Michael Schenker Group

Michael Schenker Group
MSG live in New York City in March 2012
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Hard rock heavy metal
Years active	1979 (1979)–present
Labels	Chrysalis Capitol Impact Shrapnel In-akustik
Members	Michael Schenker Doogie White Francis Buchholz Wayne Findlay Herman Rarebell
Past members	See below

The Michael Schenker Group (often abbreviated as MSG) is a guitar-oriented hard rock band formed in 1979 by former Scorpions and UFO guitarist, Michael Schenker. In 1986, Schenker and vocalist Robin McAuley formed the McAuley Schenker Group, which lasted until 1993. After that, in 1996 the Michael Schenker Group was reformed.

The music is best described as mostly melodic hard rock with progressive undertones. Schenker is famous for his half-black, half-white Gibson Flying V electric guitar and for his unorthodox approach to lead guitar. He is sponsored by Dean Guitars and is well known in the neo-classical genre.

Discography

MSG at Kavarna Rock Fest 2012. From left: Wayne Findlay, Francis Buchholz, Herman Rarebell, Doogie White, Michael Schenker.

Main article: Michael Schenker Group discography

Studio albums

Michael Schenker Group

• The Michael Schenker Group (1980)
• MSG (1981)
• Assault Attack (1982)
• Built to Destroy (1983)
• Written in the Sand (1996)
• The Unforgiven (1999)
• Be Aware of Scorpions (2001)
• Arachnophobiac (2003)
• Tales of Rock'n'Roll (2006)
• In the Midst of Beauty (2008)

McAuley Schenker Group

• Perfect Timing (1987)
• Save Yourself (1989)
• M.S.G. (1991)
• Nightmare: The Acoustic M.S.G. (1992)

Michael Schenker's Temple Of Rock

• Temple of Rock (2011)
• Bridge the Gap (2013)
• Spirit on a Mission (2015)

Michael Schenker Fest

• Resurrection (2018)

Cover albums

Michael Schenker Group

• Heavy Hitters (2005)
  • Doctor Doctor: The Kulick Sessions (2007 re-release)
  • By Invitation Only (2011 re-release)

Live albums

Michael Schenker Group

• One Night at Budokan (1982) (UK Silver)
• Rock Will Never Die (1984)
• BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert (1993)
• The Michael Schenker Story Live (1997)
• The Unforgiven World Tour (1999)
• The Mad Axeman Live (2007)
• Walk the Stage: The Official Bootleg Box Set (2009)
• The 30th Anniversary Concert – Live in Tokyo (2010)

McAuley Schenker Group

• "Unplugged" Live (1992)

Michael Schenker's Temple Of Rock

• Temple Of Rock- Live In Europe (2012)
• On A Mission - Live In Madrid (2016)

Michael Schenker Fest

• Michael Schenker Fest - Live Tokyo International Forum Hall A (2017)

Band members

Current members

• Michael Schenker - lead guitar (1979-present)
• Gary Barden - lead vocal (1980–1981, 1982-1984, 2008–2010, 2016–present)
• Graham Bonnet - lead vocal (1982, 2016–present)
• Robin McAuley - lead vocal (1986-1994, 2012, 2016–present)
• Chris Glen - bass (1980–1983, 2008–2009, 2010, 2011, 2016–present)
• Ted McKenna - drums (1983–1984, 2008, 2016–present)
• Steve Mann - keyboards & rhythm guitar (1986-1987, 1988-1991, 2016–present)

Former members

Lead vocals:

• Derek St. Holmes, plus guitar (1983)
• Ray Kennedy (1984)
• Roland Jones, plus guitar (1984–85)
• Leif Sundin (1995–1997, 2007–2008)
• Marc Robert Harrison (1997)
• David VanLanding (1997–1999, 2011, 2012) (died 17 November 2015 in a car accident)
• Kelly Keeling (1999, 2000)
• Keith Slack (1999)
• Chris Logan (2001–2004, 2006)
• Jari Tiura (2006-2007)
• Doogie White (2011, 2012–2016)

Keyboards:

• Don Airey (session 1980, 2008, 2011)
• Paul Raymond, plus guitar (1980–1981, 2011)
• Tommy Eyre (session 1982)
• Andy Nye (1982–1984)
• Claude Gaudette (session 1996)
• Seth Bernstein, plus guitar (1997–1999)
• Wayne Findlay - keyboard, rhythm guitar & backing vocals (1999–2016)

Bass:

• Billy Sheehan (1979)
• Mo Foster (session 1980)
• Dennis Feldman (1984)
• Barry Sparks (1996-1998, 1999-2000)
• John Onder (1999)
• Rev Jones (2001–2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012)
• Stuart Hamm (2003)
• Pete Way (2006, 2011)
• Neil Murray (2008, 2010, 2011)
• Elliott "Dean" Rubinson (2010-2011, 2012)
• Francis Buchholz (2012–2016)

Drums:

• Denny Carmassi (1979)
• Simon Phillips (1980, 2008, 2010, 2011)
• Cozy Powell (1980–1982)
• Shane Gaalaas (1996–2000)
• Jeff Martin (2001, 2006)
• Jeremy Colson (2003)
• Pete Holmes (2004-2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014)
• Chris Slade (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
• Carmine Appice (2010, 2011)
• Herman Rarebell (2010, 2011–2016)

Timeline

External links

• Michael Schenker official site
• Interview of Michael Schenker on Rockpages.gr
• MSG in the BNR metal pages
• www.cduniverse.com Production Information