Former Scorpions bassist Francis Buchholz has died at 71 after a private battle with cancer, his family announced.
Buchholz passed away Thursday, Jan. 22, surrounded by loved ones, according to an emotional Facebook post shared by his family the following day.
“It is with overwhelming sadness and heavy hearts we share the news that our beloved Francis passed away yesterday after a private battle with cancer,” the statement said. “He departed this world peacefully, surrounded by love.”
“Our hearts are shattered,” the family added. “Throughout his fight with cancer, we stayed by his side, facing every challenge as a family — exactly the way he taught us.”
They thanked fans around the world for their loyalty and support during the rocker’s career.
“You gave him the world, and he gave you his music in return,” the statement said. “Though the strings have gone silent, his soul remains in every note he played and in every life he touched.”
The message was signed “with love and gratitude” by Buchholz’s wife, Hella, and their children, Sebastian, Louisa and Marietta.
Born in Hanover, Germany, in 1954, Buchholz discovered rock music at age 11 and picked up the bass as a teenager. In 1972, he joined the band Dawn Road alongside Uli Jon Roth, Jürgen Rosenthal and Achim Kirschning. With the addition of Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker, the group became Scorpions the following year.
Buchholz spent 18 years with the German hard rock giants, performing on 12 studio albums from “Fly to the Rainbow” in 1974 through the massive 1990 release “Crazy World.” His bass work helped anchor some of the band’s most enduring hits, including “Rock You Like a Hurricane,” “Wind of Change,” “Big City Nights” and “No One Likes You.”
He left Scorpions in 1992, later citing internal conflict and a desire to focus on family life.
“I was fed up with the music,” Buchholz said in a 2023 interview. “I was fed up with being in the group with all this internal fighting and turmoil that was going on after spending so many years together.”
“So, at that time, I became a father of twin girls, and I already had a year and a half old child,” he said. “So, I decided that was what I was going to focus on. I removed myself from the world of rock and into the world of family life.”
Buchholz later reunited with Roth for tours across Europe and the United States in 2005 and 2006. He also played with the Michael Schenker Group and Michael Schenker’s Temple of Rock, appearing on the albums “Bridge the Gap” in 2013 and “Spirit on a Mission” in 2015.
Reflecting on his career in recent years, Buchholz said performing live remained what mattered most.
“For me, it’s just playing onstage that I experience these moments,” he said. “In fact, I had the moment earlier today, just playing bass onstage and having everything sound great.”
“Those are, for me, the most important moments,” he added. “It doesn’t matter if it’s 100 or 100,000 people. I would rather play a great show to 100 people than a s – – tty one to 10,000.”
Representatives for Scorpions and Michael Schenker did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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