Scorpions manager Peter Lanz confirmed this to the German Press Agency on Wednesday. The circumstances of the death remained unclear. The band around frontman Klaus Meine paid tribute to Kottak on their homepage and on their social media channels on Tuesday evening: “James was a wonderful person, a great musician and loving family man, he was our “brother from another mother” and will be to us “Very much missed. Rock ‘n’ Roll forever, RIP James.”
Kottak was the Scorpions’ drummer for around 20 years; he left the rock band in the spring of 2016 to cure a long-term illness in a clinic. Ex-Motörhead drummer Mikkey Dee took over at the time and is still part of the band today, which is going on an anniversary tour in 2024 to celebrate 40 years of “Love at First Sting”. The album brought the band worldwide success in 1984.
