Scorpions concert photography ~ Bill O’Leary

A word from the photographer

ON THIS NIGHT: Scorpions

I finally got the opportunity to see and photograph one of my favorite bands as a teenager in the 70’s, the Scorpions. They were touring in support of the recently released album “Animal Magnetism” and were touring America for the first time. I was in a front row seat at the Philadelphia Spectrum Arena, Def Leppard were also on their first American tour, both Def Leppard and Scorpions were opening for Ted Nugent.

The opening band

As an opening band, Scorpions maybe had a 45 min. set for me to shoot. Not a problem as I was used to shooting under pressure and getting the best shots quickly. The stage this night was very high with an enormous security fence like I had never seen before, especially in an indoor arena show. Fortunately, I was tall enough to get a good angle for shooting above it, standing on my seat helped.

Conquering the American audiences

Scorpions came on with high energy performance, something they would become very famous for later in their career. “Make It Real” was the opening song from the new album. They also played a few tracks from the older classic albums with former guitarist Ulrich Roth, who had since gone solo 2 years earlier. New guitarist Mathias Jabs was fitting in very well with the “new” Scorpions hoping to conquer the American audiences. Another new track, “The Zoo” was getting a lot of airplay on US radio at the time.

Surviving another concert

I came away with some decent images considering the challenges of a minimal light show, a very tough shooting angle and a crazy high energy crowd, all fighting to get as close to the stage as possible. I remember at the end of Ted Nugent’s set, when the house lights came on, that many of the foldable floor chairs were completely mangled and destroyed. Another night of high intensity rock n’ roll survived….

Location and date of these concert captures 

 America / 14.07.1980

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