McAuley Schenker Group was a multi-national rock band based in Los Angeles featuring core members Robin McAuley and Michael Schenker, a successor to Schenker's earlier band Michael Schenker Group. McAuley was initially contacted to replace singer Gary Barden in MSG. However, the strong partnership immediately formed between McAuley and Schenker led to the change of the name from Michael Schenker Group to McAuley Schenker Group, retaining the same initials of the previous band MSG.
The band consisted of German, Irish, American, and British members. It could be considered a supergroup, as all members had solid musical careers; for example, guitarist Steve Mann had performed on albums by Tytan, Sweet, Saxon and alongside bassist Rocky Newton in Lionheart. Newton had previously fronted the short-lived late-1970s group The Next Band, which also featured one-time Def Leppard drummer Frank Noon. Guitarist Mitch Perry had replaced Yngwie Malmsteen in Steeler, played with Billy Sheehan in Talas and recorded an album with Australian hard rockers Heaven. Drummer Bodo Schopf had credits with Eloy, among others, and later joined Steve Mann in Sweet.