It's been almost four decades since the release of the scorpions classic Tokyo Tapes live double album. Former lead guitarist Uli Jon Roth is back in the UK to perform music that he recorded with the Scorpions in the `70s. Mick Burgess at Metal Express Radio called Uli ahead of the tour to talk about his days in the Scorpions and his plans for a new Electric Sun album.

Q: Did you ever think that the records that you made back then with the Scorpions would still be so highly thought of 40 years later?

UJR: "I find it amazing and it`s really nice to see that. I started in the Scorpions when I was still in my teens. We must have done something right without knowing it. We didn`t write stuff thinking that people would be listening to it years later. We just did our best at that time and somehow it worked. I think some of the songs have matured like a fine wine in the eyes of the audience as people grew up with that stuff and it seems to mean more to them when they hear them now. It seems to reach deeper now when we play 'In Trance' or 'The Sails of Charon'."

Q: You left the Scorpions in 1978 before the legendary live album Tokyo Tapes was released.  Why did you choose that time to leave?

UJR: "I was very happy in the Scorpions but towards the end was writing music that would not fit into their framework. I still wrote songs for the Scorpions but over 50% of what I was writing I didn`t even bring to the table as it wasn`t suitable for them. I was more into the spiritual side of things rather than trying to sell as many albums as possible. Not that there`s anything wrong with that as everyone enjoys success but I didn`t want it at any price, I wanted to be free.  Electric Sun was quite successful in its own right but it was infinitely less commercial than the Scorpions."

Q: Did you stay in touch with Klaus (Meine) and Rudolph (Schenker) throughout the `80s ad 90s?

UJR: "There were never any bad vibes between us but initially everyone went their separate ways. Afterwards we started bumping into each other and it was always great to see them. It`s as if nothing had ever changed. The vibe in the band was always very healthy and we never had any arguments. There were a few artistic disagreements but they were just minor. We chose the songs that were best for the album and we were usually always in agreement."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

World-renowned guitar virtuoso, Joe Satriani, will revive his G3 Tour entity in 2018 beginning March 16th in Moscow and winding up on April 30th in Birmingham playing shows in many European countries, including the UK. France, Italy, Spain, Poland, The Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland and more. Satriani has invited Dream Theater’s John Petrucci and Uli Jon Roth to join. Check out a new trailer below featuring Uli Jon Roth:

Each guitarist will perform their own set, followed by a massive jam at the end of the show.

G3 2018 UK dates:

April
24 - Southend, UK - Cliffs Pavilion
25 - London, UK - Eventim Apollo
26 - Bristol, UK - Colston Hall
27 - Manchester, UK - Apollo
29 - Portsmouth, UK - Guildhall
30 - Birmingham, UK - Symphony Hall