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Scorpions Promise Piece of Berlin Wall with Every Copy of New Box Set

Box sets from classic rock bands have sometimes come under criticism for excessive trinkets — like the marbles included in some of Pink Floyd’s — but fans may not be so quick to roll away a bonus included in a forthcoming collection from the Scorpions: a piece of the Berlin Wall.

The release, which is limited to 2,020 copies, is the rare box set themed around just one song. It commemorates the metal band’s 1991 ballad “Wind of Change,” which was written by singer Klaus Meine about change in communist countries and was performed by the group at a ceremony celebrating the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall.

The piece of the wall included in the set is described as “handcrafted,” which may sound suspicious for a historic artifact, but the remnants have been “customized with the red ‘Wind of Change’ star and a handwritten lyric by Klaus Meine.”

The “Wind of Change” box is being made available in September through the Scorpions’ European website at a cost of 65 Euros, or about $77. A worldwide edition will follow in November without the wall remnant. Musical components of the set include an LP and CD with alternate versions of the song in Russian and Spanish and with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, with an 84-page hardcover book also featured.

 

The Scorpions have sold more than 100 million albums since releasing their debut in 1972. The group tweeted on July 25 that it was back in the studio working on their 19th album and first since 2015. A Pollstar cover story in June said the group was working at a studio in Hanover, Germany on an album to be produced by L.A.-based Greg Fidelman (Metallica, Slipknot) via Zoom. The group recently completed a three-year “Crazy World” tour that included 133 shows.

Pollstar described “Wind of Change” as “the song that became the anthem for an entire generation of Europeans who witnessed the end of communism and the fall of the Iron Curtain. Its impact was so immense that it prompted a podcast by journalist Patrick Radden Keefe, who investigated the CIA’s [alleged] involvement in the writing of the song.” Meine participated in the series, denying the rumor while allowing it would be “a good idea for a movie.”

 

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