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The Original Title for Scorpions’ ‘Rock You Like a Hurricane’ Was EXTREMEEthan Miller, Getty Images / PolyGram Records / yayayoyo, iStock/Getty Images

The Original Title for Scorpions’ ‘Rock You Like a Hurricane’ Was EXTREME

Rob Carroll

Published: June 14, 2024

One of the biggest Scorpions songs almost had a much different name (and probably a lot less airplay) because it was pretty extreme.

Original Title For “Rock You Like A Hurricane”

In an interview with Classic Rock about the making of 1984’s Love at First Sting, Scorpions members broke down how they eventually landed on the songs that formed the iconic album.

Love at First Sting saw that band take more of a melodic approach while not completely abandoning their sound. Herman Rarebell, Scorpions drummer from 1977-96, recalled tours with Aerosmith, Foreigner and Journey helped convince the hard rock band to change its approach.

“We saw how they wrote and we learned fast,” Rarebell said.

The drummer had a hand in writing a pair of songs on the album alongside frontman Klaus Meine. Among the tracks he wrote with Meine was the hit “Rock You Like a Hurricane.”

Rarebell wanted to turnout a track that had more of an edge.

“I thought we needed a rock song with lyrics that should be forbidden,” Rarebell told Classic Rock. “The original title, for me at least, was ‘Fuck You Like a Hurricane.'”

Record Label’s Response To Edgy Song Title

If you’re wondering just how serious Scorpions was about moving forward with a song title “Fuck You Like A Hurricane,” they eventually got the idea in front of record execs at Harvest and EMI Records who handled the album’s European release.

As expected, the label wasn’t a fan of the idea. Dropping an F-bomb into the title of a song kind of makes it difficult to get play on the radio and MTV.

“The record company looked at me and said: ‘You’re completely out of your mind!’ Which I was,” Rarebell recalled.

READ MORE: 10 Best Hard Rock Albums Of 1984

Even with a revised song title, Love at First Sting still turned out to be a controversial Scorpions release in some areas thanks to its cover art.

The album’s cover photo shows a man and a woman in a passionate embrace. At the same time, the man has a tattoo gun and is working on a piece on the woman’s thigh area.

PolyGram Records

Walmart was among the stores that reportedly pushed back on the album cover which Classic Rock Review says was “deemed unsuitable for certain retail outlets.” PolyGram Records would go one to create an alternate version of the album packaging that just had a photo of the band on the cover in an attempt to appease stores.

Today, both the vinyl and CD version of Love at First Sting are available through Walmart’s website with the original cover art.

Scorpions Albums Ranked

After more than five decades of rocking like a hurricane, ranking all of Scorpions’ studio albums is no easy task.

Gallery Credit: Eduardo Rivadavia

18: ‘Eye II Eye’ (1999)

Koch

18: ‘Eye II Eye’ (1999)

A truly desperate attempt to stay “current” by tapping into then-popular musical trends — primarily electronica, trip-hop and just plain pop music — ‘Eye II Eye’ was virtually unrecognizable as a Scorpions album. Instead, this all-time career low seemed like a belated mishmash of Def Leppard’s ‘Slang,’ U2’s ‘Pop’ and the Prodigy on a particularly wimpy night.

17: ‘Pure Instinct’ (1996)

East West

17: ‘Pure Instinct’ (1996)

In contradiction of the wild beasts depicted on its zoological cover, the Scorpions’ unlucky thirteenth album was atypically stuffed with ballads, more so than rockers. None of which would have been a problem, mind you, if the songs in question had been in any way decent. Instead, it seemed like the band was conceding defeat to grunge’s mid-‘90s reign.

16: ‘Return to Forever’ (2015)

Sony

16: ‘Return to Forever’ (2015)

The word “retirement” must clearly have different definitions in English and German, because after hinting in 2011 that they’d soon be hanging up their stingers, the Scorpions released another album four years later. As it was, ‘Return to Forever’ carried numerous allusions to mortality and old glories that confirmed the band’s dearth of new ideas.

15: ‘Savage Amusement’ (1988)

Mercury

15: ‘Savage Amusement’ (1988)

Call it Dieter Dierks’ folly, if you will. ‘Savage Amusement’ suffered from interminable studio delays as the Scorpions’ longtime producer pushed them to construct an answer to Def Leppard’s ‘Hysteria.’ Alas, they fell well short. This technology-overloaded LP briefly suited some pop metal tastes, but dated quickly – and it turned off many longtime fans.

14: ‘Sting of the Tail’ (2010)

Sony

14: ‘Sting of the Tail’ (2010)

Initially envisioned as ‘Humanity: Hour II,’ their 17th album was eventually stripped of its conceptual ideas, arriving very much in the classic Scorpions mold. Fan interest was also piqued by retirement rumors. But ‘Sting in the Tail’ generally lacked any kind of wow factor, and an ill-advised robotic vocal style adopted by Klaus Meine didn’t help.

13: ‘Face the Heat’ (1993)

Mercury

13: ‘Face the Heat’ (1993)

A somewhat underrated album, the workmanlike ‘Face the Heat’ got lost amid the commercial distractions of alternative rock. “No Pain No Gain,” one of its highlights, was dedicated to Germany’s national team ahead of the 1994 World Cup. Unfortunately, the squad suffered an unusually early exit.

12: ’Humanity: Hour I’ (2007)

Sony BMG

12: ’Humanity: Hour I’ (2007)

Following 2004’s return-to-form ‘Unbreakable,’ the Scorpions knew better than to risk another experimental sidestep like 1999’s ‘Eye II Eye.’ But they still couldn’t resist applying a conceptual framework here, one that likely dissuaded many fans from giving it a fair shake. They missed out on a very solid, overlooked set of rockers and ballads, very much in tried-and-true Scorpions tradition.

11: ‘Crazy World’ (1990)

Mercury

11: ‘Crazy World’ (1990)

After stumbling with the pop metal-focused ‘Savage Amusement,’ the Scorpions found their way again by shaking things up across the board. New producer Keith Olsen encouraged everyone to bring tunes to the table and also enlisted noted song doctor Jim Vallance. The resulting ‘Crazy World,’ made complete by a mega-single in “Winds of Change,” was – by and large – quintessential Scorpions.

10: ‘Lonesome Crow’ (1972)

Brain

10: ‘Lonesome Crow’ (1972)

Like many young bands, the Scorpions lacked seasoning and direction on their debut. A peculiar release, ‘Lonesome Crow’ indulged in psychedelia and some Kraut rock, more so than hard rock. The kinetic guitar of Michael Schenker certainly boasted a palpable star power, but the guys in UFO soon poached him.

9: ‘Unbreakable’ (2004)

BMG

9: ‘Unbreakable’ (2004)

Coming on the heels of the previous decade’s uninspired releases and embarrassing experiments, 2004’s ‘Unbreakable’ probably elicited a sigh of relief from fans. Sure, its calculated return to the Scorpions’ signature, melodic heavy rock sound may sound obvious years later, but it wouldn’t have worked without high-caliber songs and renewed energy.

8: ‘Fly to the Rainbow’ (1974)

RCA

8: ‘Fly to the Rainbow’ (1974)

The Scorpions’ second album was a transitional affair, as the group replaced Michael Schenker with the equally gifted Uli Jon Roth. It also signaled their gradual transformation from peace-loving ‘60s hippies (“They Need a Million,” “Fly People Fly,” etc.) to cut-throat ‘70s metal-merchants. They took no prisoners on tracks like “Speedy’s Coming” and “Drifting Sun.”

7: ‘Virgin Killer’ (1976)

RCA

7: ‘Virgin Killer’ (1976)

This album’s original cover art unfortunately tends to dominate conversations, eclipsing what was another important step in the group’s development. Building on the brilliant ‘In Trance,’ Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine honed their craft on “Pictured Life” and “Backstage Queen,” while Uli Roth contributed venomous six-string stings in “Hell Cat” and “Polar Nights.”

6: ‘Animal Magnetism’ (1980)

Mercury

6: ‘Animal Magnetism’ (1980)

The Scorpions roared into the 1980s with their sights set on breaking big in America, having already done so in Europe and even Japan. That soon happened on a major scale, but not without the improved chart foundation laid down by perennial favorites from this album like “Make it Real,” “Don’t Make No Promises” and “The Zoo.”

5: ‘Taken By Force’ (1977)

RCA

5: ‘Taken By Force’ (1977)

Not even the sanity-challenging jack hammer sound effect heard throughout first song “Steamrock Fever” can taint one of the Scorpions’ most engaging albums. ‘Taken by Force’ contrasts the high-speed gender-bending of “He’s a Woman — She’s a Man” against the unparalleled majesty of “We’ll Burn the Sky,” celebrates the recently deceased Elvis Presley on “The Riot of Your Time,” and showcases Uli Jon Roth’s sheer genius on “Sails of Charon.”

4: ‘Love at First Sting’ (1984)

Mercury

4: ‘Love at First Sting’ (1984)

The Scorpions’ most successful album, ‘Love at First Sting’ crowned the group’s long and steady climb to global stardom with multi-platinum sales, career-best chart peaks and hits in “Rock You Like a Hurricane,” “Big City Nights” and “Still Loving You.” Yet it never lacked substance, thanks to excellent deeper cuts like “Bad Boys Running Wild” and “Coming Home.” In keeping, this LP still teems with white-knuckle excitement, all these years later.

3: ‘In Trance’ (1975)

RCA

3: ‘In Trance’ (1975)

This was their first classic release, and it’s fair to say that ‘In Trance’ became the basic blueprint behind all of the Scorpions’ most successful albums to date. In the title track, they mastered the secret for contrasting dark and light. “Top of the Bill” and “Robot Man” perfected their relentlessly direct hard rock attack. And the special sauce came via Uli Jon Roth cuts, namely the absolutely ripping “Dark Lady.”

2: ‘Blackout’ (1982)

Mercury

2: ‘Blackout’ (1982)

This was the album that truly awakened America to the Scorpions. Ignited by the hell-bent title cut, ‘Blackout’ was pushed up the charts by the irresistible melodies and choruses of “Arizona” and “No One Like You,” and given nuance by the heroin indictment of “China White.” Then there was the skull-bashing metal of “Now!,” and the simply perfect “Dynamite.” This was the Scorpions at their most powerful.

1: ‘Lovedrive’ (1979)

Mercury

1: ‘Lovedrive’ (1979)

‘Lovedrive’ remains a creative tour de force, collecting the Scorpions’ most eclectic and consistently amazing songs. More impressive still is that it arrived while the group was struggling to replace the departed Uli Roth. They finally settled on the fresh-faced but as-yet-unproven Matthias Jabs, but not before opening the door for a returning Michael Schenker to contribute a spate of dazzling solos. Oh, and ‘Lovedrive’ came packaged in maybe the funniest album cover in metal history.

Filed Under: Scorpions

Categories: Metal, News, Rock

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