Dimitris Kontogeorgakos of the Chicago-based webzine Metal Kaoz recently conducted an interview with Udo Dirkschneider, who talked about the upcoming US tour, the band’s immediate plans after that, and the rumours that wanted him joining AC/DC. An excerpt follows:

Q: In some interviews you recently did, you got asked about AC/DC, so who started this story?

A: “I have no idea. Somebody came up and asked, ‘is AC/DC calling you?,’ and I said ‘What?,’ because I wasn’t aware that Brian Johnson was out of the band. And then he went on about Brian leaving the band due to a hearing problem and the band looking for a singer. I said, ‘OK, but no one has called me’.” (laughs)

Q: Well, the internet has become a strange place and one thing you say, may go in different directions and get out of proportions…

A: “Yeah, there were many posts about this on the internet like, ‘they should ask Udo to join AC/DC,’ and such. If they had really called me, I would have said ‘yes’, why not? No problem!”

Read the full interview at MetalKaoz.com.

The long-awaited live album from Dirkschneider’s Back To The Roots Tour will be released on October 28th as 2CD Digipak and 3LP in four different colors (black, gold, silber and clear) via AFM Records. Listen to “Midnight Highway” from the upcoming release, streaming below.

During the tour rock legend Udo Dirkschneider was presented a Sold Out Award for the extremely successful Dirkschneider tour, where 31 out of 48 Europe shows were sold out!

"It’s unbelievable, I never expected this tour to be so overly successful“, Udo comments, "It’s beautiful to see how many people walk with me on my personal way of saying goodbye to the Accept chapter.“

The singer with the charismatic voice had his musical breakthrough with Accept in the early 80s. "It’s still so much fun to sing these songs live, they are a part of my biography, but nevertheless it’s about time to turn that page. There was so much talking and speculations about me and Accept, so this is kind of a musical statement from my end – which seems to be very interesting for the fans who came to these shows.”
 
The album, Live - Back To The Roots, was recorded at the sold out show at Kaminwerk in Memmingen on April 2nd, 2016. Pre-orders at this location.

Tracklist Digipak:

CD1
“Intro”
“Starlight”
“Living For Tonite”
“Flash Rockin‘ Man”
“London Leatherboys”
“Midnight Mover”
“Breaker”
“Head Over Heels”
“Neon Night”
“Princess Of The Dawn”
“Winterdreams”
“Restless And Wild”
“Son Of A Bitch”

CD2
“Up To The Limit”
“Wrong Is Right”
“Midnight Highway”
“Screaming For A Love-Bite”
“Monsterman”
“T.V. War”
“Losers And Winners”
“Metal Heart”
“I’m A Rebel”
“Fast As A Shark”
“Balls To The Wall”
“Burning”
“Outro”

“Midnight Highway”:

“Breaker”:

Dirkschneider recently announced North American tour dates for early 2017. They will continue touring until the end of 2016, hitting Israel and Japan, doing a lot of summer festivals and then touring US, Russia and Europe in fall and winter. 2016.

Dates for North America have been confirmed. The complete Dirkschneider schedule is below.

November (with Vicious Rumors)
1 - Oslo, November - Vulcan Arena
3 - Umea, Sweden - Idun
4 - Borlaenge, Sweden - Liljan
5 - Orebro, Sweden - Frimis
6 - Linkoeping, Sweden - Garden
18 - Stockholm, Sweden - Rock At Sea
26 - Moscow, Russia - Stadium Live Club - Aria Fest

December (with Vicious Rumors)
3 - Vacha, Germany - Vachwerk
8 - Dornbirn, Austria - Conrad Sohm
9 - Brno, Czech Republic - Hala Vodova
11 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle
15 - Nurnberg, Germany - Loewensaal
16 - Memmingen, Germany - Kaminwerk
17 - Karlsruhe, Germany - Schwarzwaldhalle - Knock Out Festival
18 - Solingen, Germany - Cobra

January
5 - New York City, NY - Stage 48
6 - Clifton Park, NY - Upstate Concert Hall
7 - Quebec City, QC - Salle Multi
8 - Montreal, QC - FouFounes
10 - Toronto, ON - MOD Club
11 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Ballroom
12 - Westland, MI - Token Lounge
13 - Chicago, IL - Concorde Music Hall
14 - St Paul, MN - Amsterdam
16 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
18 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
19 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theater
21 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's
22 - Anaheim, CA - City National Grove
23 - West Hollywood, CA - Whiskey a Go Go
24 - Las Vegas, NV - Brooklyn Bowl
26 - Dallas, TX - Trees
27 - San Antonio, TX - Alamo Music Hall
28 - Houston, TX - Scout Bar
30 - Tampa, FL - Orpheum
31 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse

February
2 - Baltimore, MD - Soundstage
3 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom
4 - Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero

Dirkschneider performed on March 13th at Rockfabrik in Ludwigsburg, Germany. Neon Sunsets has posted pro-shot footage of the band performing the Accept classic “Midnight Mover”. Watch below: