On November 10, BackstageAxxess conducted an interview with singer Klaus Meine of German hard rock veterans SCORPIONS. Speaking about the departure of longtime drummer James Kottak — who was dismissed from the band during his well-publicized his battle with alcoholism — and addition of former MOTÖRHEAD member Mikkey Dee, Klaus said: “With Mikkey, it’s fantastic. It really gives the band a fresh shot of energy. Mikkey, [he] joined this band where we just played the big encore. And at the end of this year, we all need a break. And Mikkey is, like, ‘C’mon, guys. We’ve gotta keep going. This is so fantastic. We have such a good time. The fans are amazing around the world. And let’s keep going.’ And we say, ‘Okay.’ But at this point, we’ve played everywhere. We’ve been everywhere — we’ve played all continents, and even in Australia. So at the end of this tour, we all need a break. But, of course, we will pick it up at some point, because it really feels great with Mikkey.”
He continued: “James [had] been with us for twenty years; it’s such a long run. And we’re still in touch, and it’s great to hear from him. He’s feeling much better now and he’s getting back on track. We said to him, ‘James, it’s so important… You’re a healthy guy. You’re the guy we all love so much — the band, your family, the fans — so you’ve gotta really take care of yourself and really think of you first and your health situation. So he went into a long rehab and was really taking it serious and really taking care about himself. And we gave him all the support we can give him. And it looks like he’s really in a good way, and his health at the end of this year is so much better than it’s been ever before. So that’s really good.”
