Revisiting the hilarious ‘Troggs Tapes’ that inspired ‘Spinal Tap’
The Troggs, initially named The Troglodytes, formed in the Hampshire town of Andover in 1964. While they set out as a serious garage band, thanks to an infamous bootleg tape recorded in 1970, their legacy boasts the fine art of side-splitting as well as chart-topping.
The Troggs caught the British Invasion wave over the mid-1960s and became immensely popular with singles like ‘With a Girl Like You’, ‘Love Is All Around’ and the US chart-topper, ‘Wild Thing’. The US number one remains a staple of garage rock and is heralded as a major influence on the punk rock explosion of the 1970s.
By the end of the 1960s, The Troggs’ momentum seemed to abate as record sales dwindled and live shows attracted fewer punters. In 1970, the band recorded a studio session in which members Reg Presley, Tony Murray and Ronnie Bond struggled to perfect a new track on which they were working. In a risible reflection of the band’s waning status at the time, the group resorted to a progressively frustrated and expletive-dense exchange.
Fortunately, the recorded tapes were bootlegged for all to hear. The Troggs Tapes attained legendary status on a whole new level after being cited as a source of inspiration for Rob Reiner’s classic 1984 mockumentary film – This is Spinal Tap.
A famous yet unattributed anecdotal quote has surfaced in connection to the tapes. Whether or not it happened, the story below involving Bob Dylan, Ronnie Wood and The Troggs certainly adds another shade of humour to the infamous Troggs Tapes.
“Ron Wood was doing some studio work with Bob Dylan and, over the course of the gig, played Dylan the Troggs Tapes. Not unnaturally, Dylan thought they were very funny,” a source claimed. “It turned out that Troggs singer Reg Presley was working in an adjacent studio making a demo for a commercial”.
“When Wood discovered this, he approached Dylan all excited, saying, ‘Remember that guy on the tape I played you? Well, he’s next door right now!’
“Dylan says, ‘Really?! Wow, I gotta meet him. You gotta introduce me!’
“So Ron Wood takes Bob Dylan next door to find Reg disconsolately fumbling with a bass guitar.
“Dylan, by way of introduction, says, ‘Hey, I didn’t know you played bass, man. How long you been playing bass?’
“Reg looks up and, with a deep sigh, says, ‘All fuckin’ afternoon, mate, all fuckin’ afternoon.’”
Listen to The Troggs Tapes below.
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