The Troggs Newcastle Polytechnic 1st October 1976
How could I have forgotten to write about The Troggs? I was a big fan of theirs; they had all those great hits in the ’60s. However, I didn’t get to see The Troggs live until 1976, one Friday night at Newcastle Poly. I found the date on the Steve Brown Band’s site, which contains a wealth on information about the band’s history and the gigs they played. The Steve Brown Band were supporting The Troggs that night; they noted about the gig: “Wild reaction from large audience. Encore after 3 minutes shouting from crowd”.
“Troglodyte may refer to:
A cave dweller, one who lives in a cave.
Troglodytae or Troglodyti, an ancient group of people from the African Red Sea coast
Troglodites, a fictional tribe described in Montesquieu’s Persian Letters, supposedly descending from the ancient Troglodytae
Caveman, a stock character based upon widespread concepts of the way in which early prehistoric humans may have looked and behaved
A British band who became known as The Troggs” (Wikipedia)
The Troggs were the forerunners of punk and garage. They lived up their caveman name with an image and sound which was basic and raw. Their records conisted of a few slabs of chords over a sold chugging rhythm, and lyrics that were just as basic. “Give it to Me”; “I Can’t Control Myself”. How did they get away with it. And of course “Wild Thing” was the big one. It sounded so different, quite shocking actually.
I have strong memories of this gig. I was excited about finally getting to see the Troggs. It was one of the first dances of a new academic year, and the Students Union ballroom was filled with students eager for a good night out, lots of drink, silly dancing and good fun to be had by all. And the Troggs were just the band to give them all of that. The student crowd joined in with all the songs, and went generally crazy. Reg Presley egged them on, and guitarist Chris Britton squeezed garage chord rhythms from his Les Paul. Classic.
Typical Troggs setlist of the period: Got Love If You Want It; Louie Louie; (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction; With a Girl Like You; Love Is All Around; Feels Like a Woman; Strange Movies; Gonna Make You; Walkin’ the Dog; No Particular Place to Go; Give it to Me; Wild Thing; I Can’t Control Myself
I’ve seen the Troggs a couple of times since on 60s package shows, which was fun, but Troggs music is best heard (and felt) in a packed ballroom surrounded by a few hundred drunken idiots showing themselves up to the strains of “Wild Thing” or “I Can’t Control Myself”.
Reg Presley passed away a few years ago. Chris Britton continues to lead the
Troggs, taking garage punk pop to a new generation of ravers, and to grey haired loons.
RIP Reg Presley.
Archive for the ‘Steve Brown Band’ Category
28 Mar
The Troggs Newcastle Polytechnic 1st October 1976
26 Mar
Durham Dome Festival 1973 – 1980
Durham Dome Festival 1973 – 1980
Durham Dome fest took place during the years 1973 to 1980. Several pleasant sunny afternoons and evenings were spent down on the Riverside Race Course in Durham.
From local alternative hippy North East zine Mother Grumble, which organised the Durham Dome fests:
“Durham Domefest 1st July 1973
So many people, magical music, listening in the sunshine, smiling, free.
And there was free music.
And there was lite and love.
Riding bureaucratic storms to do this together, so many people helped make this happen, and will again.
Policeman, friends, lovers, strangers all together down at the riverside.
Old folks, young folks, we’re going to grow and grow, help them who can’t come and do another show.
Contact Mother G to plan and build the next one, new faces, new bands
Loudest sound in Durham town, the people can never let the people down.
There are no words, we can all see there, we have all been there, see you next time.
Durham’s first free open air music for the people, by the people – it’s all too beautiful
Meet you at the next one.
And don’t be late.”
The festival would feature a host of local bands playing on a domed stage, with a few name bands joining in. I recall sing Chris Jagger, Jack the Lad, Isotope and Global Village Trucking Company play alongside Arbre, Hedgehog Pie, Steve Brown Band, Village (think they won the Melody Maker contest?) and Raw Spirit. Prefab Sprout played at one of the later festivals, and I read that Supertramp also played at one of the Dome fest, although I don’t recall seeing them. I went to several of the Dome fests, including the first, although I don’t recall which ones I actually attended.
I recall a real buzz about Chris Jagger who turned up unannounced and played on a sunny afternoon. It was at the time of his “You Know the Name but not the Face” lp, which places it around 1973. And pretty good he was too.
The Dome fests were happy friendly events; you would turn up, chat to friends and lie in the sun on the grass by the river, listening to some music. You never knew which bands would play, and that was part of the fun of it. Everything seemed so much simpler. Happy Days 🙂
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