UDO DIRKSCHNEIDER And PETER BALTES Are Having ‘Too Much Fun’ To Retire: A Lot Of Music ‘Still Has To Be Written’

In a new interview with Scotty J of Rock Titan, former ACCEPT and current U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER members Udo Dirkschneider (vocals) and Peter Baltes (bass) were asked if they have given any thought to possibly retiring in the not-too-distant future. The 72-year-old Udo responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Of course, a lot of people [were] already asking me, ‘What is your plan when you wanna retire?’ and all that stuff. I still have fun to do this. Okay, everything is working — my voice is working, I’m healthy and everything is okay so far. I don’t know. Maybe I go over 80, hopefully, and then I’m still on stage.”There will be definitely a point [where you have to arrive at that decision] by yourself, and then you have to say then, ‘Okay, maybe that’s it.’ You never know,” he added. “But at the moment, definitely not. And Peter’s still [playing] with me. [Laughs]”The 66-year-old Baltes chimed in: “I believe the point is always that you have to determine for yourself if you’re still worth it, if you still can deliver the goods. And if that’s diminishing, then that’s time to go. There’s a lot of guys out there that don’t see that point and they keep pushing on and then it becomes real sad. But we have a lot of gas in the tank. There’s a lot of music [that] still has to be written. We have to be there for [U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER drummer] Sven [Dirkschneider] and the other two [members of U.D.O. and DIRKSCHNEIDER], to guide them through the rest of this. So, no, it’s just too much fun, to be quite honest. What else are we gonna do?”Regarding the possibility of new U.D.O. music as a follow-up to 2023’s “Touchdown” album, Udo said: “There are some ideas. That will be there already. So our plan is we wanna start working on the U.D.O. album, the next one, over the summer. And this [DIRKSCHNEIDER] ‘Balls [To The Wall]’ [40th-anniversary] tour goes until 2026 — we know that already — and so that means that’s the only space we can work on a new U.D.O. album. And then after the ‘Balls’ tour, definitely we start again then with U.D.O. So that means we are busy.”DIRKSCHNEIDER has just reimagined ACCEPT’s iconic album “Balls To The Wall” to celebrate the LP’s 40th anniversary. The band’s founding member and former frontman has reinterpreted this classic with a fresh and star-studded twist. Far from a simple remake, this project was born out of countless conversations with prominent artists across the global rock and metal scene, who frequently asked: “Are you planning anything special for the 40th anniversary of ‘Balls To The Wall’?” These discussions sparked the idea to re-record the album’s legendary tracks alongside a stellar lineup of guest musicians, transforming the project into a heartfelt tribute.DIRKSCHNEIDER, the band featuring Udo and Peter (bass),along with Sven Dirkschneider and the talented guitar duo of Andrey Smirnov and Fabian “Dee” Dammers, celebrated the 40th anniversary of “Balls To The Wall”, which was originally released in late 1983 and is the most commercially successful and best-known album by ACCEPT, by performing the LP in its entirety on a recent tour of South America. They will take the “Balls To The Wall” 40th-anniversary tour to the rest of the world during 2025.Guitarist Wolf Hoffmann is the sole remaining original member of ACCEPT, which he formed in 1976 in the town of Solingen, Germany with Dirkschneider and Baltes.Over the past five decades, ACCEPT has sold millions of albums and inspired countless musicians. Their energetic live performances and iconic albums such as “Balls To The Wall”, “Restless And Wild” and “Metal Heart” have left a lasting mark on the heavy metal genre.After a hiatus in the band’s career, Wolf and Peter were introduced to New Jersey singer Mark Tornillo in 2009. The chemistry and fit between them was so remarkable, ACCEPT reformed and almost immediately rose to global success with chart-topping albums.Tornillo joined ACCEPT in 2009 as the replacement for Dirkschneider. Mark can be heard on ACCEPT’s last six studio albums, “Blood Of The Nations” (2010),”Stalingrad” (2012),”Blind Rage” (2014),”The Rise Of Chaos” (2017),2021’s “Too Mean To Die” and 2024’s “Humanoid”.[embedded content]