|
The Interview! (Reproduced by kind permission of 'New Gandy Dancer')  Due to the intrepid Keith Hunt (NGD's Jimmy Olsen!), we made contact with Ivor Knight drummer of the fondly remembered instrumental trio from the early '60s - not to be confused with the heavier 1992 band of "Wind of Change" fame. I mentioned 'heavier' which is interesting in that the original SCORPIONS were definitely not for the faint hearted either since they were one of the first three piece bands anywhere let alone in rock instrumental terms. Ivor and the band were happy to reflect on their early days and announce news of comeback concerts! NGD: Can we go back right to the beginning? IK: The Scorpions were formed in 1958 when Ted Barber (guitar) and John Barber (banjo) of The Penitentiary Skiffle Group were joined by Mick LeDieu (vocals) and changed their name to Little Ricky & The Scorpions. Ted played lead in the new lineup and John switched to rhythm and pseudo bass (using lower guitar strings). Mick heard that I was free after being in The Half Moon Skiffle Group and I was invited to join. NGD: We've heard funny stories over the years about how you got your name? IK: I know. The reason for The Scorpions was simply that Ted was born under the star sign 'Scorpio', hence the record we did of the same name. This was not quite the same as the press release which accompanied our first record which told the story about Ted & I working on a building site and finding a brass door knocker or piece of jewellery shaped like a scorpion and deciding to form the band there & then! In fact, I wasn't there when Ted found the brass scorpion coat hanger and The Scorpions had been going for two years. He did fit the scorpion to his guitar as reported. NGD: Who were your main influences? IK: Our main inspirations were Chuck Berry, Cliff Richard, The Everly Bros, Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Johnny & The Hurricanes and Elvis! NGD: Can you recall the equipment used? IK: Ted played a Hofner Senator guitar and John played a Senator too which was borrowed. Both were played through 'ONE' Watkins Westminster 10 watt amplifier. I had Broadway drums which I later exchanged for Ajax. After a while, bass strings were fitted to John's borrowed guitar and he acquired a Selmer 10 watt amp. Mick left about 1960 and we became The Scorpions. An ex-member of The Penitentiary Skiffle Group - Ted & John's cousin Terry Russell - made John his first bass guitar which he used at the time. This was the equipment used on the first two releases. In late 1960, Ted & John bought two Vox AC30 amplifiers with their first royalty cheque. NGD: Ivor, can you remember any important concerts? IK: They weren't many under contract to the Noel Gay Agency - they were useless! We did the Chippenham Corn Exchange on April 1st 1961 with The Brook Brothers and Dickie Pride who we backed; Battersea Park Star Gala on May 13th 1961; California Ballroom, Dunstable with Nero & The Gladiators and Laurence Olivier's surprise birthday party at the Old Vic. NGD: When four piece bands were the norm, you were very unusual with a three man lineup. Why only three? IK: Why not? It didn't occur to us at the time to have any more and it worked. NGD: How did the recording contract come about? IK: We had been making demo discs including instrumentals (which we somehow managed to keep) since the Little Ricky & The Scorpions days, but for some reason, Ted & I, when we were out of work, took a demo of "Riders InThe Sky" to a few record companies. EMI made contact as they had plans to cover The Ramrods version and within 2 or 3 weeks The Scorpions had their first release. NGD: What about the sessions? IK: They were about 4 hours long including a tea break. 'Riders / Torquay was recorded on 26th January 1961 in Studio Three and Rocking At The Phil/Temptation in March in Studio Two. Jungle Street was recorded at about the same time and like Temptation was never released of course. NGD: What about the Joe Meek cormection? IK: We still did demos with John Hawkins who did all the earlier demos and he knew and worked with Joe Meek. John was about to emigrate to New Zealand and had sold his equipment to Joe but still used his studio, and we recorded several sessions there. He eventually introduced us to Joe and before long we did several tracks with Joe in 1962. There were three finished tracks - all vocals - Two Brothers, Summer Holiday and Love on Your Lips. We should still like to acquire the masters but the tapes are in the possession of Cliff Cooper who for some reason won't let go of them. NGD: What happened next? IK: Joe introduced The Scorpions to Peter Raymond who used to manage Mike Berry & The Outlaws and Peter began to represent us and we also recruited ex-Outlaw Bill Kuy on lead guitar. We gigged for about a year or so during which time we auditioned for EMI. Nothing came of that apart from three demo discs which they still have. Ted left the group and we were a three piece again until another ex-Outlaw Reg Hawkins joined on rhythm guitar. We were now known as The Co-Ordinates and we appeared in the third episode of The Likely Lads playing an instrumental version of the Stones hit "The Last Time". we broke up shortly after this. In 1965, myself, Ted and bass player Tony Goode formed a group called The Phoenix and John joined soon after on lead guitar. In 1967, Ted moved to Hampshire and once again we were a 3 piece but with Keith Lye as bass player. We continued like this until 1970 when we disbanded. In that latter five years we cut several more demos for the Oak label with R. G. Jones. We still have them! Ted started a group in Farnborough called - surprise, surprise - The Phoenix. So for a while, there were two groups of the same name. NGD: So, welcome back! How did the reunion come about? IK: Because of the Joe Meek connection. John's wife Beverley had bought him the book "The Legendary Joe Meek" and after writing to the Joe Meek Appreciation Society, he discovered that the tracks they did with Joe were still intact. The Scorpions were interviewed by Alan Blackbum and he suggested we play The Holloway. The group talked it over and they agreed to give it a try. Before any rehearsals took place, John persuaded Ted and I that a free gig at his local pub would be fun and we played on January l9th. The gig turned out OK even though it was 25 years since we had last played together. The subsequent Holloway gig on May 10th was a success and the crowd were very enthusiastic. They have asked us to play again in the near future. The response we have received since then from magazines, appreciation societies and appearances on compilation albums has turned the reunion into a comeback NGD: Good luck with it Ivor to you, John and Ted and thanks for talking to us. Ivor also advised us of all the recordings and demos the group did between. In 1959, two LPs were recorded under John Hawkins, mainly vocal but instrumentals recorded included "Red River Rock", "Guitar Boogie ", "Fini", "Scorpio" and Rockin ' At The Phil ". "Riders in The Sky" / "Torquay" was demo'd in 1960 before its release on Parlophone (R4740) in 1961. In 61, 'Rockin' At The Phil" / "Scorpio" (R4768)
came out on Parlophone effectively ending the Scorpions
|
