“What About Love?” Album release:
APRIL 11th, 2025

In the Air tonight • I want to know what love is • Love is a Battlefield • What about love • Every Breath you take • Sweet Child of mine • Here I go again • Addicted to Love • Passion rules the game • Rock you like a hurricane • These Dreams • I love Rock'n Roll

What About Love?

Dear friends,

Welcome to our journey back to the future! Herman Rarebell & Friends take you back to the eighties and together we return to our very time with the greatest music of this powerful decade.

I have chosen twelve songs to re-record with good friends and great musicians. As a tribute to the greatest hits of a time that was a golden age for me personally.

Former Black Sabbath bassist Bob Daisley can be heard on this album, as can Dann Huff, who can be heard as a studio musician on some of the greatest albums in pop history, as well as Howard Leese from the legendary US rockers Heart and singer Michael Voss (Casanova, Mad Max, Michael Schenker).
What an ensemble, what a pleasure.

Singles from upcoming album
“What About Love?”.

What About Love?
Love Is A Battlefield
Passion Rules The Game
I Wanna Know What Love Is

  • I Wanna Know What Love Is

    Will be released Friday, April 11th

  • Passion Rules The Game
  • love Is A Battlefield
  • What About Love ?

 

In the 1980s, the danger of a nuclear bomb falling on humanity's head at any time and reducing this planet and our societies to rubble was real. Under this dark cloud, music was created that fought against the darkness. It brought together hope and also the forces that provide light and love. I think that more powerful music has never been created before or since. It was the golden age for me, I enjoyed it. We traveled the world with the Scorpions, we met people from all cultures. It was one big rush. Anything was possible at any time. I spent parts of the eighties in LA, in the “Rainbow”, in “The Whisky”, in all these magical places of rock'n'roll. Where a universe of its own was created, with all these bands that later became larger than life. Slash, Axl, the guys from Mötley Crue, Lemmy, of course. They were all there. There was an endless optimism, everyone had their chance for the next big hit, the step from the street into the stadium. With the Scorpions, we created a whole series of legendary albums in the eighties.

It was a rush to be part of that time. And then, at the end of the eighties, I'm standing in the Kremlin, in the eye of the hurricane of change, and I get to talk to Gorbachev, whose family were fans of us, the Scorpions from Germany. The “Moscow Music Peace Festival” in August 1989 will forever remain the most emotional experience of my career, probably of my life. What we were able to experience in those hours is the essence of the eighties for me. Us small, wild western rockers, who had made our way from the German provinces around the world to the gigantic stage in Moscow, were allowed to play in front of and for hundreds of thousands of Russians.

What had long been terribly unthinkable was suddenly possible. No, not just possible: it had become reality. People had freed themselves from their chains against all odds and we celebrated together. We were, as Klaus later wrote, like brothers. The thought gives me goose bumps. There was hope, there was new beginnings and optimism, euphoria and love. For me, the “Moscow Music Peace Festival” is a symbol of the eighties. I was allowed to be there and experience it. What a privilege, for which I will be eternally grateful.

With this album, I don't just want to bring back memories of the great hits of the eighties. 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 eighties 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 eighties! Anyone who was there will remember. And anyone who missed it deserves to relive it, at least in this way.

With this in mind: “Here I am - Rock you like a Hurricane”!
Yours Herman