The Troggs
I’ll Buy You an Island
There are a lot of songs dealing with the subject of “islands”. I’m thinking of “Islands in the Sun” by Harry Belafonte, “Living on an Island” by the boogie rockers Status Quo featuring Rick Parfitt or “Islands in the Stream” by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rodgers. I must admit that these were good songs, but let me show you another less famous one.
It’s “I’ll Buy You an Island” by a combo called The Troggs. The song is from their 1975 album “The Trogg Tape”. Reg Presley (not Elvis Presley) was the lead singer, and he wrote some tremendous hits like “Love Is All Around” or “I Can’t Control Myself”. So in the late sixties the group was doing very successful work, having one hit single after the other. But I also remember that their later singles were on sale in the supermarket discount bins, because no one would buy them. So I was able to collect them at a low price. The hype for this band had already gone and so they tried desperately to get back to the scene, but it didn’t happen again.
Please also note: There is another piece out called “The Troggs Tapes”, which doesn’t contain any music but an argument between the band members over their musical ideas. Because of its explicit nature — the guys used a lot of profanity — this one became a historical document and it proves the relation of the band to the punk scene, where the band members came from.
I was informed that Peter Green played the guitar chords on “Island”. I like that one because of the tropical feeling of the sound. Also, Reg whispers the words, which is a very unusual performance style these days.
