It's probably true to say that the musical activities of maverick producer Joe Meek are held in greater esteem now than they were thirty years ago. And it was the publication of "The Legendary Joe Meek", John Repseh's acclaimed biography of the man, that led to the rediscovery of the Scorpions, whose two Parlophone singles in 1961 are widely acknowledged by instrumental buffs as classics of the genre.

In July 1962 the Scorpions recorded three unreleased tracks with Meek under the name of the Ferridays, and it was this connection that led bassist John Barber to contact The Joe Meek Appreciation Society. This in turn prompted the instrumental fanzine, 'Pipeline', to unearth the band's history, discovering in the process that, although the Scorpions only issued those two singles, they were actually an archetypal British band of the 50s and 60s, frantically reinventing themselves every year or two.

So far, so dull. However, the sting in this particular Scorpions' tale is that, whilst the group's reputation rests entirely on those two singles, 'Pipeline' uncovered a mass of unreleased material of sufficient quality to suggest that the band's most significant recordings had actually been cut before signing to EMI. Nestling amongst those Meek demos were some late 60s psychedelic-influenced acetates - on the highly collectable Oak custom label, no less - a handful of vocal beat-group recordings and two priceless acetate albums of vintage, late 50s rock'n'roll. Suitably venomous versions of songs like "Mystery Train" and "Worrying Kind" indicate that this earlier incarnation of the Scorpions were far more convincing rockers than many of their anodyne, showbiz-oriented British contemporaries, and it is these fascinating artefacts that form the cornerstone of a forthcoming Scorpions CD anthology - a mere four decades after the group's first tentative recordings!

Skiffle

The roots of the band lie in the January 1956 release of Lonnie Donegan's "Rock Island Line". Battersea teenager Ted Barber was one of countless British youngsters inspired by the advent of skiffle, and Donegan's first hit in particular, to buy an acoustic guitar. By the middle of the year, he'd formed his own skiffle group, the Penitentiary Five. In addition to Barber on vocals and guitar, the Five consisted of his cousin Terry Russell (vocals, washboard), Barry Eastwell (vocals, guitar), Len Brimfield (banjo) and Ken Page (tea chest bass). The Penitentiary Five played mainly at their local youth club, graduating to wedding receptions and dances, before preserving their rudimentary sound for posterity towards the end of the year. A friend owned a Grundig recorder as well as an acetate-cutting machine, and in October 1956 the group recorded two tracks - Streamline Train" and "Stack O'Lee Blues" - at a plastics factory in Wandsworth.

By 1957, Ted Barber's 12-year-old brother, John, had replaced Len Brimfield on banjo as the Penitentiary Five incorporated the sound of early rock'n'roll icons like Elvis Presley, Little Richard and Gene Vincent into their act. By this stage the group comprised the Barber brothers, Terry Russell and Spike Gentry, but in 1958 they fell apart - Russell and Gentry wanted to stick with skiffle, but by now Ted Barber was fully committed to rock'n'roll. With John turning to the guitar the brothers linked up with local singer, Mick LeDieu, to form Little Ricky (LeDieu's chosen nom de guerre) & the Scorpions, who'd been named after Ted's birthsign. By the end of 1959, drummer Ivor Knight had completed the line-up.

Ivor had previously played in a band called the Half Moon Six, who'd cut some demos with IBC recording engineer John Hawkins. Hawkins had built his own small studio in his mother's house, where a number of other local acts - including a young Mike Berry - had already recorded. It was here that in November 1959 Little Ricky & the Scorpions cut a thirteen track acetate album. Despite the absence of a bassist, the results were hugely impressive with LeDieu's Elvis-derived vocals perfectly complemented by the Scorpions' instrumental aggression. The overall sound anticipated the emergence of arguably the only truly authentic British rock'n'roll act, Johnny Kidd & the Pirates.

Within a matter of months, though, LeDieu had been ousted, after attempting to steer the group into mainstream pop. He was replaced by Peter Rhodes, previously lead vocalist in the Half Moon Six. Rhodes, however, proved to be unreliable, and his failure to turn up for a further recording session with Hawkins towards the end of 1960 meant that some of the band's vocal numbers such as 'My Baby Left Me' has to be dropped.

The Scorpions' problems with vocalists pushed them into the direction with which they have subsequently become  associated and three of the eight tracks featured on their second acetate album - including "Scorpio" and "Rockin' At The Phil" - were instrumentals. Ted Barber sang lead on tracks like "Hallelujah I Love Her so" and "Ting A Ling", but the ad hoc nature of the project was highlighted by the group's driver, Colin Buddin, being pressed into service on "Wayward Wind", sharing lead vocals with Ted.

In December 1960, the Scorpions cut two further instrumentals -"Riders In The Sky" and the Fireballs track "Torquay". The former was an adaptation of Vaughan Monroe's 1949 hit, "Ghost Riders In The Sky", which, unknown to the band, had recently been recorded by American outfit the Ramrods. The Scorpions version was picked up by EMI, who saw the chance to issue an opportunist cover of a recent American hit - a standard British label marketing ploy of the era. On 26th January 1961, the Scorpions went into EMI's studios to recut both tracks, and within a fortnight their debut single appeared on Parlophone. 'Riders In The Sky' sold well initially, but it was the Ramrods' version which reached the U.K. charts, and the Scorpions stalled just outside the Top Fifty, despite selling around 12,000 copies.

EMI were sufficiently encouraged to try again and two months later, the Scorpions were back recording a follow-up.However, two completed tracks - "Three Coins In The Fountain" and "Temptation" - were rejected as below par, and the session looked like being unproductive until the group ran through "Rockin' At The Phil" and "Scorpio". Producer Burgess was suitably impressed, and in 1961 these tracks became the Scorpions' second - and last last - 45. Despite considerable airplay, the release failed to match the relative success of "Riders", although the coupling is now considered to be a classic instrumental single. Archivist Trev Faull, for instance, has described the A-side as "possibly the zenith of U.K. rock'n'roll guitar playing as we know it".

Demos

Without a hit from either release, EMI quickly lost interest in the Scorpions, failing to respond to their subsequent demos, including the pointedly-titled "Last Chance?". A further disappointment followed when John Hawkins announced his emigration to New Zealand, a blow cushioned only by the news that Hawkins had sold his recording equipment to his former IBC colleague, Joe Meek. Meek was already familiar with the Scorpions and in July 1962 this new alliance recorded three songs at Meek's Holloway Road studio, under the name of the Ferridays. Both "Summmer Holiday" (recorded a year before the Cliff Richard hit of the same name) and the self- mythologising "Two Brothers" were originals, whilst a third track, Tony Orlando's "Love on Your Lips", was covered at the suggestion of Decca boss, Dick Rowe, who had rejected the earlier two recordings. Unfortunately, all three Meek productions failed to see the light of day.

Undeterred, the Scorpions fell in with former Outlaws manager, Peter Raymond, took booked them into IBC to cut a handful of songs written by Ted Barber. Although these also failed to find favour with record company A&R men, snippets of "Sunny Weekend" were used for a hair shampoo advertisement on Radio Luxembourg, {for which the band received the grand sum of £5!

By this stage, the beat boom was in full swing, and a combination of lack of success and musical differences led to intense disagreements within the group. Ted Barber briefly left, and by 1964, the Scorpions consisted of John Barber (bass) and Ivor Knight (drums), with two former members of the Outlaws - Billy Kuy (lead guitar) and Reg Hawkins (rhythm guitar). It was this line-up that appeared as the Co-Ordinates on an early (and recently repeated) episode of the television comedy, 'The Likely Lads', playing an - instrumental version of the Rolling Stones hit, "The Last Time".

Ted Barber quickly returned, but after playing at a birthday reception for Laurence Olivier at the Old Vic theatre (for which they received a sizeable tip and a letter of thanks from the actor), the Scorpions folded in mid-1965. Within a couple of years, however, the Barbers and Ivor Knight had reunited in the Phoenix, who towards the end of the decade, recorded half-a-dozen tracks at R.G. Jones in Morden, South London. By now they had fallen under the influence of acts like Cream and Jimi Hendrix, and a 1969 demo of "Street Walking Woman" displayed distinct proto-heavy metal overtones. Eventually, the Phoenix fizzled out as the main members opted for new careers in new towns, although the Barber brothers briefly reunited as a duo in the late 70s to play at local clubs and pubs.

By the mid-80s, the main protagonists of the Scorpions had drifted away from the music scene, but their past exploits were recalled when "Scorpio" was used in Julien Temple's film, "Absolute Beginners". Armed with a royalty cheque, Ted and John Barber contacted Ivor Knight, and the trio entered a local studio to record "Scorpio '85". A cheeky attempt to interest EMI in the remake was predictably rejected, but at least the band received a response, which is more than they were able to do when they were actually signed to the company in 1961!

Buoyed by their discovery of the continued interest in their Parlophone singles, the Scorpions reformed in 1992 for a handful of widely-acclaimed live appearences. Their reputation will undoubtedly be further enhanced by a forthcoming anthology that will draw on the group's unique collection of tapes, acetates and demos to prove. conclusively that the Scorpions were far more durable creatures than their meagre Parlophone output would suggest.

Special thanks to John Barber and Alan Taylor.

For more information on the Scorpions CD, send an SAE to Wooden Hill, 48 Armadale Road, Woking, Surrey GU21 3LB.

Contact 'Pipeline' at 12 Thorkhill Gardens, Thames Ditton, Surrey, KT7 OUP.

SCORPIONS DISCOGRAPHY
Cat.No.                           Title              U.K. SINGLES                  Current Mint Value

Parlophone R 4740  (GHOST) RIDERS IN THE SKY/TORQUAY (1961)      £10

Parlophone R 4768  ROCKIN' AT THE PHIL/SCORPIO (1961)                     £10