Uli Jon Roth not annoyed by phones at gigs

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By ( Classic Rock ) published

And guitarist says sometimes fans capture great performances that would otherwise be forgotten

Uli Jon Roth says he doesn’t allow himself to get annoyed by fans recording his shows on their phones – and adds that sometimes he’s glad they do.

The guitar icon is on the road in the US ahead of the release of his upcoming double album of reworked Scorpions tracks – Scorpions Revisited, out on March 10 via UDR.

And while he understands that it could be a distraction, he won’t insist fans keep their mobile phones in their pockets while he’s on stage.

Roth tells Rockeyez: “It could be annoying but I don’t allow myself to be annoyed. Usually when they are standing in front of the guitar, that is all they hear and it sounds ridiculous.

“Sometimes it’s actually welcome because sometimes we’re on stage and then I think, ‘Wow that was really good.’ You play a song and it’s a really good improv and I think, ‘I wish I had recorded that.’ And then I see a guy with a cellphone and I say, ‘Oh yeah, someone did record it.’

“Yesterday that was exactly the case. We played in Seattle and we jammed for quite a long time and it was the best we ever did. I was hoping someone was there with a cellphone and recorded it.”

A string of musicians including Kate Bush, Slipknot’s Corey Taylor and Peter Frampton have spoken out against fans who use phones and cameras at their shows.

Former Scorpions guitarist Roth said last week that he sees the songs he wrote with the group as his children. He said: “When you’re a songwriter, composer, your songs are a little bit like your children, and these are basically very, very old children of mine.”

Stef Lach

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.