Virgin Killer
Encyclopedia
Virgin Killer is the fourth studio album by the German heavy metal
band Scorpions
. It was released in 1976 and was the first album of the band to attract attention outside Europe
. The title is described as being a reference to time
as the killer of innocence
. The original cover featured a nude prepubescent
girl, which stirred controversy in the UK, U.S., and elsewhere. As a result, the album was reissued with a different cover in some countries.
In December 2008, the image again gave rise to controversy when the British Internet Watch Foundation
placed certain pages from Wikipedia
on its internet blacklist, since it considered the image to be "potentially illegal" under the Protection of Children Act 1978
. This resulted in much of the UK being prevented from editing Wikipedia, and significant public debate of the decision. The decision was reversed by the IWF after four days of blocking.
to hard rock
. Critic Vincent Jeffries of Allmusic contends in hindsight that the album was "the first of four studio releases that really defined the Scorpions and their urgent metallic sound that was to become highly influential." He also counts the title track and "Pictured Life" among the "all-time Scorpions standouts." Among the band members, Uli Jon Roth considers Virgin Killer and the previous release In Trance
as his favourite Scorpions albums.
. Francis Buchholz
was the bassist for the band and, in an interview conducted in early 2007, recollects that the model depicted on the cover was either the daughter or the niece of the cover designer. The photograph was taken by Michael von Gimbut. The band's rhythm guitarist Rudolf Schenker
offers the following description of the circumstances behind the album cover:
In a separate interview, Schenker also notes that he thought the cover art was a "great thing" and that he had "pushed the band to really stay behind it" as he felt that people would "think differently" when they looked at the lyrics and realized that the cover art was only being used as "a symbol of the lyrics." In a 2008 interview, Schenker added "We would never again do something like this". The band's former lead guitarist Uli Jon Roth notes that the cover art of the "old Scorpion albums" were "usually done by other people." He has since expressed regret over the original album cover:
In 2008, photographer Michael von Gimbut emphasized that his wife, the model's mother and sister and three female assistants had been present during the shooting and stated "We loved and protected children and did not sleep with them" ("Wir liebten und beschützten die Kinder damals und schliefen nicht mit ihnen").
The cover generated controversy
: the album could only be sold sealed in black plastic in several countries and the cover was replaced in some countries with an alternative cover art depicting the band members. The original is named in various "worst album cover" lists: Cracked magazine online named it the #1 "Worst Album Cover of All-Time," while Gigwise.com
lists it as #2 on its March 2008 "The 50 Most Controversial Album Covers of All Time!" list. Similarly, it was named (by UGO Networks) one of the "Weirdest Album Covers," and placed #6 on the "All-Time Worst Album Covers" list made by two.one.five magazine.
This would not be the last time that the band attracted controversy with its album covers. Their next album, Taken by Force
, originally featured cover art that depicted "children playing with guns at a military cemetery in France and some people found that offensive." Their 1979 album Lovedrive
featured a "bizarre artwork" that depicts "a woman on the back seat of a car with bubblegum over her breast." Both covers were replaced by an alternate design. Vocalist Klaus Meine
explains that the band's penchant for controversial cover art stems from a desire "to go over the edge" and not "to offend some people or make the headlines [as] that would be stupid," contrasting guitarist Rudolf Schenker's earlier statement, "We're using this only to get attention." In a 2010 interview Meine commented on the cover art again stating:
reported the cover image on Wikipedia to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
. An officer of the Concerned Women for America
, a conservative Christian advocacy group, commented, "By allowing that image to remain posted, Wikipedia is helping to further facilitate perversion and pedophilia." EContent magazine subsequently reported the Wikipedia community's internal debate as concluding, "Prior discussion has determined by broad consensus that the Virgin Killer cover will not be removed", and asserted that Wikipedia contributors "favor inclusion in all but the most extreme cases".
(IWF), a UK-based non-government organization, added the Wikipedia
article Virgin Killer to its internet blacklist due to concerns over legality of the image, which had been assessed as the lowest level of legal concern: "erotic posing with no sexual activity". As a result, people using many major UK ISPs were blocked from viewing the entire article by the Cleanfeed
system, and a large part of the UK was blocked from editing Wikipedia owing to the means of blocking in use. Following discussion, representations by the Wikimedia Foundation (who host the Wikipedia website), and public complaints, the IWF reversed their decision three days later, and confirmed that in future they would not block copies of the image that were hosted overseas. The IWF stated that one of the reasons for reversing their decision was that it has, in fact, increased public interest in the image, an example of the Streisand effect
.
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Scorpions
Scorpions (band)
Scorpions are a heavy metal/hard rock band from Hannover, Germany, formed in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, who is the band's only constant member. They are known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and many singles, such as "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel", "Still...
. It was released in 1976 and was the first album of the band to attract attention outside Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The title is described as being a reference to time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
as the killer of innocence
Innocence
Innocence is a term used to indicate a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, sin, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence refers to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime.-Symbolism:...
. The original cover featured a nude prepubescent
Puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes by which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of reproduction, as initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads; the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy...
girl, which stirred controversy in the UK, U.S., and elsewhere. As a result, the album was reissued with a different cover in some countries.
In December 2008, the image again gave rise to controversy when the British Internet Watch Foundation
Internet Watch Foundation
The Internet Watch Foundation is a non-governmental charitable body based in the United Kingdom. It states that its remit is "to minimise the availability of 'potentially criminal' Internet content, specifically images of child sexual abuse hosted anywhere, and criminally obscene adult content in...
placed certain pages from Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
on its internet blacklist, since it considered the image to be "potentially illegal" under the Protection of Children Act 1978
Protection of Children Act 1978
The Protection of Children Act 1978 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.The Protection of Children Bill was put before Parliament as a Private Member's Bill by Cyril Townsend in the 1977-1978 session of Parliament....
. This resulted in much of the UK being prevented from editing Wikipedia, and significant public debate of the decision. The decision was reversed by the IWF after four days of blocking.
Reception
The success of Virgin Killer was similar to other Scorpions albums featuring Uli Jon Roth as lead guitarist; it "failed to attain any serious attention in the United States" but was "quite popular in Japan" where it peaked at number 32 in the charts. The album was another step in the band's shift from psychedelic musicPsychedelic music
Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...
to hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
. Critic Vincent Jeffries of Allmusic contends in hindsight that the album was "the first of four studio releases that really defined the Scorpions and their urgent metallic sound that was to become highly influential." He also counts the title track and "Pictured Life" among the "all-time Scorpions standouts." Among the band members, Uli Jon Roth considers Virgin Killer and the previous release In Trance
In Trance
-Personnel:* Klaus Meine – lead vocals* Ulrich Roth – lead guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Dark Lady" and "Sun In My Hand"* Rudolf Schenker – rhythm guitar, backing vocals* Francis Buchholz – bass guitar, backing vocals* Rudy Lenners – drums, percussion...
as his favourite Scorpions albums.
Cover art
The original cover art for the album depicted a nude ten-year-old girl named Jaqueline, with a shattered glass effect obscuring her genitalia. The image was designed by Steffan Böhle, who was then the product manager for RCA RecordsRCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
. Francis Buchholz
Francis Buchholz
Francis Buchholz is a German bassist best known as a member of the rock/hard rock band, the Scorpions....
was the bassist for the band and, in an interview conducted in early 2007, recollects that the model depicted on the cover was either the daughter or the niece of the cover designer. The photograph was taken by Michael von Gimbut. The band's rhythm guitarist Rudolf Schenker
Rudolf Schenker
Rudolf Schenker is a German guitarist and founding member of heavy metal band Scorpions, being the rhythm/lead guitarist and one of the main song-writers of the band...
offers the following description of the circumstances behind the album cover:
We didn't actually have the idea. It was the record company. The record company guys were like, 'Even if we have to go to jail, there's no question that we'll release that.' On the song 'Virgin Killer', time is the virgin killer. But then, when we had to do the interviews about it, we said 'Look, listen to the lyrics and then you'll know what we're talking about. We're using this only to get attention. That's what we do.' Even the girl, when we met her fifteen years later, had no problem with the cover. Growing up in Europe, sexuality, of course not with children, was very normal. The lyrics really say it all. Time is the virgin killer. A kid comes into the world very naive, they lose that naiveness and then go into this life losing all of this getting into trouble. That was the basic idea about all of it.
In a separate interview, Schenker also notes that he thought the cover art was a "great thing" and that he had "pushed the band to really stay behind it" as he felt that people would "think differently" when they looked at the lyrics and realized that the cover art was only being used as "a symbol of the lyrics." In a 2008 interview, Schenker added "We would never again do something like this". The band's former lead guitarist Uli Jon Roth notes that the cover art of the "old Scorpion albums" were "usually done by other people." He has since expressed regret over the original album cover:
Looking at that picture today makes me cringe. It was done in the worst possible taste. Back then I was too immature to see that. Shame on me—I should have done everything in my power to stop it. The record company came up with the idea, I think. The lyrics incidentally were a take-off on Kiss, whom we had just supported on a tour. I was fooling around and played the riff of the song in the rehearsal room and spontaneously improvised 'cause he's a virgin killer!' trying to do a more or less way-off-the-mark Paul Stanley impersonation. Klaus immediately said 'that's great! You should do something with it.' Then I had the unenviable task of constructing a meaningful set of lyrics around the title, which I actually managed to do to some degree. But the song has a totally different meaning from what people would assume at first. Virgin Killer is none other than the demon of our time, the less compassionate side of the societies we live in today—brutally trampling upon the heart and soul of innocence.
In 2008, photographer Michael von Gimbut emphasized that his wife, the model's mother and sister and three female assistants had been present during the shooting and stated "We loved and protected children and did not sleep with them" ("Wir liebten und beschützten die Kinder damals und schliefen nicht mit ihnen").
The cover generated controversy
Controversy
Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of opinion. The word was coined from the Latin controversia, as a composite of controversus – "turned in an opposite direction," from contra – "against" – and vertere – to turn, or versus , hence, "to turn...
: the album could only be sold sealed in black plastic in several countries and the cover was replaced in some countries with an alternative cover art depicting the band members. The original is named in various "worst album cover" lists: Cracked magazine online named it the #1 "Worst Album Cover of All-Time," while Gigwise.com
Gigwise.com
Gigwise.com is an online music magazine that features music news, photos, album reviews, music festivals, concert tickets, and a community forum. Founded in 2001, the magazine is based in the United Kingdom....
lists it as #2 on its March 2008 "The 50 Most Controversial Album Covers of All Time!" list. Similarly, it was named (by UGO Networks) one of the "Weirdest Album Covers," and placed #6 on the "All-Time Worst Album Covers" list made by two.one.five magazine.
This would not be the last time that the band attracted controversy with its album covers. Their next album, Taken by Force
Taken by Force
Note that most versions of this album feature an edited version of 'The Sails of Charon'. The editing removes a "psychedelic" like sound-effects introduction. The intro doesn't actually contain any music performed by the band...
, originally featured cover art that depicted "children playing with guns at a military cemetery in France and some people found that offensive." Their 1979 album Lovedrive
Lovedrive
Lovedrive is the sixth studio album by the German heavy metal band Scorpions, released in 1979. Lovedrive was a major evolution of the band's sound, which exhibited their "classic style" that would be later developed over their next few albums. Michael Schenker, younger brother of rhythm guitarist...
featured a "bizarre artwork" that depicts "a woman on the back seat of a car with bubblegum over her breast." Both covers were replaced by an alternate design. Vocalist Klaus Meine
Klaus Meine
Klaus Meine is a German singer, best known as the lead vocalist and occasional rhythm guitarist of the heavy metal band Scorpions...
explains that the band's penchant for controversial cover art stems from a desire "to go over the edge" and not "to offend some people or make the headlines [as] that would be stupid," contrasting guitarist Rudolf Schenker's earlier statement, "We're using this only to get attention." In a 2010 interview Meine commented on the cover art again stating:
Back in those days (the 70’s) it was RCA, our record label then, went over the edge with Virgin Killer. Today when you think of child pornography on the net, you would never do something like that. We never did this in the sense of pornography, we did it in the sense of art. It is about the song and the label was pushing the idea because they wanted to get the controversy to help the album sale and you cannot get better promotion than that. Looking back from the band point of view it was never an album cover that we took home to our parents and said, “Look what we just released..” There was always mixed feelings about it and even 30 years later it caused a scandal at Wikipedia because the site for that album was blocked and even the FBI was getting involved. All of that after so many years, can you believe that?
Internet censorship
In May 2008, the U.S.-based social conservative site WorldNetDailyWorldNetDaily
WorldNetDaily is an American web site that publishes news and associated content from a U.S. conservative perspective. It was founded in May 1997 by Joseph Farah with the stated intent of "exposing wrongdoing, corruption and abuse of power" and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.-History:In...
reported the cover image on Wikipedia to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
. An officer of the Concerned Women for America
Concerned Women for America
Concerned Women for America is a conservative Christian public policy group active in the United States best known for its stance against abortion...
, a conservative Christian advocacy group, commented, "By allowing that image to remain posted, Wikipedia is helping to further facilitate perversion and pedophilia." EContent magazine subsequently reported the Wikipedia community's internal debate as concluding, "Prior discussion has determined by broad consensus that the Virgin Killer cover will not be removed", and asserted that Wikipedia contributors "favor inclusion in all but the most extreme cases".
Internet Watch Foundation
In December 2008, the Internet Watch FoundationInternet Watch Foundation
The Internet Watch Foundation is a non-governmental charitable body based in the United Kingdom. It states that its remit is "to minimise the availability of 'potentially criminal' Internet content, specifically images of child sexual abuse hosted anywhere, and criminally obscene adult content in...
(IWF), a UK-based non-government organization, added the Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
article Virgin Killer to its internet blacklist due to concerns over legality of the image, which had been assessed as the lowest level of legal concern: "erotic posing with no sexual activity". As a result, people using many major UK ISPs were blocked from viewing the entire article by the Cleanfeed
Cleanfeed (content blocking system)
Cleanfeed is the name given to privately administered ISP level content filtering systems operating in the United Kingdom and Canada. It is also the name of a proposed mandatory Australian ISP level content filtering system which is undergoing testing...
system, and a large part of the UK was blocked from editing Wikipedia owing to the means of blocking in use. Following discussion, representations by the Wikimedia Foundation (who host the Wikipedia website), and public complaints, the IWF reversed their decision three days later, and confirmed that in future they would not block copies of the image that were hosted overseas. The IWF stated that one of the reasons for reversing their decision was that it has, in fact, increased public interest in the image, an example of the Streisand effect
Streisand effect
The Streisand effect is a primarily online phenomenon in which an attempt to hide or remove a piece of information has the unintended consequence of publicizing the information more widely...
.
Track listing
Personnel
- Klaus MeineKlaus MeineKlaus Meine is a German singer, best known as the lead vocalist and occasional rhythm guitarist of the heavy metal band Scorpions...
– lead vocals - Ulrich RothUlrich RothUlrich Roth , more commonly known as Uli Jon Roth, is a Germanguitarist and one of the earliest contributors to the neo-classical metal genre. He is also the founder of Sky Academy and inventor of the Sky Guitar. He is the older brother of fellow guitarist and artist Zeno Roth.-Career:In the early...
– lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Hell-Cat" and "Polar Nights" - Rudolf SchenkerRudolf SchenkerRudolf Schenker is a German guitarist and founding member of heavy metal band Scorpions, being the rhythm/lead guitarist and one of the main song-writers of the band...
– rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, backing vocals - Francis BuchholzFrancis BuchholzFrancis Buchholz is a German bassist best known as a member of the rock/hard rock band, the Scorpions....
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Rudy Lenners – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Achim Kirschning – synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, keyboards - Dieter DierksDieter DierksDieter Dierks is a German record producer mostly known for his collaboration with the rock band Scorpions.- Youth :...
– arrangementArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
, productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Covered songs
- "Pictured Life" was covered by the Greek power metalPower metalPower metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
band FirewindFirewindFirewind is a Greek power metal band. Formed in 1998, the group is currently signed to Century Media Records and was originally a small project created by guitarist, Gus G. to showcase his demo, Nocturnal Symphony in 1998. Firewind later became a full band over three years later when they recorded...
on their début album Between Heaven and HellBetween Heaven and Hell (album)Between Heaven and Hell is Firewind's first album released in 2002 through Massacre Records in Europe, Leviathan Records in the US, EMI in Japan and Rock Brigade in South America...
in 2002. - "Crying Days" was covered by Swedish symphonic metalSymphonic metalSymphonic metal is a term used to describe heavy metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that are either borrowed from classical music or, as with progressive rock music, create a style reminiscent of it, e.g...
band TherionTherion (band)Therion is a Swedish symphonic metal band founded by Christofer Johnsson in 1987. The word "therion" comes from the Greek therion , meaning "Beast," i.e., that of the Christian Book of Revelation...
as a bonus track on their 2001 album Secret of the RunesSecret of the Runes (album)Secret of the Runes is the tenth full-length musical album by symphonic metal band Therion. Cover artwork was made by Thomas Ewerhard. A music video was filmed for the Summer Night City cover.-Track listing:# "Ginnungagap " - 6:10...
. - "Polar Nights" was also covered by Therion on the various artist compilation A Tribute to the Scorpions.
- "Yellow Raven" was covered by Swedish progressive metalProgressive metalProgressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
band Pain of SalvationPain of SalvationPain of Salvation is a Swedish progressive rock band featuring Daniel Gildenlöw, who is the lyricist, chief composer, guitarist, and lead vocalist. Their sound is characterised by powerful, accentuated guitar work, broad vocal range, abrupt switching between heavy and calm passages, intense...
on their Linoleum EP in 2009.
Charts
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Japanese Album Chart | 32 |