Music > Interviews

Udo Dirkschneider

22/03/16

German powerhouse Udo Dirkschneider is a genuine metal legend. He did his time as a powerful vocalist in hard rock band Accept back in the ‘80’s and even now, at the age of 63, is still giving it some hardcore on the regular on tour and recording with his band U.D.O. For one final time, in 2016, he’s going to be playing those Accept classics for the very last time, and he’ll be bringing it at the Waterfront his month, along with support Anvil. I spoke to Udo about how Accept’s most famous track Balls To The Wall came about and what it was like to tour with Judas Priest and KISS. Horns up and hair down, Norwich!

How did you originally get into metal music?

Oh, a long time ago, but it wasn’t called metal then, it was called hard rock. I was listening to the Stones, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, The Sweet, Black Sabbath, and they were the inspiration to make music. I had a few bands, then Accept formed and we went through many line up changes. We settled on a combination that really worked and we became professional.

You grew up in Solingen, a small town in Germany. Were there any other bands around in your town at that time making hard rock in the 80’s?

It was a small town but we had a really good music scene there, you know. Live music was very popular, but it wasn’t just rock, there was Krautrock as well. It was a very interesting scene, and we all had a good time together but nowadays there’s nothing happening in my hometown, it’s more in Hamburg and Berlin.

Do you have a favourite Accept album?

For me, the most important Accept album was Breaker (1981). I think it was at this time we found our style; it really had an aggressive energy to it. Also a lot of musicians have told us that it was the album that inspired them to start learning the guitar or singing. It doesn’t mean I don’t like the other albums, but for me that was the start of us being a proper band.

Accept’s album Restless and Wild, which came out in 1982, was one of the first speed metal albums. How did you discover this sound?

Yeah, especially the song Fast As A Shark. We didn’t know at the time that we were creating speed metal, and we almost decided not to put it on the album in fact. Everybody says that was the first speed metal song ever! Very interesting!

Who were some of best bands Accept toured with?

We learnt a lot on our first tour around Europe with Judas Priest, and then we went to America for the first time and toured with KISS, which, for a German band, was something else. It took it to a whole other level for us.

Accept’s most famous song is Balls To The Wall. Can you tell us about the writing of that song and what’s it meant to you over the years?

That song is about human rights. Wolf, our guitarist came up with the riff, and then there was the hook line “Balls To The Wall”, and that was all we had. Then one night I was in the studio with Stefan Kaufmann, our drummer, and I was really drunk, started singing some verses and the next day everybody said “That’s it!” It’s funny, sometimes things just happen like that.

How did you find it starting all over again with U.D.O after you were sacked from Accept?

Well the other guys were writing songs which weren’t really my kind of music, and they were trying to become more commercial and take on more of an American style. The next Accept album had already been written but they didn’t want those songs so I took them with me. So I searched for new musicians to play with which was, in a way, quite easy as everyone wanted to play with Udo! Ha ha! So I started working on the album, using those Accept songs, and then I went on tour in Europe, then America with Guns ‘n’ Roses and when the second U.D.O album came out I went on a big European tour with Ozzy Osbourne. Of course people have always said oh, you’re the voice of Accept, but I’ve been doing U.D.O now for longer that I was in Accept.

Last year at Wacken you announced that this would be the tour where you play Accept songs for the final time. How come you have decided to draw the line here and now?

I have been talking about this for a long time. My management told me that when they suggested I go out on tour and only play Accept songs all the fans were like “Yesssss!” So I said OK, I don’t want to do it under the name U.D.O, I’ll do it under the name Dirkschneider. In a way I want to close the book. I mean with U.D.O we were playing only two or three Accept songs per set and a lot of people were asking us to play more Accept songs, some people were asking us to play less Accept songs. I’m looking forward to singing all those songs and seeing people enjoy it. I’m having a lot of fun, the tour’s sold very well, in fact all the German shows are sold out.

You most recent U.D.O album Decadent came out last year, and it’s decidedly modern. Which current metal and rock bands do you admire?

I listen to so much different stuff, but when I come to write songs I have to stop listening to music completely. I want to be able to concentrate on what we are doing in U.D.O. At the moment we have two really great guitar players and so I’m really looking forward to making the next U.D.O album. After touring and working together we are expecting it to be another good one.

How come you have chosen the wonderful Anvil as your support on this tour?

I’ve known Anvil since the ‘80’s. They were recording an album with a producer that I work with and they also recorded that album in my son’s studio. So we said why are we not touring together, like a ‘back to the roots’ type of thing. People reacted very favourably to the idea so we went ahead. They’re doing very well, they do a one hour set.

Is your son Sven still playing drums with you?

Oh yeah, of course!

How do you maintain your incredible voice and have the strength and power to get through a long live set at the age of 63?

The only thing I can say is that I’m really lucky with my voice. I stopped smoking 13 years ago but I never have done any training and I never warm up before I go on stage. I still can do six shows in a row. I know a lot of singers my age who have real problems, they need to keep having days off. I try to stay as healthy as possible and I live in a healthy, nice place in Spain. I’m lucky!

Udo Dirkschneider plays the songs of Accept at the Waterfront on 17th April, supported by Anvil. Tickets available from ueaticketbookings.co.uk