Uli Jon Roth German rock musician, guitarist Date of Birth: 18.12.1954 Country: Germany

Ulrich Roth Biography

German rock musician, guitarist, former member of the legendary rock band 'Scorpions'. Ulrich Roth was born in 1954 in Düsseldorf, West Germany. Before his 20th birthday, Roth was already playing in rock bands. Until 1973, he could be seen and heard as part of the Hamburg-based group 'Dawn Road'. In 1973, Michael Schenker left 'Scorpions' and joined 'UFO', and the remaining musicians, Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker, joined forces with 'Dawn Road'. The combined team decided to keep the name 'Scorpions' - at that time it was more well-known than 'Dawn Road'. There are many stories about how success came to the band 'Scorpions' – over the next few years, they conquered Europe and then the world. Roth was the consistent lead guitarist, and many legendary rock guitarists later acknowledged that his playing had a strong influence on them. Kirk Hammett from 'Metallica', Yngwie Malmsteen, and Eddie Van Halen were among his fans. Together with 'Scorpions', Roth released four studio albums - 'Fly to the Rainbow' (1974), 'In Trance' (1975), 'Virgin Killer' (1976), and 'Taken by Force' (1977), as well as one live album - 'Tokyo Tapes' in 1978. Experts in rock music claim that the success of 'Scorpions' was largely due to virtuoso Ulrich Roth. However, behind the scenes, things were not as smooth and coordinated as they appeared on stage, and in 1978, Roth had to leave the legendary rock band. When the last album, recorded in Japan, triumphantly spread around the world, Roth was no longer an official member of the band. Almost immediately, he formed a new group with bass guitarist Ule Ritgen called 'Electric Sun'. Clive Edwards initially played drums in the new lineup but left before the release of the debut album, which was called 'Sidhatta Gautama' and was released in 1979. The next album, 'Fire Wind', released in 1981, was recorded with a different drummer, Sidhatta Gautama. Their third and final album, released on 'EMI', was called 'Beyond the Astral Skies' and was released in 1985. Experts and guitar enthusiasts were thrilled - on the last album, Roth played a self-designed guitar called the 'Sky Guitar'. In general, the album 'Beyond the Astral Skies' sounded somewhat different from the previous ones - it was slightly more symphonic, with choral vocal arrangements, and some even called it more 'majestic'. From the mid-1980s, Ulrich Roth was not heard from - he did not record or appear on stage. He returned in the early 1990s with a solo album called 'Aquilla Suite'. In the same year, he could be seen at concerts dedicated to Jimi Hendrix, and his next album - 'Sky of Avalon - Prologue to the Symphonic Legends' - was released in 1996. Later, Roth recorded the albums 'Transcendental Sky Guitar' in 2000, 'Metamorphosis of Vivaldi's Four Seasons' in 2003, and 'Under A Dark Sky' in 2008. The material for the last album consisted of symphonic legends, which were a mixture of different styles that Roth worked with - symphonic music, opera, and rock compositions. By the way, during the recording of 'Sky of Avalon - Prologue to the Symphonic Legends', his girlfriend and colleague, talented artist Monika Dannemann, tragically passed away. Roth officially dedicated the composition 'Requiem for an Angel' to her. Interestingly, Monika was previously in a relationship with Jimi Hendrix and remained with him until his death. They met in 1976, and Monika later designed and painted many album covers for Ulrich. In total, Ulrich Roth's discography consists of about 20 official albums and compilations, including all the milestones of his career - 'Scorpions', 'Electric Sun', as well as compilation albums and videos.