Two hundred and fifty lucky fans won tickets to see the stars at an intimate show in Berlin on 3 November (15), but the gig has since been axed. Instead, devotees have been invited to attend one of the Scorpions' tour dates in Berlin next year (16) and go backstage before the show starts.

"The Scorpions wanted to celebrate their 50th Anniversary together with 250 of their fans on November 3rd in Berlin," a message on Facebook.com reads. "Within hours, thousands of fans participated in a competition to win these rare tickets. However technical problems (have) now forced the band to cancel the club show.

"After their massive sold out arena tour in North America the band will have to play in Rome on November 9th and thereafter in Milano and Paris. Within the short timeframe between Las Vegas, Seattle and Rome it unfortunately proved impossible to scale down the arena show and technical equipment needed to perform in a small club in such a way that the musical quality would be guaranteed which is very important to the Scorpions. For this reason the show in Berlin had to be withdrawn and the band would like to apologize for this.

"But here is the good news for the competition winners. They will be invited to the Scorpions concert in Berlin on March 23rd 2016... as VIP guests where they be able to have an early entry and can experience the final show preparation as well as the band's sound check. This way they can have a very special experience of this concert..."

The Wind of Change stars abandoned plans to retire earlier this year (15) after previously announcing their upcoming tour would be their last.