Up next on Streaming For Vengeance - this Saturday, December 5th at 3:33 PM EST - legendary guitarist for The Outlaws, Freddie Salem, who talks about the band's first time invading Germany with their Southern Rock swagger, as witnessed on the recently-released Live At Rockpalast 1981 film. As he tells BraveWords in an excerpt from the video interview, the entire Southern Rock scene was a big hit with the rising hard rock and heavy metal movement, influencing the likes of AC/DC, Thin Lizzy (who actually opened the Rockpalast show), UFO and Motörhead.    

“That was a special show for us," Salem explains, "because our dear friends that were touring with us and supported us in the States, Thin Lizzy were on the show. And we got along famously with them. The British bands and all the European bands that toured with us in the States - from UFO, Michael Schenker Group, Thin Lizzy and on and on - were just enamoured by the Southern Rock deal. We were once visited backstage at (New Jersey’s) Giants Stadium on a festival date by (AC/DC’s) Bon Scott. He sat with me and we had a bottle of Crown Royal between the two of us, and it didn’t last too long. He told me that he wanted to do a Southern Rock album. During our whole set, he stood on the side of the stage. Another big fan of ours was Lemmy from Motörhead, and we were on a show with Ozzy and Motörhead - and The Outlaws were sandwiched in the middle of those two. Then out comes the Ace Of Spades album and on the cover there were bandoleros, outlaws, if you recall. They were dressed in leather and chaps and spurs; it was the greatest album cover."

 

BraveWords: That’s quite the coincidence given it’s the 40th anniversary of Ace Of Spades. That cover is iconic and it looks like they shot it from some kind of spaghetti western, meanwhile they were in Barnet, England (outside of London). So that was your influence?

Salem: “Yeah, we were a major influence on that cover, Lemmy told me. They loved guns and they just loved the whole genre. They especially loved the name The Outlaws. The whole package, the dual guitars and so forth. Whenever I would run into him in Los Angeles here, at the Rainbow or whenever, we always had a cordial time. Hughie Thomasson, the wonder kid of The Outlaws, and I first saw that cover at a radio station in Long Island where we were doing an interview. We looked at it and we freaked out! We said, ‘What a great, great cover that is!’”

You can watch Freddie Salem on Streaming For Vengeance this Saturday (December 5th at 3:33 PM EST) on our Facebook page or our YouTube channel. For more on Streaming For Vengeance, visit this location.

On August 29, 1981, the Outlaws rocked Lorelei in Germany. And now, fans can see and hear the proof, with the recent arrival of Live At Rockpalast 1981.

60 minutes of southern rock at its finest, the classic Outlaws lineup of Freddie Salem (guitar/vocals), Hughie Thomasson (guitar/vocals), Billy Jones (guitar/voc), David Dix (drums) and Rick Cua (bass) is on display throughout this hour-long performance (issued via MIG), which can be purchased here.

And all the expected early Outlaws classics are included - “Devil’s Road,” “Hurry Sundown,” “Holiday,” "(Ghost) Riders In The Sky," and "Green Grass And High Tides." The track "(Ghost) Riders In The Sky" (original title: "Ghost Riders In The Sky: A Cowboy Legend") was penned by Stan Jones and had already been covered by Johnny Cash and the Blues Brothers, became the new anthem of southern rock fans in the Outlaw version. At Lorelei, the Outlaws played an 8-minute version of “Ghost Riders In The Sky” with a guitar battle between Freddie Salem, Hughie Thomasson and Billy Jones, while the blissful fans in the audience waved an oversized Southern States banner. Another incredible live experience is their other Southern statement, "Green Grass And High Tides", which stretches over a breathtaking 20 minutes.

Guitarist Freddie Salem (who also pens the liner notes for the CD/DVD) remembers: “Speaking for the other Outlaws and myself, after playing in thousands of shows for thousands of people, Lorelei, Germany and the Rockpalast concert will always remain a wonderful and ongoing memory in our career!”

For more than 45 years, the Outlaws have flown the Southern Rock banner like no other band in the land. Known for their unique triple-guitar rock attack and three-part country harmonies, the Tampa-born group"s first three albums on Arista - featuring hits like "There Goes Another Love Song", "Green Grass & High Tides", "Knoxville Girl" and "Freeborn Man" - became Southern Rock milestones, while relentless tours with peers like The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Marshall Tucker Band and The Charlie Daniels Band - as well as performing alongside The Who, Eagles and The Rolling Stones - solidified the reputation of "The Florida Guitar Army" as genre legends.

And now, fans can witness the band at the peak of their in-concert powers, with the most-welcome arrival of Live at Rockpalast 1981.