Michael Schenker is eight years younger than his brother Rudolf Schenker. They played together in Scorpions in the 70s but their relationship was never really good. Michael always criticized Rudolf calling him a bully and in an interview with Eddie Trunk he said that again.
Michael Schenker criticizes again his brother Rudolf
“No. I just know that I have been a very big part of creating Rudolf as a musician. (Laughs) I don’t think without me, he would have been there, and maybe the other way around the same way. But the thing is that I have to protect myself from Rudolf. Every time he wants to do something with me or every time they wanna do something big and they need my name, he misuses me. And I’m very sad that he keeps doing that.”
“He’s seven years older than me. He’s a bully. He has been abusive to me for many, many years. He has distorted my image for many years, and he just pretends as if nothing ever happened. I guess, ’cause I asked other people, ‘Hey, how does your older brother treat you?’ And they say, ‘Oh, exactly the same.’ So I think it’s just the thing they do. They think they own you, they can do with you whatever they want. I’m seven years younger. ‘That’s just my little brother, nobody, blah, blah, blah.’
He continued:
“I have no idea how these people, how their heads and their brains work, but the fact is I helped the Scorpions, I jump started them, and they forgot everything about it. And it’s not the Scorpions that are the bad guys — or actually nobody is really the bad guy. It’s just Rudolf is just a crazy, weird person. I don’t know what drives him. But I don’t wanna be connected to it.”
“So I don’t wanna be distracted with my vision every time I give in and say, ‘Okay, I’ll do something with Rudolf,’ and then he abuses me or uses me disrespectfully. I don’t know why he keeps going like that, but it’s just kind of very, very strange. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. I don’t know why it’s so important for him to be bigger than his little brother,” Michael Schenker said.
Schenker first joined Scorpions in 1969 when the band already existed for four years and remained as a member until 1973. He left the group to join the British band UFO, becoming a fundamental part of their sound and helping them to become one of the most influential Hard Rock bands from that era. He stayed with them until 1978 when he returned briefly to Scorpions before starting his solo career.