[NUNO FILIPE]

well its not rudy shenker that has his brothers ( sister and brother)
in the music cene...

1956 June 30
Born in Duesseldorf, Germany, as the second son of the Roths.His father was a journalist and writer.

1963
Moved to Hannover.

1970
Started to play guitar on a self-taught basis.
Interested in Blues like CREAM, Johnny Winter, etc., but also bands like YES or LED ZEPPELIN. Later Jimi Hendrix.

1973 June
The elder brother, Uli Jon Roth joined SCORPIONS.

1973-1975
Took violin lessons in addition to the guitar.

1974
Formed the band BLACK ANGEL, with Ule Ritgen , Achim Kirschning &key and Frank Tolle &ds.

1977
BLACK ANGEL split up after touring Germany for three years.

1978
Moved to England for 6 months, looking for a band, but without success because Punk and New Wave were the only things going on.

1978
In July, Uli Jon Roth left the band SCORPIONS and united his own band ELECTRIC SUN.
Ule Ritgen joined ELECTRIC SUN.

1979-1983
Wrote many songs and lyrics for his own group with changing names and people.
In this period some of the later ZENO songs were written.
Tried to get a deal without success. At the same time playing and recording with several German groups.

1979
ELECTRIC SUN released the first album "Earthquake".

1980
ELECTRIC SUN released the second album "Fire Wind".

1983 Dec.
ELECTRIC SUN started the recording of the third album 'Beyond The Astral Skies". Joined this recording with Ule Ritgen and Michael Flexig &vo.

1984 Feb.
Formed the band ZENO with Ule Ritgen.
Started to record a demo tape. Michael Flexig joined these demo takes temporarily.
"Eastern Sun" "A Little More Love" "Signs On The Sky" "Don't Tell The Wind" "Far Away" and "Love Will Live" were recorded as demo takes.
Many big American record companies were interested in this demo.
Contrary to first intentions, Michael Flexig was to be a proper member of ZENO.

1984 April
Signing with Warner Publishing UK.

1984 June
Got a record deal with EMI UK.
One of the biggest contracts for a newcomer in Europe.
ELECTRIC SUN finished the recording of the third album.Ule Ritgen left the band ELECTRIC SUN.

1985 Jan.
Started the recording for the album ZENO. Using many recording studios all over the world.
Chuck Burgi &ds, Stuart Elliot&ds, Carl Marsh &key, Don Airey &key and also Chris Thompson joined this recording.

1985 Aug
The album "Zeno" was completed.

1986 Feb.
Made a video "A Little More Love".

1986 March
The first single "A Little More Love" was released.
The album "Zeno" was released in Europe, in America and in Japan.

1986 May-
Toured in Europe, as a support act of BLACK SABBATH.
Rod Morgenstein &ds and Larry Dvoskin &key joined this tour. Also made a video "Love Will Live".

1986 June-July
Toured the US with KROKUS and KEEL.
Also playing a festival with QUEEN in UK.

1986 Sept.
Songs for a second album of ZENO were recorded. (Amongst others "Heat Of Emotion" "Out In The Night" and "Is It Love").

1988
Left EMI UK.

1988 Aug.
Michael Flexig left the band. Tommy Heart joined the band as a new vocalist.
More recordings. ("Surviving The Night" "Together", etc.).
Geffen Records approached ZENO, but the record deal didn't go into effect.

1989
Broke up the band. For all practical purposes, the band ZENO split.
Put the power from the guitar to the pen. Devoted himself to writing.
Wrote many poems and lyrics, some philsophical texts, novels and texts about William Shakespeare, Jean-Jacques Rousseau etc.
At the same time still writing songs for himself and other groups.

1991 April
Joined "The Jimi Hendrix Concert" in Cologne, which Uli Jon Roth directed.

1993 April
In JapanEastern Sun" and other songs were performed by FAIR WARNING, a group which derived from ZENO.
These two songs had a strong impact again, not only on older generations, but also young people who had never known ZENO before.

1993 Oct.
The album "Zeno" was re-released in Japan.
It caused a sensation in the current music scene, selling more than 25,000 copies. (No.11 in the Yearly Japanese Chart for foreign music).

1993 Nov.
Decided to release a project album containing songs recorded from 1987 to 1994.
Got a record deal with Zero Corporation, Japan.

1993 Dec.
Had a plot to write about Jimi Hendrix from a different and new angle.

1994 Oct.
Started the recording for this album.
Plans to publish an art-book about Jimi Hendrix by Monika Dannemann with her paintings and special texts explaining the philosophical and spiritual side of Jimi Hendrix, took concrete shape.

1994 Dec.
Completion of ZENO's second albumZenology".

1995 March 8
Release of "Zenology".
Sales: over 30,000 copies.First appearance on Japanese Charts: 64 in the whole album charts (including Japanese market). 25 in foreign music charts. Number 4 in rock music charts after BON JOVI, VAN HALEN and FIRE HOUSE. (by "Original Confidence" research.)

1995 June
Got a record deal with Milestone Music, Germany.

1995 Aug.
Published the book about Jimi Hendrix by Monika Dannemann (co-author: Zeno Roth) "The Inner World of Jimi Hendrix" in the UK.

1995 Sept.
Release "Zenology" in Europe.

1995 Dec.
Started to write songs for the third album of ZENO.

1996-
Started the recording and played all instruments on this album.

1997 April
Left Warner Publishing UK.

1997 May
Got a new publishing deal in Japan with BURRN! Music.

1997 Dec.
The third album "Listen To The Light" was completed.

1998 Jan.28
Release of "Listen To The Light" in Japan. Sales: over 45,000 copies. First appearance on Japanese charts: 26 in the whole album charts (including Japanese market). 6 in foreign music charts. Number 2 in rock music chart after PEARL JAM. (By "Original Confidence" research.)

1998 March
Got a record deal with MTM Music for the European market.

1998 April
Release of "Listen To The Light" in Europe.

1998 May
Got a deal with Zero Corporation for the next album.Started to write songs for this album.

1999 April
The deal was taken over by Toshiba EMI, Japan as Zero corporation was liquidated.
In the annual reader's pop poll of 1998 by BURRN! MagazineListen To The Light" was voted No.2 as an album, and Zeno Roth got the position No.2 (guitarist) and No.3 (songwriter). "Meet Me At The Rainbow" got No.9 as a tune.


The history of ZENO began to take shape in the early seventies when Zeno Roth and Ule W. Ritgen formed their first band (BLACK ANGEL) in Hannover. Strongly influenced by classic rock bands like Cream, Yes and Jimi Hendrix, both musicians played together for some years while attending university.
When this band had broken up in 1977, Ule Ritgen played bass in the band of Zeno's brother, Uli Jon Roth, appearing on three ELECTRIC SUN albums.


By 1980, Zeno Roth and Ule Ritgen were again working together, heading in a new direction. Zeno recalls: " The music became more melodic, with stronger vocal parts than anything we had done before. Instead of just two guitars, we added keyboard parts and background harmonies. It started to sound like what we were striving for."


The complete line-up of ZENO was formed when Michael Flexig joined as a lead singer.
On the basis of superb demo tracks, ZENO were awarded one of the largest recording contracts for a new band in rock history.





The origin of the name "Zeno" stems from a Greek philosopher Zeno Of Citium (Cyprus)" who founded the philosophy called Stoicism. Zeno (Zenon)'s philosophical system included logic and theory of knowledge, physics, and ethics--the latter being central. He held that happiness lays in living in accordance with the laws of Nature and Divine Reason, which governs the universe.


A deep thinker, Zeno Roth, as a successor of such a Greek philosophical mind, is gifted with writing as well as making music.
After the first album 'Zeno' had been released in 1986 he went more into the writing field, as the music business at that time was not very advantageous to melodious rock.


However, the door to his music was knocked open anew by the Japanese listeners who loved "Eastern Sun" from the re-released album 'Zeno' in 1993.
It is fitting that the East, the country of the "Rising Sun" should be directly responsible for rekindling Zeno's desire to continue creating his music.


As a next step, 'Zenology' was delivered in 1995, with songs that had been composed in the non-active period of the band ZENO.
Although those songs were not newly composed, some of them hit many people with the everlasting touch of ZENO's powerful melody. (Like "TOGETHER")


In 1998, the third album 'Listen To The Light' was released. It gained a high reputation with its melodious lyricism, containing many positive messages, spiritual, social and political, concepts for the future and his amazing guitar playing.

Zeno (in this century) writes:

" The future lies in our hands. After times of dark, Rebirth will follow and new hope will come with the children. They bring the Light to this world."

" Our senses are limited only to the extent that we limit our Selves. Transcend the merely physical aspect of your existence, and your inner senses will grow."

" Do not follow any one but the voice of your own true Self."


His next album with his powerful message will apparently come out soon. There you could find more about true ZENOism!



http://www.zenoroth.com/

[splat66]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Nuno!! I've been a huge fan of Zeno since the first Zeno album. Good job covering his timeline. Also of note, if you check out Achim Kirschning's website (linked from this site) he has some Black Angel stuff posted (mp3's and photos). Remember Achim was also a member of Dawn Road with Francis, Uli, And Jurgen Rosenthal and then played keyboards on some Scorpions albums.

[uli]

very good stuff!!i m a big fan of uli...i believe it was a great great period of the scorpions when uli joined the band.BUT, i didn t know about his brother.i will definatetly check it out!!!

[Eric]

I love the Eastern Sun album. I had never heard of him until I moved to Japan. Almost all the rock fans I met there knew of Zeno and really liked his music.

Has anyone seen him live? I think an Uli concert with little brother Zeno opening would be great.