Rockin' at the Phil - The Scorpions

I got a comment on my page on Chuck Berry cover versions last week. John Barber wrote:

I was in a 60s band called "The Scorpions". We recorded two singles at Abbey Road. The second single was a cover of Chuck Berry's "Rockin' At The Phil" (Rock At The Philharmonic). Recently a colleague suggested that our recording might be the first UK cover of a Chuck Berry number. We recorded a demo in December 1960, the EMI release was in May 1961 on Parlophone R4768 Rockin' At The Phil b/w Scorpio. Do you have any info that might confirm whether we were the first band to cover a Chuck Berry tune?

Interesting question, John. I don't have information about all the cover versions of Berry songs, but I know someone who does. So here's Morten Reff's reply to my question:

What a nice surprise. This cover version from the UK Scorpions in 1961 is just fantastic, also because it's very different from Berry's original, very fast and very rockin'. A US group called "The Legends" recorded a very similar version in 1961 but it was not released at the time. However, The Scorpions did a much better job technically! And by the way, there are no other covers of this Berry tune, as far as I know. Unfortunately, there were some Berry covers from the UK before the Scorpions. However, they were at least the very first group ever to cover this Berry instrumental and get it released on record, if that helps.

If you want to read more about the 1960s Scorpions (not the German band of Wind of Change fame), look at the band's website here.