There are at least two bands named The Cortinas. 1. The Cortinas were a short-lived proto-psychedelic beat band from the United Kingdom, based around brothers Paul and Nigel Griggs (vocals/guitar and bass, respectively. They band formed in 1963, were initially Beatles-inspired and played live a lot. In October 1966 they attracted the intrerest of Mike Swain, who ran demo studio Hermitage Sound in Hitchin. The Cortinas recorded two songs there ('In The Park' and the Nigel Griggs-penned 'Sagittarius'), but the recordings were not released.