Axel Rudi Pell (born 27 June 1960) is a German heavy metal guitarist. Pell … Read Full Bio ↴Axel Rudi Pell (born 27 June 1960) is a German heavy metal guitarist. Pell commenced his musical career with Steeler (1984–88) before leaving in 1988 for a solo career. During this time, he has played with such drummers as Jörg Michael and Mike Terrana, and singers Charlie Huhn, Johnny Gioeli of Hardline, Jeff Scott Soto, and Rob Rock. Gioeli remains the longest surviving vocalist of the band, having joined the group since 1998 on the album Oceans of Time, Gioeli's first musical appearance since the 1992 Hardline album Double Eclipse.

Pell often says his music is about a Knight in shining armour going on various adventures. Each album continues one new quest after the other, and songs are told as separate stories. Pell's main influence in guitar work has been Ritchie Blackmore from Deep Purple.

SPV Records released a live DVD on 25 February 2008, titled Live over Europe, which includes the full performance from the Rock Hard Festival in 2007, and comes with a bonus disc which includes live footage from Pell's own archive. In 2012, a new Axel Rudi Pell live concert CD/DVD Live on Fire was released.

In 2013, ex-Rainbow drummer Bobby Rondinelli joined the band, replacing Mike Terrana after his initial departure in 2013. Mike Terrana wanted to pursue other projects, such as becoming a member of the supergroup The Ferrymen, featuring Rainbow singer Ronnie Romero on vocals. Axel celebrated his 25th anniversary as a musician in 2014, headlining the Bang Your Head festival in Balignen Germany on 11 July 2014. It featured one of the original line up's singers: Jeff Scott Soto. Special guests also included Joerg Michael, Rob Rock, Ronnie Atkins, John Lawton, ex-Rainbow singer Graham Bonnett, Doogie White, keyboardist Tony Carey and drummer Vinny Appice. The show consisted of 3 acts: a short Steeler reunion and brief Axel Rudi Pell original line up reunion with Jeff Scott Soto, a full modern Axel Rudi Pell show with vocalist Johnny Gioeli and current band members, and the last act featuring various Deep Purple and Rainbow covers with a full ensemble.

In 2019, the band celebrated their 30th anniversary, releasing a double live album called XXX - 30th Anniversary Live. The songs were recorded on various dates of the Knights Call 2018 tour. The group's Facebook page stated at the time that the band did not know they were being recorded but when they heard the audio they were amazed and wanted to release it to celebrate the group's 30th Anniversary. It was released in June 2019 on CD and LP.

On 5 February 2020, they announced their latest album on their Facebook page, titled Sign of the Times, due for release on 24 April 2020. In March 2020, the band announced a delay of the release of the new record, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and was released on 8 May 2020 instead. A tour in support of the new album was also postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then later delayed again until 2022. In late 2020, Pell announced his newest album Diamonds Unlocked II, which was released on 30 July 2021. It is another covers album similar to Diamonds Unlocked from 2007. Pell is well known for his extensive touring, mostly around Germany and his home town in Bochum. He rarely tours globally, but has performed a few one-off shows in London over the recent years. However, there has always been high demand to bring him to other countries. They are also famous for attending many music festivals such as being regulars at Wacken Open Air since the late 1990s. Most recently they announced a new album of original music, called Lost XXIII, which was eventually released on 14 April 2022.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axel_Rudi_Pell

Studio albums
Wild Obsession (1989)
Nasty Reputation (1991)
Eternal Prisoner (1992)
Between the Walls (1994)
Black Moon Pyramid (1996)
Magic (1997)
Oceans of Time (1998)
The Masquerade Ball (2000)
Shadow Zone (2002)
Kings and Queens (2004)
Mystica (2006)
Diamonds Unlocked (2007) (cover album)
Tales of the Crown (2008)
The Crest (2010)
Circle of the Oath (2012)
Into the Storm (2014)
Game of Sins (2016)
Knights Call (2018)
Sign of the Times (2020)
Diamonds Unlocked II (2021) (cover album)
Lost XXIII (2022)

Fools Game
Axel Rudi Pell Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

When I met you, oh
You know, at first, you had me so confused
I used to lay awake at night
Just copin' with the feelings I so long refused, yeah

Well, I surrendered my love
I saw you turn your love from cold to ice, darlin'
I put my heart on the line for you, yeah

I put my heart on the line, yeah

First, you take me to the highest ground
Then you keep me hanging like some foolish clown

It's such a fool's game, yeah
It's such a fool's game
I keep playing such a fool's game, yeah
I keep on playin', I keep on playin' this fool's game

I can't take another sleepless night
It's time to light the fire down inside of you
I don't mind, I have the sun on my back
To get a feeling that you never knew, you never knew

Got the secret in the palm of your hands
Will you keep it woman, will you break this man

It's such a fool's game
Girl I know you're playing a fool's game, yeah
It's such a fool's game
You keep playing such a fool's game
Fool's game

Girl, I know you're playin' full time
But I may be too late, when you make up your mind

A fool's game
I keep playing such a fool's game
Got me playing this fool's game
Forever keep on playin'
I keep playing this fool's game, yeah
You got me caught up, you got me caught up in this fool's game
Oh, I got my heart in the line
You got me caught in this fool's game
You keep on playin', you keep on playin' this fool's game
I got my heart in the line, my heart in the line
Uh, fool's game

You got me playin' this fool's game
Fool's game

Overall Meaning

The song "Fool's Game" by Axel Rudi Pell is about a man who is struggling with his love for a woman who keeps playing games with his heart. He is confused by her mixed signals and is constantly coping with the feelings that he had long refused. Despite this, he surrenders his love by putting his heart on the line for her. However, she turns her love from warm to cold, leaving him hanging like a foolish clown who keeps playing a game he knows he cannot win. He is aware that he is playing a fool's game, but he cannot help himself from playing it anyway.

The lyrics suggest that the woman has a secret in the palm of her hands, which she may or may not keep. The man is left wondering whether she will break him or keep him together. He knows that she is playing a fool's game but cannot make up his mind to leave her. As a result, he continues to play the game, despite the emotional toll it takes on him. The song ends on a note of uncertainty, with the man hoping that he is not too late when the woman finally makes up her mind.

Line by Line Meaning

When I met you, oh
From the moment I met you, my life began to change in ways I never foresaw.

You know, at first, you had me so confused
Initially, I was unsure of how I felt about you and what I wanted to do with this situation.

I used to lay awake at night
I spent many sleepless nights pondering how I really felt about you and wondering what was going on with us.

Just copin' with the feelings I so long refused, yeah
I had been denying my true feelings for you for a long time, but I could not keep refusing them forever.

Well, I surrendered my love
Eventually, I gave in and let myself fall in love with you completely.

I saw you turn your love from cold to ice, darlin'
However, you started to withdraw from me and became distant, and this caused me immense pain and confusion.

I put my heart on the line for you, yeah
Despite the risk, I took a chance on love and put everything I had into our relationship.

First, you take me to the highest ground
You made me feel amazing and took me to the highest point in our relationship, a place of joy and happiness.

Then you keep me hanging like some foolish clown
But just as suddenly, you left me feeling foolish and uncertain, unsure of where our relationship stood.

It's such a fool's game, yeah
This back-and-forth of emotions and uncertainly is a game that fools like us play in love.

I keep playing such a fool's game, yeah
Even though I know how destructive it is, I cannot resist staying in this relationship and playing this game with you.

I can't take another sleepless night
The constant stress and uncertainty of our situation has left me unable to sleep at night.

It's time to light the fire down inside of you
It's time for you to find your passion and love for me again and reignite our relationship.

I don't mind, I have the sun on my back
I am willing to wait for you to truly love me again, because I have hope that it will happen and I have the strength to endure the wait.

To get a feeling that you never knew, you never knew
I believe that once you rediscover your love for me, you will find a new and deeper sense of happiness and fulfillment that you never imagined possible.

Got the secret in the palm of your hands
You hold the key to our relationship, the secret to bringing our love back to life, in your hands.

Will you keep it woman, will you break this man
The choice is yours, whether to keep our relationship strong and heal my pain or to break my heart and destroy everything we had.

Girl I know you're playing a fool's game, yeah
I am aware that you too are caught up in this back-and-forth game of love and uncertainty, but I wish we could break the cycle and find a real and lasting happiness.

You got me caught up, you got me caught up in this fool's game
You have ensnared me in this cycle of love and uncertainty, and I cannot resist its pull.

Oh, I got my heart in the line
I have put my heart and my very being on the line for our relationship, and I am invested in its success.

You keep on playin', you keep on playin' this fool's game
Despite my wishes, you continue to play this game of love and uncertainty, and it may lead to our eventual downfall.

You got me playin' this fool's game
I am powerless to resist our relationship's pull, even though I know it is harmful and destructive.

Contributed by Elijah B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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