R.I.P. Francis Buchholz

He helped rock us all like a hurricane–

Francis Buchholz, longtime bassist for German band The Scorpions passed away at the age of 71 after a private battle with cancer. According to an announcement on social media, “He departed this world peacefully, surrounded by love,” his family wrote.

“Throughout his fight with cancer, we stayed by his side, facing every challenge as a family – exactly the way he taught us. To his fans around the world – we want to thank you for your unwavering loyalty, your love, and the belief you placed in him throughout his incredible journey. You gave him the world, and he gave you his music in return. Though the strings have gone silent, his soul remains in every note he played and in every life he touched.”

Scorpions’ hits that Buchholz played on to help cement his style and status include the band’s biggest hit, “Rock You Like a Hurricane” from 1984 as well as “No One Like You,” “Big City Nights,” and “Blackout,” “The Zoo,” and hit ballad “Wind of Change.”

Buchholz was born Jan. 19, 1950 in Hanover, West Germany and discovered rock music around the age of 11, playing bass publicly by the age of 15. He would join a band called Dawn Road which also featured guitarist Uli Jon Roth, which would later merge and evolve into The Scorpions.

Buchholz would replace their original bassist, making his studio debut with the group on their second LP, Fly to the Rainbow (1974). The group was slowly gaining additional fame, notably with the 1979 release of Lovedrive, the band’s first LP with lead guitarist Matthias Jabs.

1982’s Blackout, 1984’s Love at First Sting and 1988’s Savage Amusement were all more successful than the prior album and also in 1988, they were the first metal band to tour the Soviet Union. The following year, they played the Moscow Music Peace Festival, along with the likes of Bon Jovi and Ozzy Osbourne.

Buchholz also had a PA and lighting company that provided services to the band and others, and he was handling the band’s business matters at the time as well.

A disagreement with management followed by accusations of funneling profits into dummy companies that resulted a tax agent raid, increased the growing internal strife within the band, and culminated in his departure from the group in 1992. He would further explain his side of the events in his 1996 book, Bass Magic.

He would return to music in the mid-2000s, touring with old cohort Roth and joined to record and tour together with another former Scorpions guitarist, Michael Schenker, in his Temple of Rock project.

Buchholz lived in his hometown of Hanover, and leaves behind his wife, Hella, a son, and twin daughters.