PsychepediA

From: Watford, England

Official Website

Chris Britton is best known for being the original lead guitarist of the delightfully raucous U.K. band the Troggs. He was born in the small town of Watford, England northwest of London on January 21, 1945 and began playing guitar at the wee age of nine. At 15, Britton became interested in rock and roll, playing guitar in a couple of local area bands before co-forming the Troglodytes (soon shortened to Troggs) during the spring of 1964. It should be noted that although Troggs frontman Reg Presley was the band's principal songwriter and creative element, Britton added a rather unique, choppy yet droning style of guitar playing that rounded out their style. He also wrote and sang lead on some of their songs, most notably the outstanding 'Maybe The Madman' featured here on TWOS.

In 1969, Britton left the Troggs mainly due to creative differences and decided to go solo, releasing a rather original sounding, pop-psych LP titled As I Am on the Page One label late that year. Albeit tragically obscure, the album is quite good and features ex-Plastic Penny, Argosy, and future Elton John drummer Nigel Olssen as well as another Plastic Penny alumnus and Troggs bassist at the time Tony Murray. Highlights on the record include the soulful 'Fly With Me', airy 'Run And Hide' and heavy 'Sit Down Beside Me'. Unfortunately, Page One didn't release any singles to better promote the LP and it quickly became a commercial failure, prompting Britton to leave the music business and run a nightclub in Portugal for six years. He returned to the Troggs in the late 70s and continues to play live with them occasionally to this day.

Artist information sources include: The book, 'Tapestry of Delights Revisited' by Vernon Joynson.