Biography
Emerging as one of Australia's strongest British beat outfits in the early 1960s, the group first assembled under the name The Vikings late in 1963 and focused on instrumental numbers in the manner of the Shadows and the Ventures. Wes Hoffman played bass, Les Horder handled rhythm guitar, Bill Clarke took lead guitar, and Don Hill sat behind the drums. Steady progress continued until the Beatles and their peers made clear that audience tastes were moving in a new direction. Peter Briggs then joined as lead singer on the explicit condition that he receive separate billing ahead of the band. Repeated second-place finishes to the Twilights and the Buccaneers in talent contests did not prevent the quartet from landing a deal with the Go!! label. The hard-driving Liverpool-style rockers they recorded enjoyed only modest sales, notwithstanding their sharp attack and solid rhythmic drive. Their raw, raucous reading of "Some Other Guy" nevertheless stands beside the best Liverpool versions of the tune. The band dissolved in the late 1960s.