Die'', ...

'' (1980) #8 UK * '' MSG'' (1981) * '' Assault Attack'' (1982) * '' Built to Destroy'' (1983) * '' Written in the Sand'' (1996) #22 Japan * '' The Unforgiven'' (1999) * '' Be Aware of Scorpions'' (2001) * '' Arachnophobiac'' (2003) * '' Tales of Rock'n'Roll'' (2006) * '' In the Midst of Beauty'' (2008) *''Immortal ''(2021) *''Universal'' (2022)

McAuley Schenker Group

* '' Perfect Timing'' (1987) * '' Save Yourself'' (1989) * '' M.S.G.'' (1991) * '' Nightmare: The Acoustic M.S.G. (1992)'' Schenker Barden Acoustic Project * Gipsy Lady ''(2009)''

Michael Schenker's Temple of Rock

* '' Temple of Rock'' (2011) * ''Bridge the Gap'' (2013) * ''Spirit on a Mission'' (2015)

Michael Schenker Fest

* ''Resurrection'' (2018) * ''Revelation'' (2019)

Cover albums

Michael Schenker Group

* '' Heavy Hitters'' (2005) ** '' Doctor Doctor: The Kulick Sessions'' (2007 re-release) ** '' By Invitation Only'' (2011 re-release)

Live albums

Michael Schenker Group * '' One Night at Budokan'' (1982) (UK Silver) * '' Rock Will Never Die'' (1984) * ''BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert'' (1993) * '' The Michael Schenker Story Live'' (1997) * '' The Unforgiven World Tour'' (1999) * ''The Mad Axeman Live'' (2007) * ''Walk the Stage: The Official Bootleg Box Set'' (2009) * '' The 30th Anniversary Concert: Live in Tokyo'' (2010)

McAuley Schenker Group

* '' "Unplugged" Live'' (1992)

Michael Schenker's Temple of Rock

* ''On a Mission - Live in Europe'' (2012) * ''On a Mission - Live in Madrid'' (2016)

Michael Schenker Fest

* ''Live Tokyo International Forum Hall A'' (2017)

Members

Current members *

– lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Steve Mann – keyboards, rhythm and occasional lead guitar, backing vocals * Bodo Schopf – drums * Barend Courbois – bass guitar, backing vocals * Erik Grönwall – lead vocals

References

External links

Michael Schenker official site
*
MSG in the BNR metal pages
{{Authority control Rock music groups from London Musical groups established in 1979 British heavy metal musical groups British hard rock musical groups Metal Mind Productions artists Chrysalis Records artists New Wave of British Heavy Metal musical groups