Scrugg — “I Wish I Was Five”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 23, 2025

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,596) Scrugg — “I Wish I Was Five”

From South Africa by way of London, here is Nuggets II-worthy “nicely melodic psychedelic pop with penetrating organ work not unlike that used by Pink Floyd on their early records” (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/scrugg-mn0000309723#biography), “wistfully melodic” with a “gorgeously layered production [that] adds a thoughtfully understated string section in counterpoint to the dominant organ hook line, while the vocals are put across with the perfect blend of pessimism and pathos”. (Mike Stax, liner notes to the CD comp Nuggets II (Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond 1964-1969))

Mike Stax adds that:

[“Five”] shares a theme common to many U.K. pop-psych songs: a longing for the innocence of childhood and a time when life didn’t carry such a heavy load. “I wish I was five,” they sing, adding more darkly, “sometimes it’s not so good to be alive.”

Yeah, but it’s better than the alternative. Me, I would settle for 55!

Andy Kellman tells us of John Kongos and Scrugg:

Before scoring a handful of minor hits in the U.K. in the late ’60s and early ’70s, John Kongos had been the leader behind Johnny Kongos & the G-Men, a prolific beat group from Johannesburg, South Africa that frequently appeared on that country’s charts during the first half of the ’60s. In 1966, Kongos and a number of his associates relocated to London and cut a 1967 single as Floribunda Rose for Piccadilly. . . . [and] eventually morphed into Scrugg, a psychedelic pop band that released a trio of singles for Pye prior to their 1969 breakup. “I Wish I Was Five,” a 1968 B-side, gained the most attention. Upon Scrugg’s split, Kongos went solo and released a handful of records, including th[ree] albums . . . . The 1971 single “He’s Gonna Step on You Again” registered on the charts in the U.K. and the U.S.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-kongos-mn0000232679#biography

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