Wind of Change (Scorpions song)

"Wind of Change"
Single by Scorpions
from the album Crazy World
B-side	"Tease Me Please Me"
Released	20 January 1991
Format	7" CDM CD
Recorded	1990 Wisseloord Studios (Hilversum, The Netherlands) Goodnight LA Studios (Los Angeles, California)
Genre	Hard rock Power ballad
Length	5:10
Label	Vertigo Mercury
Writer(s)	Klaus Meine, Robbie Buchanan, Diane Warren
Producer(s)	Keith Olsen Robbie Buchanan Scorpions
Scorpions singles chronology
"Passion Rules the Game" (1989) "Wind of Change" (1991) "Send Me an Angel" (1991)

"Wind of Change" is a song by the German rock band Scorpions, recorded for their eleventh studio album, Crazy World (1990). The song was composed and written by the band's lead singer Klaus Meine, Robbie Buchanan, Diane Warren and produced by Keith Olsen and the band. It was released as the album's third single in January 1991 and became a worldwide hit, just after the failed coup that would eventually lead to the collapse of the Soviet Communist regime. The song topped the charts in Germany and across Europe and hit number four in the United States and number two in the United Kingdom. It later appeared on the band's 1995 live album Live Bites, their 2000 album with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Moment of Glory, and on their 2001 unplugged album Acoustica. With estimated sales of 14 million copies sold worldwide, "Wind of Change" is one of the best-selling singles of all time.^[1] It holds the record for the best-selling single by a German artist.

The band presented a gold record of the single to Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991. As of September 2015 the video for “Wind of Change” has been viewed more than 215 million times on YouTube to date. VEVO meticulously recorded the view requests and certified them. With this, the Scorpions are the first German band cracking the 100 million click mark.

Background and writing

The lyrics celebrate glasnost in the USSR, the end of the Cold War, and talks about hope when tense conditions arose due to the fall of Communist-run governments among Eastern Bloc nations beginning in 1989.

The Scorpions were inspired to write the song on a visit to Moscow in 1989,^[2] and the opening lines refer to the city's landmarks:

I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change

The Moskva is the name of the river that runs through Moscow (both the city and the river are named identically in Russian), and Gorky Park is an urban park in Moscow named after the writer Maxim Gorky.

The song also contains a reference to the balalaika, which is a Russian string instrument somewhat like a guitar. The balalaika is mentioned in the following verse:

For peace of mind
Let your balalaika sing
What my guitar wants to say

Composition

"Wind of Change" opens with a clean guitar intro played by Matthias Jabs, which is played alongside Klaus Meine's famous whistle. The song's guitar solo is played by Rudolf Schenker.

Other versions

The band also recorded a Russian-language version of the song, under the title "Ветер перемен" ("Veter Peremen")^{[3] [4] [5]} and a Spanish version called "Vientos de Cambio".

Legacy

In 2005, viewers of the German television network ZDF chose this song as the song of the century. It is the highest selling song ever in Germany, reportedly selling over 6 million copies in that country alone, and is frequently played on television shows presenting video footage of the fall of the Berlin Wall. In Germany, it is remembered as the song of German reunification and a message of hope.^[6]

Uses of the song

• Plays in a scene from the 2010 movie Gentlemen Broncos, when main character Benjamin Purvis walks out of a bookshop with his date.
• Popular UK football show Soccer AM uses "Wind of Change" as its tribute to UK troops overseas.
• It also features in the video game SingStar Rocks! and has been added as a downloadable content from the SingStore.
• The song was featured in the episode "Chuck Versus the Seduction Impossible" of the TV show Chuck.
• In series 15, episode 2 of Top Gear, the song can be heard during the introduction of The Stig's "German cousin".
• In the independent film In Search of a Midnight Kiss (distributed by IFC in summer 2008), writer/director Alex Holdridge has characters in the film sing an impromptu version of "Wind of Change" as the movie concludes in celebration of the main character's changing fortune, and as the credits start to roll. Austin, Texas-based rock band Sybil performs a cover of the song.
• The song was used in the Berlin Wall trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010) in the "First Strike" DLC.
• Hong Kong pop singer Alan Tam included a Cantonese version of the song called "再等幾天" (English: "Wait a few More Days") in his 1992 album Lover.
• Plays at the end of the 2014 film The Interview.
• A version was played on the church bells of the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, Netherlands as part of the project 'Recording Heaven' by the artists Roos Blogg and Maia Lyon Daw in 2009.^[7]
• The song were also used during before the warm up sessions on A State Of Trance Festival 2003.
• David Lemieux used it as his entrance song in his boxing match to Gennady Golovkin on pay per view at madison square garden October 17, 2015.

Track listings

CD maxi Europe "Wind of Change" – 5:10 "Tease Me Please Me" – 4:44 U.S. "Wind of Change" – 5:10 "Restless Nights" – 5:44 "Big City Nights" (live) – 5:10

7" single "Wind of Change" – 5:10 "Restless Nights" – 5:44

Charts and sales

Peak positions Chart (1991-1992) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[8] 7 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[9] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] 2 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] 10 France (SNEP)[12] 1 Germany (Official German Charts)[13] 1 Ireland (IRMA)[14] 2 Illegal chart entered Island|6 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[15] 1 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[16] 17 Norway (VG-lista)[17] 1 Poland (LP3)[18] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[19] 1 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 1 UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[21] 2 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[22] 4 U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[22] 2

End of year charts End of year chart (1991) Position Australian Singles Chart[23] 43 Austrian Singles Chart[24] 1 Canadian Singles Chart[25] 94 French Singles Chart 3 German Singles Chart[26] 1 Dutch Top 40[27] 8 Swiss Singles Chart[28] 1 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[29] 39 Certifications Country Certification Date Sales Australia[30] Platinum 1991 50,000 Austria[31] Platinum November 7, 1991 30,000 France[32] Gold 1991 250,000 Germany[33] Platinum 1991 500,000 UK[34] Silver October 1, 1991 200,000 U.S.[35] Gold April 9, 1991 500,000

Chart successions

See also

• Glasnost
• Perestroika
• Demokratizatsiya (Soviet Union)

References

1. http://www.abendblatt.de/vermischtes/journal/thema/article1210581/Der-Wende-Hit.html
2. Bienstalk, Richard Scorpions' 'Wind of Change': The Oral History of 1990's Epic Power Ballad Rolling Stone. September 4, 2015
3. The wind of change_Russian version
4. The wind of change_Russian version
5. فيديو ويند أوف شينج لسكوربيون (النسخة الروسية)
6. German Rock Band Scorpions of ‘Wind of Change’ Fame to Break Up Bloomberg
7. http://www.tidalspectrum.com/recording-heaven-project/
8. "Australian-charts.com – Scorpions – Wind of Change". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
9. "Austriancharts.at – Scorpions – Wind of Change" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
10. "Ultratop.be – Scorpions – Wind of Change" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
11. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.1570&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=tm0embfudemtsfk01edguknnb1
12. "Lescharts.com – Scorpions – Wind of Change" (in French). Les classement single.
13. "Musicline.de – Scorpions Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
14. Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
15. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Scorpions search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
16. "Charts.org.nz – Scorpions – Wind of Change". Top 40 Singles.
17. "Norwegiancharts.com – Scorpions – Wind of Change". VG-lista.
18. Archiwum Listy Przebojów Programu Trzeciego (Retrieved November 16, 2014)
19. "Swedishcharts.com – Scorpions – Wind of Change". Singles Top 100.
20. "Swisscharts.com – Scorpions – Wind of Change". Swiss Singles Chart.
21. UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
22. Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved August 8, 2008)
23. 1991 Australian Singles Chart aria.com (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
24. 1991 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
25. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.2024&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=tm0embfudemtsfk01edguknnb1
26. http://www.officialcharts.de/year.asp?cat=s&country=de&year=1991&x=39&y=10
27. "Single top 100 over 1991" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
28. 1991 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
29. "Billboard Top 100 – 1991". Retrieved 2009-09-15.
30. ARIA
31. Austrian certifications ifpi.at (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
32. French certifications Infodisc.fr (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
33. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('Wind+of+Change')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved April 20, 2008.
34. UK certifications Bpi.co.uk (Retrieved August 8, 2008)
35. U.S. certifications riaa.com (Retrieved April 20, 2008)

External links

• Lyrics and guitar chords
• "Wind of Change" music video on YouTube