HERMAN RAREBELL & FRIENDS – What About Love? (2025) *HQ*

Good old Herman Ze German! He is still kicking around making the occasional record. Herman Rarebell, the drummer of Scorpions from 1977 to 1996, was a clever guy. As one of the only members in the band who spoke English at the time, he wrote/translated most of the lyrics. He was a clever businessman and he made sure that credit was given where credit was due and made sure he was compensated accordingly.
Now he has the financial freedom to do what he wants while he waits for a fat, publishing royalty cheque to come in every time a radio station or commercial plays ‘Rock You Like A Hurricane’.
On “What About Love?“, HERMAN RAREBELL & FRIENDS take you back to the ’80s and together we return to our very time with the greatest music of this powerful decade. Herman has chosen 12 classic songs to make his own versions with good friends and great musicians as a tribute to the greatest hits of a time that was a golden age for him personally.
Former Ozzy bassist Bob Daisley can be heard on this album, as well as Dann Huff, who was a studio musician on some of the greatest albums in rock&pop history, as well as Howard Leese from the legendary U.S. rockers Heart and singer Michael Voss (Casanova, Michael Schenker).

Says Rarebell: “With this album, I don’t just want to bring back memories of the great hits of the ’80s. It’s not just about the melodies and rhythms that I miss today. Above all, it’s about the feeling that these songs convey. The love, the courage, the optimism that is in them. I think a lot of that has been lost. The groove in ‘Here I Go Again’, the larger-than-life chorus of ‘I Love Rock’n’Roll’ and the unshakeable power of ‘Rock You Like A Hurricane’. The love and longing of ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’. It’s no wonder that these songs have held a place in people’s hearts for four decades.
For me, the power, the special spirit of the ’80s is in every chord of these songs, every hit on the bass drum. Every take we recorded for this album was pure pleasure. Friends who play great music. We hope you feel what we’ve put into these new recordings: Love, power, optimism! For me, that’s the power of the ’80s!”

Herman continues: “As a musician, this era was the best time to create songs. The songs are still popular; they can still be played today. We had a great time conveying the message of believing in a bright future and in love.
I think the best thing about the ’80s was the music. I miss it very much today since I seldom hear it on the radio. We nearly covered DIRE STRAITS’ ‘Money For Nothing’ and I could cover a hundred songs from the ’80s.
For me, it’s personal. I’ve played with all the musicians here. FOREIGNER and I have performed at many festivals in Germany. The song ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’ is one of the finest tunes ever written in the history of rock. Also, Pat Benatar’s ‘Love Is A Battlefield’ is exceptional. I have a really talented young singer, and we have made the song fresh and rock-driven now. We brought in more guitars to make it different, and it has a great drive.

“The title track, ‘What About Love?’ made famous by Heart, clearly resonates with Jim Vallance, who play keyboards on this new version. He was a writer on ‘Crazy World’ for the SCORPIONS. It was a great honor for me that he appeared in the video.
Then, of course, ‘Every Breath You Take’ is a must from the ’80s. I thought, ‘What drums can I use?’ When I heard ‘In The Air Tonight’, I recognized that fill – every drummer knows it. I said, ‘This is what you have to do.’ I made it heavier because I’m a heavy drummer.
Additionally, Joan Jett’s ‘I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll’ was played every night on our European tour in 1984 as I sat in the dressing room. Even when she stopped the show, people continued singing it. I decided, ‘This has to be on the album. It has to be the last song played live.’ It’s the perfect way to leave the crowd with that song.

“We also included ‘These Dreams’ from Heart. Naturally, the record company insisted, ‘You have to do two SCORPIONS songs.’ I selected my most successful ones: ‘Rock You Like A Hurricane’ and ‘Passion Rules The Game’. On ‘Passion’, we have the girl and the man answering each other, and we introduced new guitars. I wrote that in 1987.
I really wanted to do this album. It’s an honor to bring everyone back to the ’80s.”

01 – In The Air Tonight
02 – I Want To Know What Love Is
03 – Love Is A Battlefield
04 – What About Love?
05 – Every Breath You Take
06 – Sweet Child O’ Mine
07 – Here I Go Again
08 – Addicted To Love
09 – Passion Rules The Game
10 – Rock You Like A Hurricane
11 – These Dreams
12 – I Love Rock’n Roll

Pre order:
www.amazon.co.uk/HERMAN-RAREBELL-FRIENDS-WHAT-ABOUT/dp/B0DWTDJJW8