The Kinks is a group of English Rock of the Années 1960, founded with London in 1963. Major group of the Years 1960, some of its songs became the traditional ones, such as Waterloo Sunset , You Really Got Me , Sunny Afternoon or Lola .

At the origin

Two brothers, Ray Davies and Dave Davies, grow in Muswell Hill, poor and unhealthy districts of London. The two brothers attend readily the pub S, envying the Blues men and the musicians of Skiffle which occur there. Ray continues its studies and chooses a British school of art, a kind which flowers in England of the years 1960.

It follows the idea of his brother to found a group of music. Dave persuades his/her friend of childhood Peter Quaife to join them to hold the low while an advertisement passed in the musical press to recruit a beater. They choose Mick Avory, old beater of the Rolling Stones. The group plays of traditional of American blues in the pubs, and bears the name of “Ravens”. One evening of the year 1963, Larry Page the remark and proposes to them to become their manager.

Their accent very “London”, proletarian, their behavior and their look are worth often gibes to them. Do one morning, Ray Davies affublé of an orange tie and her Dave brother (with his increasingly long hair) cross an arranger of the sound which challenges them “you look like kinks? ”.

You Really Got Me

In their new studio of London, The Kinks and the producer Shell Talmy (also producing of the Who) record five songs, four are published in two simple 45 turns. Not meeting any success, the contract which binds them to the company PYE is called into question: according to the legend, Ray then improves one of its compositions, whereas Dave lacerates rage its amplifier, which produces a sound distorted ever then heard, and which is at the origin of You Really Got Me in 1964.

The place of the group in the musical culture

Following this success, an album ( Kinks ) is recorded, and a new title All Day and All off The Night is marketed. Their second album Kinda Kinks is sold still better and their notoriety continues.

Draining with each one of their passage a crowd of fans is delirious about it, the group sees itself decreeing the price of the readers of the New Musical Express train (NME) in front of Beatles, and this after a mythical concert having joined together with Wembley the Beatles, the Animals, the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, etc With the end of the year 1965 the group is regarded unanimously as the third best British group behind Beatles and Rolling Stones.

After a round in Europe, they unload in the United States. Even if the discs are sold well and if the admirors hustle themselves with their concerts, the members of the group tear, fight on scene, insult and cause crowd. This behavior will be worth to them with final to be prohibited of stay on the American ground. What will result in to limit their importance in the British Invasion.

Evolution

Remained in England, in one very creative time of change on the musical level, the group starts to explore other ways while the reputation of Ray Davies continues.

Songs like Fancy and See My Friends use before George Harrison the effects of Indian musical quality; the words of the latter are references hardly buckled to the latent Homosexualité of some Mods.

Ray goes besides, in its search of description of England of its time, brocarder its own fans, in songs such as Dedicated Follower off Fashion , which makes fun with acidity of the young English of the “  swinging london  ”. Gradually, the small pop labels become more complex and more criticisms.

In 1966, The Kinks record Dead End Street , which tells the life of the inhabitants of a dead end of London; the clip of the time will be so lugubrious and vehement against the tax collectors, which it is prohibited (the members of the group saunter in the streets of a dark district, vêtus in Croque-mort). End 1966, Face to Face , precursor of the album-concept, is sold badly, because in particular of marketing by PYE of a “  Best of  ” of the group at the same period.

In 1967, the group is sensitive to psychedelic vagueness “  enchantée  ”, while criticizing it. It continues to align titles such as: Sunny Afternoon (critical pseudo-comic of the Shareholder S), Waterloo Sunset , Mister Pleasant and Lazy Old Sun , which passes on the French radios. End off the Season , with the pre-1940s style, announces their new line, print of a great tenderness for humility and the simplicity of the British middle-classes. This line, already germinates about it in has Well-Respected Man and David Watts is concretized on Something Else by the Kinks .

Starting from 1968, the group loses of its influence in the United Kingdom. Its songs lose the favor of the public which turns to new currents: the progressive Music, then the Glam rock'n'roll. The exit of the album The Village Green Preservation Society in 1968) is not foreign with this discredit: he wants to be the total opposite course with the Sgt. Pepper' S Lonely Hearts Club Band of the Beatles: praise of the simple life, the middle-classes, the “  country  ” British and, even, of the Virginity of the young girls.

The escapades of Dave Davies, the psychological brittleness of Ray Davies consecutive at the beginning of his wife, the internal conflicts accumulate; then Peter Quaife, more MOD of the group leaves the group. On the councils of its friend Mick Avory, Dalton becomes the bass player of the group. Ray Davies, strongly influenced by the albums concept, becomes the motive fluid of the group.

With songs such as Victoria , Mr. Churchill Says and Lola , the group remains present in the musical landscape, mainly in the United States until in the years 1980. The group benefits from a certain revival conveyed by the Jam and the Pretenders: recovery by Jams of David Watts , by Van Halen of You Really Got Me and by Pretenders of Stop Your Sobbin .

The group separates then, even if albums appear in the Années 1980 and 1990, and if the Davies brothers continue to collaborate together and to give concerts in occasional ways until in the Années 2000.

Composition of the group

  • Dave Davies: guitar, second voices, type-setter

  • Ray Davies: first type-setter, principal voice, rhythmic guitar
  • Pete Quaife: low
  • Mick Avory: battery

Anecdotes

  • They will get dressed as British schoolboys (striped tie and shorts arriving at the knee) for photography with the small pocket with their disc Schoolboys in Disgrace , which will inspire the behavior of scene of Angus Young of the group AC/DC.

  • the first concerts given by The Kinks are strongly marked by the confrontation of the Davies brothers on scene.

  • Ray knows many problems with alcohol. The song Alcohol on Muswell Hillbillies testifies to this attachment to drink.

  • Their song You Really Got was taken again to Me by the group Van Halen in their album Van Halen .

Discography

The discography of Kinks is different in the United Kingdom (PYE), the United States and in France (Vogue). Instrumental the Revenge , for example, was isolated French production at the beginning. The discography which follows is it British.

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