Troggs

The Troggs
The Troggs in 1966. L-R: Pete Staples, Ronnie Bond, Chris Britton and Reg Presley
Background information
Also known as	The Troglodytes
Origin	Andover, Hampshire, England
Genres	Garage rock pop rock proto-punk
Years active	1964 (1964)–present
Labels	Fontana Page One Penny Farthing
Associated acts	Ten Feet Five, R.E.M.
Website	thetroggs.co.uk
Members	Chris Britton Dave Maggs Pete Lucas Chris Allen
Past members	Reg Presley Richard Moore Pete Staples Ronnie Bond Tony Murray

The Troggs (originally called The ) are an English rock band formed in Andover, Hampshire in 1964. They had a number of hits in the United Kingdom and the United States. Their most famous songs include the US chart-toppers "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 #257 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and was an influence on garage rock and punk rock.

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, manager of the Kinks, 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) (the song on the b-side of the single depended on the country where it was sold), which with the help of television exposure on Thank Your Lucky Stars reached number 2 in the UK (c/w Reg Presley's song "From Home") and number 1 in the United States in July 1966. Its combination of a simple heavy guitar riff and flirtatious lyrics helped it to quickly become a garage rock 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 and Atco. The band's success in the US was also limited by not touring there until 1968.