The Michael Schenker Group (often abbreviated as MSG) is an English
hard rock band, formed in London in 1979 by former
Scorpions and
UFO guitarist
Michael Schenker.[1] In 1986, Schenker and vocalist
Robin McAuley formed the
McAuley Schenker Group, which lasted until 1993.[1] Afterwards, in 1996, the Michael Schenker Group was reformed.[2] After the release of their second live album, 1984's Rock Will Never Die, its members began to have serious discussions that caused a two-year hiatus, and Michael ended the band in 1986.
The group has had many different members over the years with Schenker the only constant presence.
History
The band was formed in 1979, following the departure of
Michael Schenker from
UFO, in an attempt to have a band that better suited his needs. He therefore decided to move to
London; a few weeks after his arrival in the British capital, he joined
Gary Barden, vocalist of Fraser Nash, who, with bassist
Billy Sheehan and drummer
Denny Carmassi founded a new band, simply called Michael Schenker Group.[3] The following year they recorded their second album, MSG, which placed at No. 14 on the UK charts. During their promotional tour, they played at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan in Japan, where their first live album was recorded titled One Night at Budokan. It was released in 1982 with great success in the UK where it was certified
silver after exceeding 60,000 copies sold.[citation needed]
In October 1983, the band released Built to Destroy, the first with keyboardist
Andy Nye and which also featured
Derek St. Holmes, known at the time as
Ted Nugent's vocalist.[citation needed] To promote it, they gave several concerts in the UK and later went on tour to other European countries as the opening band of
Iron Maiden.[citation needed] Their farewell concert was held on December 18, 1983 at the Dortmund festival, after which the band disbanded, and the guitarist founded the
McAuley Schenker Group.
After deciding to wrap up the McAuley Schenker Group project, Schenker decided to re-found the band in 1996 with
Leif Sundin on vocals,
Barry Sparks on bass and
Shane Gaalaas on drums with whom he recorded
Written in the Sand. Two years later, they released The Unforgiven, with
Kelly Keeling replacing Sundin and with John Onder replacing Sparks.
^Gett, Steve (3 May 1986).
"On the Beat"(PDF). Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 18. New York City, New York: Billboard Publications, Inc. p. 22. Retrieved 16 January 2022.