The Kinks

Formed in Muswell Hill, London, The Kinks are considered one of the most prominent and predominant bands of the 1960s.

This English rock band from 1963 began their career playing British rhythm and blues, but subsequently switched genres.

Their music was largely influenced by American R&B as well as rock and roll. They later adopted British music hall, country and pop music styles.

The group has garnered a reputation worldwide, particularly in their homeland, for reflecting the culture and lifestyle of the English.

They have also been noted as one of the pioneers of punk, influencing several punk rock groups through the late 1970s until their disbandment in 1997. Though some of the band members are alive and continue to follow their solo projects, there have not been major attempts to revive the group.

The group had several line-up changes in their career but their best-known members are:

• lead singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist, Sir Raymond Douglas Davies (Ray Davies)
• guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, David Russell Gordon Davies (Dave Davies)
• drummer, Michael Charles Avory (Mick Avory)

Other longstanding members include John Gosling and John Dalton.

Achievements

These guys achieved commendable success over the span of their career, with an estimated sales of over 50 million records across the globe.

The Kinks had released 24 studio albums and 4 live albums by 1996. Globally, the group has released a shocking number of compilation albums (100-200) with 35 singles. 

Five of their singles made the cut into Billboard’s Top 10 Singles in the US. 9 of their albums charted in the Top 40 albums in the US, while 17 singles reached the Top 20 Singles as well as 10 Top album charts.

They were ranked number 65 on Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. 

Four of their albums earned the gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

They have been honored with an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Service to British Music. 

The original band members, including Peter Alexander Greenlaw Quaife (Late), were inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and the UK Hall of Fame in 2005.

Interesting Facts about The Kinks

There have been several events and remarkable incidents that took place in the lives of this band and its individual members to shape them into who they are. Some of the events leading up to the formation of their legacy are listed below:

The band was formed by two brothers, Douglas and David. It has been observed that since their childhood years, the two had not exhibited the ideal relationship siblings typically portray.

The band was renamed “The Kinks” after their earlier choices of The Ravens and The Bo Weevils. The name was derived from the word ‘kinky’ which was heard by some band members while watching the popular television show, The Avengers.

Ray Davies got his first guitar from his older sister Rene Davies, who died on his thirteenth birthday.

Mick Avory was the longest-standing band member aside from the founding brothers. The band went through several lineup changes with most of its members staying for shorter periods. Mick, however, was with the band from their formation until his departure in 1984.

The Kinks’ disbandment is suspected to be as a result of the unresolved issues and tension between the founding brothers, Ray and Dave Davies.

Ray Davies was shot in 2004 in New Orleans when he tried to retrieve his wife’s bag from a thief.

Whilst married to Yvonne Gunner, Ray Davies had an affair with American singer Chrissie Ellen Hynde and they bore a daughter named Natalie Rae Hynde. Despite the affair he had with Chrissie, he never married her. He married ballet dancer Patricia Crosvie after his affair with Chrissie.

The Kinks were one of the few to write the first rock operas.

The group’s debut tour was a complete failure caused by the conflicts occurring between members of the group. A commercial mishap between the band and the musician union at that time led to them being banned temporarily from touring.

After performing “You Really Got Me” on their debut tour, Dave Davies verbally assaulted Avory and kicked his drum set over. Avory then retaliated by hitting Dave with the hi-hat stand, leaving the latter unconscious. After Davies received treatment for about 16 stitches to his head following the incident, Avory placated the police by claiming that the incident was just a new act by the band.

The founding brothers learned how to play the guitar at a very tender age and played the genre of skiffle and Rock N’ Roll together.

During their early years, they were regarded as a strong force in the British Invasion of the US, until they were banned from touring in 1965 due to the constant fights between the founders, Ray Davies, and his brother Dave.

English film director, Julien Temple in 2015, was speculated to be directing a biopic of the band titled You Really Got Me. As of this writing, however, nothing has been said about the much-anticipated project.

Brief Conclusion

In 2018, the Davies brothers hinted that they were working on a new studio album with Avory. Dave, speaking in a January 2021 interview revealed that they were still discussing the possibility of working together to release new material.

As of 2021, however, there is little indication that the band will soon reunite or release something new.

Over the three decades of the group’s activeness, they have been duly acknowledged for introducing new sounds to the already existing pop and rock genre; paving the way for upcoming bands.

Popular Songs by The Kinks

• “(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman”
• “20th Century Man”
• “A Gallon of Gas”
• “A Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy”
• “A Well Respected Man”
• “Act Nice and Gentle”
• “All Day and All of the Night”
• “Apeman”
• “Art Lover”
• “Arthur”
•  “Artificial Light”
• “Australia”
• “Autumn Almanac”
• “Back to Front”
• “Beautiful Delilah”
• “Berkeley Mews”
• “Bernadette”
• “Better Things”
• “Big Black Smoke”
• “Black Messiah”
• “Brainwashed”
• “Cadillac”
• “Catch Me Now I’m Falling”
• “Celluloid Heroes”
• “Come Dancing”  
• “Come On Now”
• “Creeping Jean”
• “Dandy”
• “Days“
• “Dead End Street”
• “Death of a Clown”
• “Dedicated Follower of Fashion”
• “Destroyer”
• “Did Ya”
• “Do It Again”
• “Do You Remember Walter?”
• “Don’t Forget to Dance”
• “Drivin'”
• “Ducks on the Wall”
• “Everybody’s a Star (Starmaker)”
• “Ev’rybody’s Gonna Be Happy”
• “Father Christmas”
• “Full Moon”
• “Funny Face”
• “Get Up”
• “Going Solo”
• “Got Love If You Want It”
• “Guilty”
• “Harry Rag”  
• “Hatred (A Duet)”
• “Have Another Drink”
• “Here Comes Flash”
• “He’s Evil”
• “Hold My Hand”
• “Holiday Romance”  
• “Hot Potatoes”
• “How Are You”
• “How Do I Get Close”
• “I Gotta Move”
• “I Need You”
• “I Took My Baby Home”
• “I’m a Lover Not a Fighter”
• “I’m in Disgrace”
• “I’m Not Like Everybody Else”
• “In A Foreign Land”
• “In A Space”
• “It’s All Right”
• “Jack The Idiot Dunce”
• “Juke Box Music”
• “Killing Time”
• “King Kong”
• “Labour of Love”
• “Life Goes On”
• “Lincoln County”
• “Live Life”
• “Living on a Thin Line”
• “Lola“
• “Long Tall Sally”
• “Long Tall Shorty”
• “Lost and Found”
• “Love Me Till the Sun Shines”
• “Low Budget”
• “Massive Reductions”
• “Medley (You Really Got Me, All Day and All of the Night)”
• “Mindless Child of Motherhood”
• “Mirror of Love”
• “Misfits”
• “Mister Pleasant”
• “Misty Water”
• “Moments”
• “Money Talks”
• “Moving Pictures”
• “Mr. Churchill Says”
• “Mr. Pleasant”
• “National Health”
• “Never Met a Girl Like You Before”
• “No More Looking Back”
• “Noise”
• “Oklahoma U.S.A”
• “One of the Survivors”
• “Only a Dream”
• “Ordinary People”
• “Party Line”
• “Picture Book”
• “Plastic Man”
• “Polly” “Days”
• “Preservation”
• “Pressure”
• “Prince Of The Punks”
• “Rats”
• “Rats” “God’s Children”
• “Rock ‘n’ Roll Cities”
• “Rock ‘N’ Roll Cowboys”
• “Rush Hour Blues”
• “Salvation Road”
• “Scattered”
• “Scrapheap City”
• “See My Friends”
• “Set Me Free”
• “Shangri-La”
• “Shepherds Of The Nation”
• “She’s Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina”
• “She’s Got Everything”
• “Sittin’ on My Sofa”
• “Sitting In My Hotel”
• “Sitting in the Midday Sun”  
• “Skin and Bone”
• “Sleazy Town”
• “Sleepless Night”
• “Sleepwalker”
• “Sold Me Out”
• “Starstruck”
• “State of Confusion”
• “Still Searching”
• “Such a Shame”
• “Summer’s Gone”
• “Sunny Afternoon”
• “Supersonic Rocket Ship”
• “Susannah’s Still Alive”
• “Sweet Lady Genevieve”
• “The Hard Way”
• “The Road”
• “The Village Green Preservation Society”
• “There Is No Life Without Love”
• “This Is Where I Belong”
• “This Man He Weeps Tonight”
• “Till the End of the Day”
• “Time Song”
• “Tired of Waiting for You”
• “To the Bone”
• “Two Sisters”
• “Victoria”
• “Waterloo Sunset“
• “Where Have All the Good Times Gone”
• “Who’ll Be the Next in Line”
• “Wonderboy”
• “Working at the Factory”
• “You Can’t Stop the Music”
• “You Do Something to Me”
• “You Don’t Know My Name”
• “You Really Got Me”
• “You Still Want Me”
• “Yo-yo”