The Troggs (originally called the Troglodytes) are an English

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

band formed in

Andover, Hampshire Andover ( ) is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the Test, and is situated alongside the major A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, west of the town of Basi ...

in May 1964. Their most famous songs include the US chart-topper " Wild Thing", " With a Girl Like You" and " Love Is All Around", all of which sold over 1 million copies and were awarded gold discs. "Wild Thing" is ranked No. 257 on the ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine's list of

The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

and was an influence on

and punk rock.Laing, Dave (1985). ''One chord wonders: power and meaning in punk rock''. p.12,

Open University Press McGraw Hill is an American educational publishing company and one of the "big three" educational publishers that publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. The company also publishes refere ...

History

Reg Presley (lead vocals) and Ronnie Bond (drums) were childhood friends and in the early 1960s formed an R&B band in their home town of Andover. In 1964 they were joined by Pete Staples (bass) and Chris Britton (guitar) and became the Troggs. They were signed by

Larry Page Lawrence Edward Page (born March 26, 1973) is an American business magnate, computer scientist and internet entrepreneur. He is best known for co-founding Google with Sergey Brin. Page was the chief executive officer of Google from 1997 unti ...

, manager of

the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyt ...

, in 1965. They recorded on Page's Page One Records, and Page also leased them to CBS for the debut single "Lost Girl". Their most famous hit was the single " Wild Thing" (written by

Chip Taylor Chip Taylor (born James Wesley Voight; March 21, 1940) is an American songwriter and singer noted for writing " Angel of the Morning" and " Wild Thing". Early life Taylor was born on March 21, 1940, in Yonkers, New York. He is the brother of ...

) (the song on the B-side of the single depended on the country where it was sold) which, with the help of

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

exposure on '' Thank Your Lucky Stars'', reached number 2 in the UK (b/w Reg Presley's song "From Home") and number 1 in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in July 1966. Its combination of a simple heavy guitar riff and flirtatious lyrics helped it to quickly become a

standard. It was recorded in one complete take (take two) at Olympic Studios in London, with Keith Grant engineering. Because of a dispute over US distribution rights, "Wild Thing" was released (along with the first album of the same name) on two labels:

Fontana Fontana may refer to: Places Italy *Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone *Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone *Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino *Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindisi * ...

and

Atco Atco or ATCO may refer to: Businesses * ATCO, a Canadian diversified company involved in manufacturing, utilities, energy and technologies ** ATCO Electric, a subsidiary of the above company * Atco (British mower company), a mower manufacturing ...

. The band's success in the US was also limited by not touring there until 1968. They also had a number of other hits, including " With a Girl Like You" (a UK number 1 in July 1966, US number 29), "

I Can't Control Myself "I Can't Control Myself" is a song by English rock band the Troggs, released as a single in September 1966. It continued their success after " Wild Thing" and "With a Girl Like You", becoming a top-ten hit in a number of countries. Release an ...

" (a UK number 2 in September 1966; their first UK single release on the Page One label, POF 001; this was also their second and final dual-label release in the US, with Fontana retaining the rights to all subsequent releases), "

Any Way That You Want Me "Any Way That You Want Me" is a song written by Chip Taylor that was first released in September 1966 by Tina Mason as the B-side to her single "Finders Keepers". It has been covered by a number of artists, with the most successful version bein ...

" (UK number 8 in December 1966), all at Olympic Studios, " Give It to Me" (UK No.12 1967), " Night of the Long Grass" (UK number 17 in May 1967), " Love Is All Around" (UK number 5 in November 1967 and US number 7 in May 1968) plus " Hi Hi Hazel" (UK No.42, 1967). The band's popularity completely waned the following year. Former Plastic Penny bassist Tony Murray replaced Pete Staples in 1969. Richard Moore filled in for Britton on their 1972–1973 tour. In 1974, after a spell on

Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherho ...

, in an attempt to re-create their 1960s successes, the Troggs re-united with Larry Page, now running

Penny Farthing Records Penny Farthing Records was a British independent record label, established in 1969 by the British record producer Larry Page as a progression from his mildly successful 1960s record label, Page One Records. The label signed some artists of note. I ...

. The resulting cover version of the

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

hit " Good Vibrations" failed to chart. A

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

version of "Wild Thing" also failed. Richard Moore and Colin Fletcher substituted for Britton, who temporarily quit music to manage a night club in Spain, for the recording of ''The Troggs Tapes'' album released in 1976. The band found a sympathetic ear at French label New Rose in the 1980s, releasing the ''Black Bottom'' LP (1982) and ''AU'' (1990). In 1991, they recorded '' Athens Andover'', an 11-song collaboration between themselves and three members of R.E.M. It was recorded in the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

band's hometown of

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, and was released in March 1992. The band attempted to capitalise on this new exposure with two collaborations on new versions of "Wild Thing". A 1992 recording with actor

Oliver Reed Robert Oliver Reed (13 February 1938 – 2 May 1999) was an English actor known for his well-to-do, macho image and "hellraiser" lifestyle. After making his first significant screen appearances in Hammer Horror films in the early 1960s, his ...

and snooker player

Alex Higgins Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the game. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" because of his fast play, he was Worl ...

failed to chart, but another version the following year featuring

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

from the TV show '' Gladiators'' reached number 69 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. In 1994,

Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish soft rock band formed in 1982. They scored a number of hits in the UK charts and around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. They are best known for their 1994 cover of The Troggs' 1960s hit " Love Is All Around", which ...

's cover of "Love Is All Around" was No. 1 in the UK for 15 weeks, resulting in substantial royalties for Presley. The band's original drummer, Ronnie Bond, died on 13 November 1992. In January 2012, Reg Presley retired after being diagnosed with

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, mali ...

. The band carried on with new lead singer Chris Allen. Presley died on 4 February 2013.

Legacy and influence

The Troggs are widely seen as a highly influential band whose sound was an inspiration for

and punk rock. Influential American critic

Lester Bangs Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs (December 14, 1948 – April 30, 1982) was an American music journalist, critic, author, and musician. He wrote for '' Creem'' and ''Rolling Stone'' magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock music ...

"called the band the progenitors of punk", according to

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

. For example, the Troggs influenced artists such as

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the " Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band The Stooges, who w ...

,
/ref> and the early version of British pop-punk pioneers

Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto. They are regarded as a seminal influence on the Manchester music scene, the indepen ...

featured "I Can't Control Myself" in their live repertoire.

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United St ...

are also among the punk bands who cited the Troggs as an influence. "I Can't Control Myself" is perhaps the most enduring favourite of critics; it continues to be championed for its originality and lasting influence by radio hosts such as "Little"

Steven Van Zandt Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandoli ...

. A specially tailored version of "Give It to Me" featured in the "Sadie's Daydream" sequence of

Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni (, ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian filmmaker. He is best known for directing his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents"—''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and ''L'Eclisse'' (1962 ...

's 1966 film '' Blowup''. "I Can't Control Myself" appears at the climax of "The Little Chaos", the 1967 short film by German director

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema movement. Fassbinder's mai ...

and in the "1967" episode of the 1996 British television serial '' Our Friends in the North''. "With a Girl Like You" is featured uncut in a school dance scene from the 1991

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

Noah Taylor Noah George Taylor (born 4 September 1969) is a British-born Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as teenage David Helfgott in '' Shine'', Locke in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', Darby Sabini in the BBC One series ''Peaky Bl ...

movie ''

Flirting Flirting or coquetry is a social and sexual behavior involving spoken or written communication, as well as body language. It is either to suggest interest in a deeper relationship with the other person or, if done playfully, for amusement. I ...

''. It also is featured in '' Shine'', '' The Good Night'' and '' The Boat That Rocked''. "Wild Thing" is prominent in

Jonathan Demme Robert Jonathan Demme ( ; February 22, 1944 – April 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker. Beginning his career under B-movie producer Roger Corman, Demme made his directorial debut with the 1974 women-in-prison film '' Caged Heat'', befo ...

's 1986 film '' Something Wild''. A modified version of "Love Is All Around" was featured in the film ''

Love Actually ''Love Actually'' is a 2003 Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. It features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous film and television p ...

'' (2003), performed by actor

Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Nighy started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with '' The Illuminatus!'' in 1977. There he ...

. The Troggs was the name of the high school gang in the movie '' Bang Bang, You're Dead'' that persuade the main character to join them in attacking their high school. The point-and-click adventure game '' Hopkins FBI'' features "I Can't Control Myself" and "Lost Girl". Trogg is the name of one of Bane's three henchmen in Dennis O'Neil's ''Batman: Knightfall'' comic arc. The other henchmen are Bird and Zombie, named after two other popular 1960s rock bands:

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole con ...

and

the Zombies The Zombies are an English Rock music, rock band formed in the early 1960s in St Albans and led by keyboardist and vocalist Rod Argent and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group had a British and American chart-topper, hit in 1964 with "She's Not ...

The Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

famously covered "Wild Thing" during their appearance at the 1967

Monterey Pop Festival The Monterey International Pop Festival was a three-day music festival held June 16 to 18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix ...

, introducing it as the British/American joint "national anthem", and climaxing with Hendrix burning his guitar. MC5 covered "I Want You" at their live shows and recorded the song for the album ''

Kick Out the Jams ''Kick Out the Jams'' is the debut album by American proto-punk band MC5. It was released in February 1969, through Elektra Records. It was recorded live at Detroit's Grande Ballroom over two nights, Devil's Night and Halloween, 1968. The LP ...

'', although they renamed it "I Want You Right Now". In 1990, the first hit for (and first single by) the band

Spiritualized Spiritualized (stylised as Spiritualized®) are an English rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Jason Pierce (often known as J. Spaceman), formerly of Spacemen 3. After several line up-changes, in 1999, the band centered on Pi ...

was a cover of "Anyway That You Want Me". This cover later was used in the movie '' Me and You and Everyone We Know''. In 1991, "Love Is All Around" was covered by R.E.M. during live performances and was released later that year as a B-side on their "

Radio Song Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

" single. They also performed an acoustic version of the song on ''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...

''. In 1994, Scottish band

's version of " Love Is All Around" spent 15 weeks at number one in the UK after its inclusion in '' Four Weddings and a Funeral''. The authorship royalties enabled Reg Presley's 1990s research and publication on extraterrestrials and other paranormal phenomena. In 2012, Norwegian band

Ulver Ulver (Norwegian for "wolves") is a Norwegian experimental electronica band founded in 1993, by vocalist Kristoffer Rygg. Their early works, such as debut album '' Bergtatt'', were categorised as folklore-influenced black metal, but the band ha ...

covered the song "66-5-4-3-2-1" for their covers album ''

Childhood's End ''Childhood's End'' is a 1953 science fiction novel by the British author Arthur C. Clarke. The story follows the peaceful alien invasionBooker & Thomas 2009, pp. 31–32. of Earth by the mysterious Overlords, whose arrival begins decade ...

''. "Wild Thing" was covered by an ensemble featuring

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

guitarist

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury and ...

to open the Wildlife Rocks' event at Guildford Cathedral in May 2014. An in-studio tape of Reg Presley's running commentary on a recording session, filled with in-fighting and swearing (known as ''

The Troggs Tapes ''The Troggs Tapes'' is a bootleg recording of the English rock band the Troggs. It was originally recorded in 1970, and consists of band members arguing over the recording of a song, with frequent profanity. It has become one of the best-known spo ...

''), was widely circulated in the music underground, and was included in the ''Archaeology'' box set, as well as the compilation album, ''

The Rhino Brothers Present the World's Worst Records ''The Rhino Brothers Present the World's Worst Records'' is a compilation album released by Rhino Records in 1983. It purports to compile the worst music ever recorded and features mostly novelty songs, parodies and cover versions of popular s ...

''. The group infighting is believed to be the inspiration for a scene in the comedy film ''

This Is Spinal Tap ''This Is Spinal Tap'' (also known as ''This Is Spınal Tap: A Rockumentary by Martin Di Bergi'') is a 1984 American mockumentary film co-written and directed by Rob Reiner (in his feature directorial debut). The film stars Christopher Guest, M ...

'', where the band members are arguing. Some of this dialogue was sampled by the California punk band

the Dwarves The Dwarves are an American punk rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois and based in San Francisco, California as of 2009.Gentile, John (2009)Interview: Blag Dahlia of the Dwarves, '' The A.V. Club'', April 13, 2009, retrieved February 7, 2010 ...

on their recording of a cover version of the Troggs song "Strange Movies".

Band members

Current members

* Chris Britton – guitar, backing vocals (1964–1972, 1979–present; selected gigs only since 2017) * Pete Lucas – bass, backing vocals (1979–present), rhythm guitar (1974) * Chris Allen – lead vocals (2012–present) * John W Doyle – guitar, backing vocals (2017–present) * Darren Bond – drums (2018–present)

Former members

* Reg Presley – lead vocals (1964–2012; died 2013) * Ronnie Bond – drums (1964–1988; died 1992) * Pete Staples – bass, backing vocals (1964–1969) * Tony Murray – bass, backing vocals (1969–1977, 1979–1984) * Richard Moore – lead guitar (1972–1979), rhythm guitar (1976–1979; died 2016) * David Wright – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1972–1974; died 2008) * Colin Fletcher – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1974–1976) * Jo Burt – bass (1977–1979) * Dave Maggs – drums (1988–2018)

Timeline

Discography

References

External links

*
The Troggs Tapes

Pete Staples Homepage

PUNKCAST#79
live @ World Trade Center Plaza, New York – 24 July 2001. ( RealPlayer) {{DEFAULTSORT:Troggs, The Protopunk groups Musical groups established in 1964 Beat groups British Invasion artists Fontana Records artists Mercury Records artists Atco Records artists English rock music groups 1964 establishments in England Musical quartets Hansa Records artists