Obituary: Reg Presley, lead singer of The Troggs Reg Presley was the founder of the pop band the Troggs in the early 1960s and continued to tour until last year, when he announced, after being diagnosed with cancer, that "the time has come to stop." Formed in Andover the band was best known for the hits Wild Thing and Love Is All Around. The former was a smash hit on both sides of the Atlantic and was later covered by soloists such as Jimi Hendrix and Bruce Springsteen and by numerous boy bands. Hendrix sang Wild Thing at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival and then burned his guitar before smashing it on the stage. Presley's name returned to the pop headlines in the 1990s when the Glasgow band Wet Wet Wet covered Love is all Around. The song formed part of the soundtrack of the film Four Weddings and a Funeral and was then No 1 in the charts for 15 weeks. Presley used the royalties to fund research into crop circles, publishing the findings in a book, Wild Things They Don't Tell Us. Reginald Maurice Ball was brought up in Hampshire and formed a band called the Troglodytes in 1964 - the name was soon shortened to the Troggs. Larry Page, a record producer who had successfully promoted the Kinks, received from Presley a demo tape and he backed the Troggs" first recording, Lost Girl, which made little impact. In 1965, Page heard Wild Thing in New York and suggested to Presley that the Troggs record it and booked a studio. The band were told to wait in their van in the car park and perhaps there would be some studio time available. They were ushered in and within an hour they recorded the iconic Wild Thing and With A Girl Like You in two takes - in ten minutes. Extraordinarily, the Troggs were not then a professional band and Presley was still working as a brick-layer. He heard Wild Thing on the radio for the first time on a building site; then the DJ enthusiastically said: "Straight from 44 to 8 this week, Wild Thing by the Troggs." Presley laid down his trowel and walked off the building site. Within three months, the Troggs were touring nationwide - with the Walker Brothers - and Reg Ball changed his name to Reg Presley. Although Wild Thing was their best-selling disc, the band proved popular on the road, and Presley maintained a down-to-earth manner that avoided the pop star lifestyle or glamour. One of his most popular songs, Love is All Around (1968), is a charming, feel-good number that did much to re-establish the band's popularity in the United States. The song remained in the US charts for many weeks. But the band did have its share of internal problems. The Troggs gained wide publicity (and much notoriety) in 1968 after an expletive-ridden recording session in a studio. Their management tried to dismiss it as "a 12-minute talking studio digression" but the foul-mouthed language, while bringing them an increased status in the world of rock, was considered not at all unusual in a recording studio. However, songs that Presley sang in the UK (With a Girl Like You and I Can't Control Myself) sold well. Despite spending time out of the limelight, the Troggs had a loyal following and played to good houses when they toured. They made a particularly successful tour of Scotland in 1970, playing in town halls. Wild Thing was a genuinely original single that made musicians stretch their musical horizons. It was an astonishing debut recording and brought Presley and the Troggs cult status. Significantly, when asked which other band he would like to be in, Paul McCartney reportedly chose the Troggs. Presley, on hearing that, commented: "I can't believe it. That's so nice. Presley and the Troggs changed from being ground-breaking musicians to a nostalgia band. But Presley shrewdly preserved his popularity with his on-stage drive, energy and love of entertaining. He was a charismatic performer and an undoubted influence on many young musicians - punk and garage rock. Presley is survived by Brenda, his wife of 49 years, and a son and daughter.