Udo Dirkschneider

Biography

Udo Dirkschneider (born 6 April 1952) is a German singer who first rose to fame with the heavy metal band Accept. After leaving the band in 1987, he formed the band U.D.O., in which he has also enjoyed commercial success.

Biography

Former Accept and current U.D.O. lead singer Udo Dirkschneider has a long career spanning almost five decades that helped to shape German heavy metal. His unique and raspy voice approach and his taste for huge choruses is a big part of Accept's appeal and made him one of the most recognizable characters in heavy metal history.
In November 2011, Dirkschneider's son Sven supported U.D.O. on a date in Germany and became a permanent member of his father's band in February 2015. On the same year, the band was temporary renamed as "Dirkschneider" and embarked in a long tour called "Back To The Roots" where the band only performed Accept songs.
In 2021, Udo along with his former Accept bandmates, guitarist Stefan Kaufmann and bassist Peter Baltes released new music under the name of "Dirkschneider and the Old Gang" that also features former U.D.O guitarist Matthias Dieth, drummer Svein Dirkschneider and singer Manuela Bibert, with the video of the song "Where The Angels Fly" surpassing a million of views on YouTube.
On 22 April 2022, Udo released an album of cover versions, entitled 'My Way×My Way22 April 2022 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks1Faith Healer4:592Fire3:113Sympathy4:324They Call It Nutbush (Udo Dirkschneider version)2:145Man on the Silver Mountain4:186Hell Raiser3:197No Class2:408Rock and Roll3:569The Stroke (Udo Dirkschneider version)3:5410Paint It Black (edit version)4:3011He's a Woman, She's a Man3:1912T.N.T.3:4613Jealousy5:3914Hell Bent for Leather2:4315We Will Rock You (Udo Dirkschneider version)3:1216Kein zurück (Udo Dirkschneider version)4:0817My Way4:35', to mark his 70th birthday.
Live in Bulgaria 2020: Pandemic Survival Show 18 September 2020, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Roman theatre of Philippopolis.

Duets

In his long career, Dirkschneider shared his vocals with a few artists, as in the cover of Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild×Born to Be WildAugust 1983 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksABorn to Be WildBInquisitor" released in 1983 as B-side of "Break the Chain×Break the Chain1983 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracksABreak the ChainB1Born to Be WildB2Inquisitor" single on Raven's All for One album. Dirkschneider is also famous for his duet with his longtime friend Doro Pesch on the song "Dancing with an Angel". In 1999, Dirkschneider recorded the Helloween song "I Want Out" and a new version of Accept's "Head Over Heels" with HammerFall. And as guest on the song music "Shtil" by the Russian heavy metal band Aria on their 2001's album Chimera.
In 2006, Dirkschneider sang the song "They Only Come Out at Night" with Mr. Lordi on Lordi album The Arockalypse, as well as performing it live on stage the same year Wacken Open Air.
In 2013, Dirkschneider performed a duet with Marko Hietala on Finnish band Lazy Bonez's debut album Vol.1. They sang a song called "First to Go – Last to Know".

Studio albums

Accept (1979)
I'm a Rebel (1980)
Breaker (1981)
Restless and Wild (1982)
Balls to the Wall (1983)
Metal Heart (1985)
Russian Roulette (1986)
Objection Overruled (1993)
Death Row (1994)
Predator (1996)

Live albums

Staying a Life (Live recording from 1985, released 1990)
All Areas – Worldwide (Live from 1994 and 1995, released 1997)

EPs

Kaizoku-Ban (Live EP, 1985)
Rich & Famous (EP, 2002)

Studio albums

Animal House (1987)
Mean Machine (1989)
Faceless World (1990)
Timebomb (1991)
Solid (1997)
No Limits (1998)
Holy (1999)
Man and Machine (2002)
Thunderball (2004)
Mission No. X (2005)
Mastercutor (2007)
Dominator (2009)
Rev-Raptor (2011)
Steelhammer (2013)
Decadent (2015)
Steelfactory (2018)
We Are One (2020) (with Das Musikkorps der Bundeswehr)
Game Over (2021)
My Way (2022) (Cover Album, released as solo record)
Touchdown (2023)
Balls to the Wall Reloaded (2025) (as Dirkschneider, re-recorded version of Accept album with various guest singers)
Babylon (2025) (as Dirkschneider & The Old Gang)

Live albums

Live from Russia (2001)
Nailed to Metal – The Missing Tracks (2003)
Mastercutor Alive (2008)
Live in Sofia (2011)
Steelhammer - Live from Moscow (2014)
Live – Back to the Roots (2016) (as Dirkschneider)
Live – Back to the Roots – Accepted! (Live in Brno) (2017) (as Dirkschneider)

Compilation albums

Best Of (1999)
Metallized (2007)
Celebrator (2012)

Singles/EPs

They Want War (1988)
Heart of Gold (1990)
Faceless World (1990)
Two Faced Woman (1997)
Independence Day (1997)
Lovemachine (1998)
Dancing with an Angel (2002)
24/7 EP (2005)
The Wrong Side of Midnight EP (2007)
Infected EP (2009)
Leatherhead EP (2011)
Steelhammer (2013)
Decadent (2014)
Arising (2021) (as Dirkschneider & The Old Gang)

DVDs

Nailed to Metal – The Complete History (2003)
Thundervision (2004)
Mastercutor Alive (2008)
Live in Sofia (2012)
Steelhammer – Live from Moscow (2014)
Navy Metal Night (2015) "Special Show with Orchestra"
Pandemic Survival Show (2020) Plovdiv

Guest appearances

Raven
All for One (1983), song "Break The Chain×Break the Chain1983 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracksABreak the ChainB1Born to Be WildB2Inquisitor"
Accept
Eat the Heat (1989), song "Stand 4 What U R"
Alex Parche Project
Son Of A Healer (1993), song "Gate Patrol"
Aria
Chimera (2000), song "Shtil"
HammerFall
Masterpieces (2008), Helloween's song "I Want Out" and Accept's song "Head Over Heels"
Lazy Bonez
Vol.1 (2013), song "First to Go - Last to Know", duet with Marko Hietala
Manimal
Trapped in the Shadows (2015), song "The Journey"
Axel Rudi Pell

Ghost Town (2026), song “Breaking Seals”
Lordi

The Arockalypse (2006), song They Only Come Out at Night (Lordi song)