* En anglais uniquement
Scrugg released three British singles on Pye in the late 1960s, highlighted by their first 45, "Everyone Can See"/"I Wish I Was Five." These were nicely melodic psychedelic pop with penetrating organ work not unlike that used by
Pink Floyd on their early records, particularly on "I Wish I Was Five," which, decades later, was included on the Nuggets, Vol 2: Original Artyfacts box set of '60s non-U.S. garage rock and psychedelia. The final two
Scrugg singles were more in the florid storybook sing-song pop-style prevalent in Britain in the late 1960s, and less distinctive. Before changing their name to
Scrugg, the group had been known as
Floribunda Rose, who did a single for Pye in 1967. Both groups were centered around singer/songwriter
John Kongos, who had a long career as a recording artist in South Africa in the 1960s before moving to England to record a single for Piccadilly in 1966, prior to forming
Floribunda Rose. After
Scrugg broke up,
Kongos went solo, getting two British Top Five hits in the early 1970s, with "He's Gonna Step on You Again" and "Tokoloshe Man." All six songs from the
Scrugg singles, as well as the
Scrugg outtake "Patriotic," are on the
John Kongos anthology
Lavender Popcorn. That CD also includes both sides of
Kongos' 1966 Piccadilly single, both sides of the
Floribunda Rose single, the entirety of
Kongos' 1969 LP Confusions About a Goldfish, and a few unreleased
Kongos solo songs from the same era. ~ Richie Unterberger