Long after I left the concert venue, I was keep hearing in my head the sound of the ocarina solo in “Wild Thing”. When I woke up the next morning, the ocarina still persisted in my mind. The Troggs have a special way of making things last over the decades – their music, their energy, their humour, their legend.
The Troggs were present at the “Rock in The Park” festival in Bucharest, offering a vivid performance on a breezy linden-scented night. I’ve been to many ’60s bands’ concerts, but I found The Troggs to be the most entertaining and energetic band of all. They were all spirited, singing loud and strong, dancing, making jokes and telling the story of each song.
Many of their songs had “wild” lyrics, consequently being banned from the UK or other countries. But now is the time of free expression and they sang with the passion and vigour of some 20-something boys.
They started with songs like “I Do Do”, “Night Of The Long Grass” (1967 – banned for inappropriate lyrics, instigating to drugs), “Any Way That You Want Me”, “Gonna Make You” or “Feels Like A Woman”. They continued with “Strange Movements”, the song that was banned worldwide, except Spain, where it reached no 1 – as the Spanish didn’t understand the lyrics! “I Can Give You Everything” was powerful and vibrant, followed by “Little Girl”, that was no 1 in South Africa! 🙂
“With A Girl Like You” was my all-time favourite, having the same tunes and positive energy as 50 years ago. “Love Is All Around”, a song that many people now attribute to Wet Wet Wet, was in fact The Troggs’ worldwide hit. That night, it was dedicated to Reg Presley, the lead vocal who passed away at the beginning of the year.
The public was then overenthusiastic at the first chord of “Wild Thing”, the anthem of free-spirited ’60s lovers. The band revealed that this song was no 1 all over the world, except in their mother country, Britain! Their performance was bold, sharp and strong, definitely with wild vibes! Ocarina, the crazy whistling instrument in the break, made it sound magic and mysterious, revealing its ancestral origins.
