To promote his recently released solo album, My Way, U.D.O. and former Accept frontman Udo Dirkschneider was interviewed by the Australian Rock Show podcast. Besides discussing the new album, Dirkschneider was also asked about his exit from Accept in 1987 - and what he learned about himself from that experience. 

Dirkschneider: "It was not so funny that they threw me out of my own band y'know ? I mean, I came up with Accept a long time before Peter Baltes and Wolf Hoffmann were in the band, and for me it was like, I dunno, it was easy starting, I said, OK, I don't wanna be commercial, I wouldn't wanna do what they wanna do and then, the Animal House album (U.D.O.) that I did in '87, that was normally the next (Accept) album after Russian Roulette. Then they said 'You can have all the songs, no problem - you can have them, we wanna do something different.’ For me, that was the best start ever (for) my solo career and directly, the first tour we did, a European tour…. it was easy to find the right musicians. And then I was going on tour with Guns N' Roses and Lita Ford in America. Then with the next U.D.O. album, I was going on a huge European tour with Ozzy Osbourne, so everything was going quite good for me y'know. I was not, that I have to think 'Oh, what's going on now, and everything that happened?' 

To close the whole thing, I think Accept was not really happy that they fired me you. I think they knew that they did something wrong, but this is history and in a way. I've made more albums with U.D.O. and have spent more time together with U.D.O. than I was with Accept. But sometimes things happen and...for me everything was positive, so I'm fine."

Dirkschneider released his new album, My Way, on April 22 via Atomic Fire Records. He has released a cover of the Scorpions song "He's A Woman She's A Man", putting his own unique spin on the track.

He is THE constant among the German metal scene - Udo Dirkschneider. Originally becoming world-famous as a founding member of Accept, he continues to steadily expand upon his international successes with his U.D.O. and Dirkschneider outfits. Remaining true to himself over the years in a way few musicians could, Dirkschneider consistently bucks music industry trends in favor of following his heart. Yet his most personal and extraordinary album to date will be released on April 22: My Way.

This new release contains 17 cover versions of the very songs that have influenced the musician and singer the most. All kinds of classics from music history are among them - including those that you might not expect from Udo. Not only does a very personal story lie behind each of the tracks, but also a sometimes surprising arrangement that, despite the very individual implementation, lives and breathes Udo’s manuscript throughout. “Now when I hear the song, I remember the time when, as a very young Udo, I’d go out to light up the town and lived all the stories that can only be experienced late at night in the clubs."

Here, Alex Harvey’s "Faith Healer" allows the artist to feel those days of an era long past. The fact that "Nutbush City Limits: is also on the album reveals a secret rarely told until now: “What hardly anyone knows so far: I was a huge fan of Ike and Tina Turner, and especially Tina’s voice, once. We always covered this song during Accept rehearsals in the early days. It was one of the mainstays of our Accept rehearsal repertoire for years. Regrettably, there is no recording of it.”

With Wolfsheim's "Kein Zurück", Udo sang in German for the first time in his career: “I immediately felt like the words understood me. It seemed to me that the lyrics were telling the story of my career, of my highs and lows and all the good and bad experiences that life has. There simply is ‘no going back’ for those who choose to live as a musician.”

The cover album also makes one thing clear: Just how many in the music industry have come and gone over the years. Yet, Udo Dirkschneider is still here.

Tracklisting:

"Faith Healer" (Alex Harvey)
"Fire" (Crazy World Of Arthur Brown)
"Sympathy" (Uriah Heep)
"They Call It Nutbush" (Tina Turner)
"Man On The Silver Mountain" (Rainbow)
"Hell Raiser" (The Sweet)
"No Class" (Motörhead)
"Rock And Roll" (Led Zeppelin)
"The Stroke" (Billy Squier)
"Paint It Black" (Rolling Stones)
"He's A Woman, She's A Man" (Scorpions)
"T.N.T." (AC/DC)
"Jealousy" (Frankie Miller)
"Hell Bent For Leather" (Judas Priest)
"We Will Rock You" (Queen)
"Kein Zurück" (Wolfsheim)
"My Way" (Frank Sinatra)