 Barely into '92 and already we have one of the instrumentalist's events of the year. The Scorpions are back! Yes, one of the UK's finest instro groups of "Riders In The Sky" and "Scorpio" fame have re-united with all three original members - Ted and John Barber, and Ivor Knight playing together again for the first time in 25 years' Thanks to reader John Kirby's timely phone call we were able to witness the band's first warm-up gig at a pub near Redhill in Surrey. Naturally time hasn't stood still for anybody, and the three guys that lined up before us looked, er, slightly changed from their publicity photos of some 30 years earlier! The real question though was - how would they play after such a long lay-off? The band opened with "Riders In The Sky" swiftly followed by "Torquay", and though they sounded a bit rusty and uncertain they produced faithful versions of both sides of their debut single. To be truthful the rest of their first set was a little disappointing. All vocal, and concentrating on sixties pop staples like "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" and "Bye Bye Love", the singing seemed a trifle strained and, not unnaturally, errors and forgotten lyrics were much in evidence. Still, this was a warm-up gig, and a very partisan crowd helped the band through with generous applause. We managed a quick chat with the band during their break and they revealed that there had been a fifth instro track - "Temptation" - cut at their EMI sessions, and that they would be performing it later. I'm not quite sure what else happened to the band during the interval but their second set was an enormous improvement on its predecessor. Commencing with a powerful "Scorpio" and then following with the promised "Temptation" - sounding great and very much in the same mould of their other classic instros - the band seemed to have blown away all the cobwebs. Opting for a tougher, more rockier choice of material drawn from the likes of Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry obviously helped. As they progressed they grew visibly in confidence and by the time they were midway through the set the adrenalin was flowing and the place was rockin'! A surprising inclusion that I must mention was "Two Brothers" - a little known unissued vocal track that they cut with Joe Meek as The Ferridays. They also took a second stab at "Riders In The Sky" and again it was much improved with Ted Barber adding all those distinctive fills and frills that originally marked the group out as something special. Brother John is no slouch either, providing solid bass throughout, and also taking over on lead for a few numbers including a rousing "Johnny B Goode". Ivor Knight's drumming supplied the firm foundation for the trio - nothing fussy, he kept it simple and straight forward, and that was exactly what was needed. It's a pity that they were not familiar enough with any other instrumentals to treat us to more, but they did make amends by reprising both "Scorpio" and "Temptation" as the climax of the show. It was good to note that in all cases their second attempts bettered
their first, confirming their rapid improvement. Another thing that we
all noticed was how the band suddenly achieved "lift-off" when they played
instrumentals. Yes suppose you would expect us to say that but, honestly,
we really are NOT anti-vocal. Maybe it is simply that freed from the need
to sing they were able to deliver more into their playing - or maybe they
just have a natural flair for them. Whatever the reason, the instros were
first class - tight, beaty and powerful. Hopefully we will be able to persuade
them to include more in the future as they are what us sixties diehards
remember them for, and it seems that is what they are best at and that
is what makes them special. We'll keep you posted on their progress. Meanwhile,
it's good to report that The Scorpions are back - and that they still have
a sting in their tail'
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