The Kinks

Ray Davies b. 21 June 1944; London: vocals and guitar Dave Davies b. 3 February 1947; London: vocals and guitar Mick Avory b. 15 February 1944; London: drums Pete Quaife b. 27 December 1944; Tavistock, England: bass   1958   [RD 13-14, DD 10-11] Ray and Dave began their musical careers playing in a local pub in the Muswell Hill area of North London. Their lower-middleclass British background (complete with a sister who marries and moves to Australia) will shape Ray's future songwriting.

1963   [RD 19-20, DD 16-17]

Sometime in early 1963 Ray Davies met London blues impresario and musician, Alexis Korner. The nature of the meeting was probably Davies looking for work, but a result was that he became involved in London's R&B scene. Ray had been playing both with brother Dave's band, the Ravens, and with a blues group, Dave Hunt Band. When Quaife and Avory joined, the Kinks were born. Robert Wace, a Cliff Richard wannabe, promoted himself to the band as a singer with connections and, for a brief period, functioned as the band's lead singer.

However, he found it easier getting them gigs than surviving them and, thus, became their manager. Wace convinced a London entertainment fixture, Larry Page, to record a 5-song demo of the band. The demo landed them a contract with Pye Records through American producer Shel Talmy in this year of beat hysteria. Talmy (a school chum of Phil Spector) was originally from Los Angeles, but had moved to London in the early sixties where American producers were rare, partially reviled and also much sought after as masters of pop magic.

1964   [RD 20-21, DD 17-18]

The Kinks toured as warm-up group to the Dave Clark Five and the Hollies on a UK tour (the DC5's only UK tour). Ray Davies comments: There was so much equipment and so many cables connected to their (the DC5) equipment that on several occasions the whole power supply would blow up, causing an embarrassing delay while the long-suffering electrician repaired the fault. After a while, Dave Clark and his four chums started to suspect that it was sabotage, and one night after a show in Southampton, Clark stopped the coach on the way back to London to hold an official inquiry. He threatened that when the saboteur was eventually caught, the offender would be summoned to his quarters where "a punishment of the severest nature" would be implemented. (Davies 1994:116) The band and their management decided that hunting gear was an English and conservative costume. Unfortunately, hunting gear was intended to keep the wearer warm for extended periods in cold wet weather. As a consequence, the band found themselves extremely warm on stage.

7 February. "Long Tall Sally" / "I Took My Baby Home" (Pye)

17 April. "You Still Want Me" / "You Really Do Something to Me" (Pye)

4 August. "You Really Got Me" / "It's All Right" (Pye) UK #1, US #7

2 October. The Kinks [Pye NPL 18096] UK #3 23 October. "All Day and All of the Night" / "I Gotta Move" (Pye) UK #2, US #7 27 November. Kinksize Session [Pye NEP 24200]: "Louie, Louie," "I Gotta Go Now," "Things Are Getting Better," and "I've Got that Feeling"   1965   [RD 21-22, DD 18-19] 15 January. "Tired of Waiting" / "Come On Now" [Pye 7N 15759] UK #1, US #6 5 March. Kinda Kinks [Pye NLP 18112] release 11 March. The Kinks establish Kinks Productions Ltd. 19 March. "Everybody's Gonna Be Happy" / "Who'll Be the Next In Line" [Pye 7N15813] UK #11, US #34

19 May. Capitol Theatre, Cardiff, Wales. The flamboyance of the ensemble and the rigors of touring and recording contributed to tensions that already existed in the band. Besides the arguments between the brothers, Mick Avory knocked Dave Davies unconscious. During a concert with frustrations over the size of the stage and the band's placement on the program, Dave kicked over Avory's drum kit in a fit of anger. Avory, also with a fair level of frustration, knocked "Dave with his hi-hat stand." Dave Davie's head needs 16 stitches. The noise of the impact, the blood, and Dave's crumpled body led Avory to believe he had killed the guitarist. He fled the auditorium. Later in the year, if their antics in the UK were not exciting enough, the US Federation of Musicians banned them for four years for failing to show up for a performance (and for striking an FoM representative). (Hinman 2004: 55)

21 May. "Set Me Free" / "I Need You" [Pye 7N 15854] UK #9, US #23

30 July. "See My Friend" / "Never Met a Girl Like You Before" (Pye) UK #10

17 September. Kwyet Kinks [Pye NEP 24221]: "Wait Till the Summer Comes Along," "Such a Shame," "A Well Respected Man," "Don't You Fret"

4 November. "Well Respected Man" / "Milk Cow Blues" (Pye export) US #13

19 November. "Till the End of the Day" / "Where Have All the Good Times Gone" (Pye) UK #6, US #50

26 November. The Kinks Kontroversy [Pye NPL 18131]

1966   [RD 22-23, DD 19-20]

25 February. "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" / "Sittin' On My Sofa" (Pye) UK #4

3 June. "Sunny Afternoon" / "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" (Pye) UK #1, US #14

2 September. Well Respected Kinks [Marble Arch MAL/S 612]

28 October. Face to Face [Pye NPL 18149]

18 November. "Dead End Street" / "Big Black Smoke" (Pye) UK #5

London	Schedule	Manfred Mann
	22-Feb-2012