Britain fondly remembers an old singer-songwriter called Reg Presley and a band called 'The Troggs' who gave the world 'Love is All Around'

Singer-songwriter Reg, best known as the lead singer with 'The Troggs' died at the age of 71 in 2013, but his musical legacy lives on.

He was born Reginald Maurice Ball in Andover, Hampshire where his father was a bus driver and his mother ran a cafe. He attended Andover Secondary Modern School and left school at 15. He then played the guitar in a local skiffle group and by day worked as a bricklayer. He helped form 'The Troglodytes' which won a 'Battle of the Bands' talent contest in Oxford in 1965 and sent a demo tape to the rock entrepreneur Larry Page, who signed them on and shortened their name to 'The Troggs' and had their debut single with 'Lost Girl'. (link)

Next came 'Wild Thing', written by James Wesley Voight, younger brother of actor Jon, under the name of Chip Taylor which the band recorded in one complete take at Olympic Studios in London.(link) He was still working on a building site when he heard on the radio that 'Wild Thing' had just risen from No 44 to No 8 in the hit parade and later said : "I thought, whew, and threw my trowel down. I put my head in the door and said, "clear out my tools, I'm off'."

He saw the song reach number 2 in the Britain and number 1 in the USA in the Summer of 1966 and was covered by 'The Jimi Hendrix Experience' at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, where it as introduced as : 'The British/American joint 'national anthem'. (link)

Reg followed up with 'With a Girl Like You' which he wrote and which became the group's one and only number 1 in Britain.(link) and then wrote 'I Can't Control Myself'.(link) 

Next came 'Anyway That You Want Me'.(link) and 'Love is All Around (link) in 1967 and the band became part of the pop elite and setting off on a tour with the Walker Brothers he said : "It was so great. It was like landing on the moon for the first time."

With no further success, Reg saw the band split up in 1969 and then reform and saw it regaled as the inspiration for a host of performers, including Iggy Pop and was hailed by the American, Lester Bangs, in a 25,000 word eulogy as, the godfathers of punk, whose music was 'holy'. He credited them with igniting the raw energy that later fueled the punk rock movement. He admired their track "Wild Thing" and songs like "Give It To Me" for what he called, their direct, unvarnished adolescent lust and democratic sexual connection. He noted that they did not overthink their music like avant-garde or self-reflective bands, keeping their primitive art honest and effective.

In 1987, Reg was hailed by Bob Dylan on the set of Richard Marquand’s film, 'Hearts of Fire', in which he was appearing as an extra and said :“I had this guitar around my neck, Dylan recognised me. He came up and said : "How long have you been playing the guitar?" I said, "All bloody afternoon, mate." "

He then saw his slow descent from celebrity dramatically interrupted in 1994 when he was 53 years old when his composition, 'Love is all Around', which had been a Top 10 hit for 'The Troggs', 27 years earlier, covered by the Scottish group 'Wet Wet Wet' with singer Marti Pellow. This was used on the soundtrack of the film 'Four Weddings and a Funeral', reached No 1 and remained there for 15 weeks.(link)

Reg used substantial royalties from 'Love is All Around' to fund his personal investigations of what he felt were neglected areas of science, notably : alien spacecraft, lost civilisations and alchemy and in his 2002 book, 'Wild Things They Don’t Tell Us', concentrated on alien abductions, crop circles and what he saw as the close relationship between UFO’s and ancient monuments.

In 2003 he saw  a modified version of 'Love Is All Around' featured in the film 'Love Actually', performed by actor Bill Nighy. (link)

His friend, Keith Altham once said of him : "I have always liked Reg, because he has an innocence about him, in a profession dominated by people who are self-important and unreceptive. Even when he is wrong, he is sincerely wrong. He is very likeable. His interests are harmless. He is not mad.”

In December 2012 he was diagnosed with lung cancer after becoming ill during a tour in Germany and wrote to his fans on the band's website: "I am receiving chemotherapy treatment and at the moment not feeling too bad. However I've had to call time on The Troggs and retire. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for the cards and calls and for your love, loyalty and support over the years … I shall miss you all. Lots of Love."