How fickle is the world of pop, that no-one is mourning the death of Reg Presley, lead singer of The Troggs, who died of cancer on Monday, at the age of 71 ?
They weren`t the greatest of sixties bands, and in fact one journalist at the time wrote of them,
"The Troggs are minimalists by default." Often sounding a bit amateur, they none-the-less had their moments of glory, their groupie adulation and a few half-way decent songs. In this clip, their big, break-through single, you may notice that RP is suspiciously coy when the flute interlude starts up ...
Because of a leaked studio tape, people have had further fun at their expense over the years, for example in this version of the tape, in which all their original bad language has been spliced up, out of sequence, and illustrative music has been added :-
On the plus side, to redress the negative impression of the above clip, try remembering the charming song,
Love Is All Around in the movie
Four Weddings and a Funeral. If you enjoyed that song, then you were enjoying a Reg Presley composition.
So I guess my attitude to The Troggs is a kind of jokey affection really. If I admire RP, it`s not so much for the musical acheivements, but for the man. He was born in Andover, the kind of English market town where teenagers are forever complaining that nothing ever happens. He became an accomplished bricklayer, which is commendable in itself, before following his muse. Apparently, through his ups and downs, he remained a "regular guy" - approachable, unpretentious and ready to do a favour.
So rest in peace,
Reg Presley ; a bricklayer and a friendly guy who made his dream come true.
..............12 June 1941 - 5 Feb 2013