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Wind of Change

4 Extra Debut. How German rock group Scorpions鈥 1990s power ballad became an anthem for the fall of the Soviet Union. From 2019.

鈥淚 follow the Moskva, down to Gorky Park鈥 listening to the wind of change.鈥

The German rock band Scorpions鈥 lead singer Klaus Meine was inspired to write Wind of Change at a rock festival in Moscow in the summer of 1989. Politics were rapidly shifting in the Soviet Union at the time as a result of Mikhail Gorbachev鈥檚 reforms.

Recalling the peaceful yet revolutionary atmosphere at the concerts, Klaus said 鈥渢here was a whole new generation of Russian kids that said the Cold War would be over soon - we could literally feel the world changing in front of our eyes鈥.

No one had any idea that the Berlin wall would come down only a few months later. Wind of Change was released in 1990, and has since become an unofficial anthem for the end of the Cold War and the reunification of Germany in 1991. The power ballad is one the best-selling singles in history, and popular all over the world.

Featuring interviews with lead singer of the Scorpions Klaus Meine, Russian rock musician Stas Namin, and true stories of what the song means to people who lived in the former USSR.

Series about pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact.

Producer: Sophie Anton

First broadcast on 大象传媒 Radio 4 in July 2019.

Available now

28 minutes

Last on

Fri 9 Dec 2022 20:30

Broadcasts

  • Wed 24 Jul 2019 09:00
  • Wed 24 Jul 2019 21:30
  • Fri 9 Dec 2022 20:30

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