The Scorpions

The Scorpions from England -- not to be confused with the 1970's-era German band of the same name -- were formed in 1963 in Birmingham, and made their career playing the west midlands. Their name was one of the more memorable of their attributes, at least at home, where they never enjoyed any chart success with their music -- they did reportedly release a recording of "Greensleeves", however, that became a hit in northern Europe. Bob Barber (guitar, harmonica, percussion, vocals), Jimmy Bowden (lead guitar, lead vocals), John Gwilliam (bass, vocals), and Martin Hill (drums, piano, vocals) specialized in covers of the hits of the period in their performances; their vocal range -- all four members sang on-stage -- allowed them to engage in some fairly demanding harmony singing, and enabled them to do more-than-adequate representations of songs by the Beatles, the Hollies, the Beach Boys et al. By the same token, their instrumental prowess allowed them to tackle pieces associated with the Shadows, and also approach American rockabilly with a fair degree of success. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi