Glasgow-born John Wright (Full name: John Baxter Connor Devine Wright) had his one and only solo LP "Laughter Through Tears" issued by Scottish folk label Neptune/Lismor Recordings in 1979. According to the sleeve notes:
No profound message or moral is intended, he [John] has simply written a set of twelve contemporary ethnic songs entitled "Laughter Through Tears", which express the humour that the natives of Glasgow manage to sustain in a tough and sometimes hostile environment.
And around 15 years ago John wrote this to me about the enterprise:
'Laughter Through Tears' was my first "pro" recording, produced by the Mcready Brothers ('Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep' - Middle of the Road). It was recorded "live" in 4 days in their studio in Klrkintilloch (just outside Glasgow) and released on the Lismore label (1979).
The resulting record is an honest and melodic effort in a simple, no-frills, folk-pop vein. Lyrically it is story-based and seems to draw primarily from the author's upbringing in Glasgow. Tales of the local homeless shelter as well that of a juvenile romantic rendezvous in a public park blend effortlessly together with those of "a kid being embarrassed at having to take his Granny's laundry down to the council wash house" - to quote, again, the album's sleeve notes.
Wright clearly knew his stuff and his next move in the music business was somewhat surprising...or perhaps not. He teamed up with singer Leslie McKeown, who then had recently left Scottish teen pop sensations the Bay City Rollers for a solo career. Wright, now having reinvented himself as the pop-person Scobie Ryder in effect became McKeown's co-writer and co-conspirator for the next two or three years, as well as signing a short-lived solo deal with EMI, which issued three Scobie Ryder solo singles in 1979 and 1980. To quote the artist, again from my e-talk with him early this century: In the space of 8 months I could hardly recognize myself, and of course in that time (living in a van parked in Soho Square) I changed my stage name to Scobie Ryder and have been him ever since.
In the decades since "Laughter Through Tears" John Wright/Scobie Ryder has continued working as an artist of some sort or another; be it performing or producing other musical acts; working in television, or as a writer. Or, as the man himself sums it up:
Being an artist can be a strange and somewhat bizarre lifestyle, drifting from one discipline to the next, always on the lookout for a new way to express one's self ...though not always successfully ;-)
It happened in the unlikeliest of places under the unlikeliest of circumstances. But that, after all, is how the great ones often go.
Reg Presley, the legendary lead singer of the even more legendary Troggs suffered a stroke a couple of years back. A massive one by all accounts. Thankfully, he survived it. But everyone worried that that was it performance-wise for the man best known for bringing "Wild Thing" to the masses, as well as nearly single-handedly inventing Garage Rock and Punk Rock in the process. Unintentionally of course. No mean feat that.
But good old Reg soldiered on. Insisted on it as a matter of fact. And the (re)appearence of The Troggs at the "21. Oldie Night Live" festival in Gugahalle, Essen, Germany on Saturday December the 3rd 2011 was supposed to be his big comeback of sorts. The proof he could still cut it, still roar proudly through '60s classics like "Wild Thing", "With a Girl Like You", "I Can't Control Myself", "Love is All Around" and all the rest. But that wasn't to be. Well, not exactly.
As soon as The Troggs took to the stage just after 9 pm on that fateful Saturday night, in between German '60s act The Rattles and an odd yet presentable version of T.Rex, it became painfully clear that all was not well. Reg seemed exhausted and, honestly, in over his head from the get-go. Every now and then he even needed to sit down for a rest, which made some of the ill-informed audience (needless to say, the promoter should have made the situation clear beforehand) jump to the conclusion that he was either drunk or drugged - if not both. But according to long-serving Troggs bassist Pete Lucas, "Reg has never done drugs and he's not a boozer. He wouldn't even know what to do with a line of coke".
And although Reg certainly tried to explain the situation, due to the inevitable language-barrier that explanation somehow got lost in the translation and a portion of the punters just booed! It was such a sad spectable it beggars belief.
Nonetheless, under these, the most dire of circumstances, the band bravely trawled through some of of their best known songs, such as "Give it to Me", "Anyway That You Want Me" and "Love is All Around", as well as a cover or two ("Walking the Dog").
Reg just barely managed to deliver the ever touching epitaph contained in arguably The Troggs' best-loved song (covered by everyone from R.E.M. to Wet Wet Wet), "Love is All Around"; "It's written on the wind, it's everywhere I go. So if you really love me come on and let it show". But merely a small fraction of the audience saw fit to do just that. Fucking shameful!
As Bay City Roller Eric Faulkner commented later on in his band's set: "I hope you realise how priviliged you've been to see Reg Presley perform". Well, I for one felt privilidged.
But the worst was yet to come. As the band was - prematurely in Reg's obvious opinion - going to wrap things up quickly with the obligatory "Wild Thing", Reg stopped them in their tracks by shouting "No, no, no!" and instead preceded to introduce their sole no.1 U.K. hit "With a Girl Like You" - a Reg Presley compostion no less. But then the clueless emcee, probably sent in by the promoter to "salvage" the situation, cut Reg off mid-sentence by announcing a short break until the next act would be on. What have they done to my song, Ma, indeed!?
Sadly, Reg just sat there stunned and motionless for a few moments until he, like his bandmates had done before him, staggered off the stage, beaten and humiliated.
Reg Presley, one of the most distinctive voices in Rock, had been silenced with a dismissive shrug! Meanwhile, the shrilling "Oh, no!" scream which opens "I Can't Control Myself" (covered by both The Ramones and Joan Jett) is one of the defining moments in Rock history. People should just try to keep a fucking perspective!
After the show, at the local Holiday Inn bar, I was lucky enough to run into 3/4 of The Troggs (Regrettfully, Reg had gone to bed), who were all just gutted. "It was a great show", I tried to lie to Pete Lucas. "No it wasn't", he replied. "But thank you for saying so".
Pete admitted tearfully though, that this was probably Reg's last show with the band, and that they will most likely continue as a three-piece from now on. It took a minute or two to sink in: Reg Presley, one of the last great front men of one of the last great Rock bands, has probably performed his last not-so-great-show.
Furthermore, T.Rex drummer Paul Fenton (he played with Marc Bolan for chrissakes!) delivered a speech in honour of Reg which left no one in attendance untouched and brought a somber - if not altogether sober - conclusion to the precedings.
The clean-living, often odd UFO enthusiast can hopefully now bow-out gracefully, safe in the knowledge that he, much like his namesake from Memphis, TN., has given Rock and Roll his all.
Ladies and gentlemen, Reg Presley has left the building...
Reg Presley in Essen Dec. 3rd 2011.
PS: If this sounds too much like an eulogy I do apolgise. Reg is still very much among the living and this is merely my meager tribute to him.
I would like to thank Pete Lucas - a true gentleman - for sharing with me his time and thoughts. I do hope he will not be cross with me for quoting him here without permission, but at the time of our conversation I had not planned to write about it. Afterwards, however, I felt COMPELLED to do so.
A very special thanks also to "Wizzo", an avid Troggs fan from Sweden, who set me straight on a couple of things. Tack!
This writer (left) with Reg Presley (right) in October 2008.
What excactly is that thing above Reg's head there? Cue The Twilight Zone intro...
