Ray Davies

Raymond Douglas Davies , more known under the name of Ray Davies was born the June 21st 1944 in Muswell Hill, popular quarters of London. Charismatic leader of the group of Pop rock'n'roll The Kinks, it is more often considered as writer that as singer type-setter. Recently decorated by the Queen with England about the British Empire, the C.B.E, it is a true reference in addition to Manche. One often compares it with a Dickens 20th century.

Childhood

Raymond D. Davies was born and grew in the suburbs of the north of London. Resulting from popular quarters and relatively poor, the young boy will be strongly marked by these " small gens" , that it will describe later with much smoothness in the song Dead End Street (literally " The street without issue"). Its youth is that of the post-war period, of the rebuilding of London destroyed and devastated by the bombardments. Raymond is a calm and quiet boy, who readily only plays football, occupying in turn all the stations (including chronicler). Seventh child of a family of eight, it was partly high by his six older sisters. That perhaps conferring a certain softness to him, a contrario of its junior by brother, Dave Davies, turbulent and puerile child. Raymond quickly shows a strong sensitivity for painting and literary works. He is registered, like many of his congeneric in one of the many artistic schools (Art School) of London. Often solitary, Raymond, who child accompanied his father in the pubs, there makes himself always adolescent and scrapes readily the guitar.

Success

The group which it assembles with his Dave brother pains to find its way. His/her young brother brought back a buddy, Peter Quaife. An old beater of the Rolling Stones, Mick Avory, joint with the group thereafter. Divided between the will of Ray to tell stories and that of Dave to howl in the world which Kinks exist, the first compositions are weak. Success coming with You really Got me , All day and all off the night and Till the end off the day true anthems rageurs with the epicureanism, Ray can turn to what grouille in him.

The compositions gradually will fly away, take height, will become more and more complex. So much so that between the end 1965 and 1968, the majority of the songs of Kinks, and thus of Ray Davies will be small jewels of observation and criticism. That it makes to the apology for the daydream I' m one year Island , that it criticizes the small middle-class men Well respected man and Mister Pleasant , the follower of modes Dedicated follower off fashion , the new rich person Sunny Afternoon , Ray Davies always composes of true acidulous labels of the British daily newspaper of the sixties. It composes now almost totality of the songs of the group. Running 1966, Ray Davies launches out in the project of an album which has a unit, with one of its fabrics of painting in small pocket. Face To Face is stuffed allusions and songs judicious and increasingly sophisticated (one finds there an allusion to the homosexuality of young British in See my friend , song who for the first time, before even George Harrison, introduced Indian sonorities), but the public reacts badly, just like his/her brother who wants song more rock'n'roll. Ray Davies, however continues, influenced by Bob Dylan and the traditional English folklore, it launches out even further in the writing of social reality with two albums Something Else by the Kinks and The Village Green Preservation Society . Although extremely different, these two albums are to some extent, the Rubber Soul and the Revolver of the Beatles for Kinks of Ray Davies. One speaks there about return to nature, joy of taking a beer between friends after a match of cup, of taking his time around a cup of tea or to admire green landscapes, to close the eyes a little and of seeing stealing the cats!!
The albums astonish, delight criticisms, and refer near Pete Townshend Who and of John Lennon, which does not dry up praises about Ray Davies. Part of the public however continues with regrets the first its Kinks ; it will find it at the Troggs, then later in the movement Punk, which will claim besides Kinks sonorities of origin.

Side individual, Kinks continue nevertheless to charm the fans until 1967 when Ray writes one of the more beautiful songs of the sixties by its beauty and the melancholy of its text, Waterloo Sunset .

Kinks sound then like British of the English groups.

Fall

Whereas Kinks fly of success in success until in 1967, Ray Davies always lives in the district of her childhood with his Rasa wife (who on the occasion made the choruses on the compositions of Kinks). However If Ray Davies posts certain a peace, a great nostalgia and a major dislike for the jet set and the richness, it is not the case of his/her brother. The group besides is exhausted. In evil of success, more really not including/understanding a leader who is gradually inserted in an unquestionable dumbness (and alcohol, leaning that it always acknowledges A), the bass player of Kinks from goes away and Dave Davies plays, a time, the chart of the career solo. Its couple beats wing, his wife leaves it. However Ray continuous to have full project the head, it wants to even carry out a serial for the Canadian television (of which the B.O will be " Arthur… "). It is perhaps for that one speaks sometimes about soft Schizophrénie about Ray Davies.

After its divorce, dark Ray (he does not want to leave any more) and launches out in an ambitious project of critic of the " God argent". The album is one of the more rock'n'roll of Kinks, it can even be regarded as metal. The album is always of quality, perhaps the last, and joins again a time with the hit-parade Europeans. One finds there moreover, the strange song Lola which describes the attraction of a transvestite.

Following this album, success will not be any more with go in England; it is with the United States - where the group had been interdict in 1965 for behavior subversive - that the group will find success, in particular at the end of the Seventies.

Return

Meanwhile, Ray Davies spent her money in hypothetical albums concepts whose graphic design is of debatable quality, and who are worth especially by their texts telling his childhood with the school or the life of the English bars.

From the Years 1980, Ray Davies is quoted regularly by Blur and in particular Damon Albarn, like influence, just like had done it before The Jam.

In 1983, it attends Chrissie Hynde Pretenders; they will have a child together. After will their separation, Ray write in remembering the song How are you? presents in the album Think Visual (1986).

In January 2004, it does the one of the newspapers to have carried help with a person victim of aggression, it was on this occasion wounded by bullets. The Queen receives it personally to congratulate it and approves Ray to have acted against those bastards (" these salauds"). Ray cannot keep the confidence for him, and mentions it in front of journalists who take it again: Buckingham Palace will be able of course to only contradict.

In 2006, its album solo Other People' S Lives, the first of its however long career, makes a unanimous success near criticisms, it is currently in round.

Discography

1984 : Return to Waterloo music of film of Ray Davies Return to Waterloo . This album was enregisté with the musicians of The Kinks, but without Dave Davies.
1998 : Story Teller Album live . Mix old songs of The Kinks and new songs written around the topics evoked in the book X-Ray . The version studio of the song London Song
2006 contains: Other People' S Lives first “ véritable ” album solo of Ray Davies.
2007 : Working Man' S Coffee

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