Uli Jon Roth: The 1985 "Astral Skies" Interview

Recorded on March 20 and 21, 1985, these interviews capture the German guitar hero at a transitional moment in his career. Uli had already recorded classic albums with the Scorpions--"Fly to the Rainbow," "In Trance," "Virgin Killer," and "Tokyo Tapes" among them-- as well as two albums with Electric Sun. At the time of our conversations, he had just wrapped up the sessions for his "Beyond the Astral Skies" solo project. With its orchestrations, choir of voices, unusual guitar parts, and cosmic themes, this LP was album markedly different from other 1980s records by major rock guitarists. I found Uli to be very forthcoming as he revealed a wealth of information about his life, musicianship, and career. The conversation took place over two days, and both parts are presented in this podcast. Parts of it were used for my June 1985 article in "Guitar Player" magazine. I hope you enjoy it! If you're into hard rock/heavy metal guitar, be sure to check out our channel's uncut interviews with Eddie Van Halen, Michael Schenker, Angus and Malcolm Young, Steve Vai, Warren DeMartini and Robbin Crosby, Vivian Campbell, Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Satriani, and others. Thanks to engineer/producer Nik Hunt for assembling this podcast. For more than 220 blues-, rock-, and guitar-intensive podcasts, interview transcriptions, and articles, check out my online "Talking Guitar" magazine at https://jasobrecht.substack.com/. #ulijonroth #scorpions #heavymetal #hardrockguitar #jasobrecht #nikhunt This recording is ©2025 Jas Obrecht. All right reserved.