In the second part of the Troggs story, we talk with Peter Staples…
By Ian Woolley
Senators 1961 (credit Peter Staples)
Starting out in the Senators, Peter played rhythm guitar before Chris Britton of the Redwoods approached him as they were looking for a replacement bass player.
Peter explains “For a while their bassist lent me his guitar for me to learn it on and then I went out and bought one. Then I was left on my one to practice with the other lads and became Ten Feet Five as we were then.”
Both Ten Feet Five and the Troggs were in competition at that time but both were very popular around Andover.
What were his musical influences growing up I asked him. “I was a big Four Seasons and Dionne Warwick fan and still am.”
Two years later he joined the Troggs with Chris Britton after the original Trogolytes dropped their name. “Before we joined them, the Troggs mark one consisted of Howard ‘Ginger’ Mansfield*, Dave Wright, Reg Ball and Ronnie Bullis,” said Peter. When we joined the same label as the Kinks, Reg really liked the London band.
“They’d just lost the Kinks and maybe to Larry (Page) we just satisfied that niche for him you know,” Peter adds.
Favourite Troggs song?
“I should say “Wild Thing” as that makes us the most money I suppose but I quite like “Any Way That You Want Me”. Mind you, they use “Wild Thing” a lot in TV ads down the years. Even Johnny Depp strikes our chords advertising a certain perfume right now”, says Peter.
Read the full interview with Peter in our August issue of the Beat where he talks about a funny moment with Hendrix on TOTP and the recording of Wild Thing.
Part 1 of The Wild Things Of Punk – The Troggs Story was published in the July issue of the Beat. Order your copy via our website.
Andover – A Musical History is published on May 2023. For more information about Peter Staples, visit his website at www.petestaples.co.uk/senators
* The last founding original member of the Troggs, ‘Ginger’ Mansfield died in 2017.