"The Hard Way (The Kinks song) ""The Hard Way"" is a song written by Ray Davies and first released by The Kinks on their 1975 album ""Schoolboys in Disgrace"". It was also released on The Kinks live album ""One for the Road"" and on several greatest hits collections. The Knack covered the song on their 1980 album ""...But the Little Girls Understand"". The lyrics of ""The Hard Way"" were inspired by a real life incident that happened to Dave Davies, Ray's brother and The Kinks' guitarist. In the incident, Dave Davies was caned and expelled from William Grimshaw Secondary Modern"
"Since 2014, Wilson has gone on tour as Dave's backup singer. Dave Davies David Russell Gordon Davies (born 3 February 1947) is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the lead guitarist, backing (and occasional lead) singer for the English rock band The Kinks, which also featured his older brother Ray Davies. In 2003, Davies was ranked 91st in ""Rolling Stone"" ""Magazine""'s list of the ""100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time"". David Russell Gordon Davies was born at 6 Denmark Terrace, Muswell Hill, North London. He was born the last of eight children, including six older"
"Pete Quaife Peter Alexander Greenlaw Quaife (31 December 1943 – 23 June 2010) was an English musician, artist and author. He was a founding member and the original bass guitarist for The Kinks, from 1963 until 1969. He also sang backing vocals on some of their records. Quaife founded a group known as The Ravens in 1963 with brothers Ray and Dave Davies. In late 1963 or early 1964, they changed their name to The Kinks. The group scored several major international hits throughout the 1960s. Their early singles, including ""You Really Got Me"" and ""All Day and All of"
"showed at several film festivals around the world throughout 2010, and was picked up for broadcast on public television in late 2011. Geoff Edgers is a reporter for the Boston Globe. Facing a mid-life crisis, he decides to embark on a quest to reunite his favorite band, The Kinks. Founded in 1964 by oft-feuding brothers Ray and Dave Davies, the group split in 1996 due to creative tension and poor record sales. Edgers travels around America, interviewing and gaining the support of several personalities, including Sting, Paul Weller, Peter Buck, Zooey Deschanel, Clive Davis, Warren Zanes, and Robyn Hitchcock. Edgers"
"along with school friend Ray Davies and subsequently asked Ray's brother Dave Davies to join. The band was originally called The Ravens and performed rhythm and blues at local venues such as the Hornsey Recreation Club at Crouch End Secondary School. The 'Kinks' name came about only upon the signing of a recording contract in late 1963. The Kinks became a top chart act throughout the world beginning with their third single, 1964's ""You Really Got Me"". Quaife was commonly the voice of the band in early press interviews. In June 1966, he was seriously injured in a car crash,"
"on the eve of the recording of """", so readers interested in such things as Davies' relationship with Chrissie Hynde or his current career as a solo singer-songwriter will have to look elsewhere. X-Ray (book) X-Ray (1994) was Ray Davies' first major attempt to write prose outside his musical career as founding member of the British rock band the Kinks. Robert Polito calls it an ""experimental non-fiction"" and describes Davies as ""a prose stylist of Nabokovian ambition."" The book, subtitled as an ""unauthorized autobiography,"" employs a nameless 19-year-old first-person narrator hired by 'the Corporation' to seek out and interview a"
"Me"", which was released as the band's third single in August of that year. Davies led the Kinks through a period of musical experimentation between 1966 and 1975, with notable artistic achievements and commercial success. The Kinks' early recordings of 1964 ranged from covers of R&B standards like ""Long Tall Sally"" and ""Got Love If You Want It"" to the chiming, melodic beat music of Ray Davies' earliest original compositions for the band, ""You Still Want Me"" and ""Something Better Beginning"", to the more influential proto-metal, protopunk, power chord-based hard rock of the band's first two hit singles, ""You Really"
"brother Dave onstage at one of his concerts to perform ""You Really Got Me"". The event marked the first time the brothers performed on stage together in nearly twenty years, sparking rumors of a possible Kinks reunion. The American hard rock band Van Halen released a cover of ""You Really Got Me"" for their 1978 debut album, ""Van Halen"". As the band's first single, it was a popular radio hit which helped jump-start the band's career, as it had done for the Kinks 14 years earlier. This version, which was cited by Eddie Van Halen as an ""updated"" version of"
"permanently in April 1969, but the others did not at first believe him, and only realised his intention when they saw an article in a music paper revealing Quaife's new band. Ray Davies asked him to change his mind and stay, but without success. He was again replaced on bass, this time permanently, by Dalton. After leaving The Kinks, Quaife founded a new band, the country/rock outfit, Mapleoak. The group's name derived from the heritage of its members: the 'Maple' represented the two Canadian members of the group. Singer-songwriters Stan Endersby (born 17 July 1947, in Lachine, Quebec, Canada) and"
"numerous rarities that populate the bonus tracks on the second half of the CD more than make up for the three LP cuts that are omitted. Although they would eventually evolve into the Kinks, the bandleader for the Ravens was Dave Davies before the even greater genius in younger brother Ray was evident. The second and third tracks sound like ""the Kinks unplugged"", while the first is an excellent cover of one of the coolest Leiber/Stoller songs, ""I'm a Hog for You"". The Talismen released one 45 that includes ""Casting My Spell"", while ""What Kind of Boy"" comes from a"
"Mick Avory Michael Charles Avory (born 15 February 1944) is an English musician, best known as the longtime drummer and percussionist for the English rock band the Kinks. He joined them shortly after their formation in 1964 and remained with them until 1984, when he left amid creative friction with guitarist Dave Davies. He is the longest-serving member of the band, apart from the Davies brothers. Before he joined the Kinks, Avory was asked twice to rehearse on drums at the Bricklayers Arms pub in London during late May/early June 1962 for a group of musicians who were later to"
"work on a film about his love of British Invasion band The Kinks, headed by the two feuding brothers Ray and Dave Davies. The documentary, entitled ""Do It Again"" follows Edgers throughout America and Britain on a quest to reunite the original members. Edgers meets with various personalities and Kinks fans to discuss the band, such as Sting, Paul Weller, Peter Buck, Zooey Deschanel, Clive Davis, Warren Zanes, Robyn Hitchcock, and Dave Davies himself. ""Do It Again"" premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival in January 2010, and was met with positive reviews. It traveled the film festival circuit throughout"
"own version with guitarist Dave Davies on lead vocals. This went against the norm where each brother usually sang songs they had written themselves. Later performances of the song were sung by Ray, with Dave providing backing vocals and Eric Clapton-influenced guitar solos. Both the Davies brothers continue to perform the song in their solo concerts. Dave Davies described the song as ""a Kinks fans favorite."" He also said, ""[I]t was never a hit for The Kinks, but over the years every true Kinks fan relates to that particular song, and it's funny, because that particular version is one of"
"to Yvonne Gunner. The couple had no children. Davies had a relationship with Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders during the 1980s, and their daughter is named Natalie Rae Hynde. His third marriage was to Irish ballet dancer Patricia Crosbie, with whom he had a daughter, Eva Davies. Reportedly, Ray Davies has had a tempestuous relationship with younger brother Dave, the Kinks' lead guitarist, which ""dominated"" the Kinks' career as a band. On 4 January 2004, Davies was shot in the leg while chasing thieves who had snatched the purse of his companion as they walked in the French Quarter of"
"X-Ray (book) X-Ray (1994) was Ray Davies' first major attempt to write prose outside his musical career as founding member of the British rock band the Kinks. Robert Polito calls it an ""experimental non-fiction"" and describes Davies as ""a prose stylist of Nabokovian ambition."" The book, subtitled as an ""unauthorized autobiography,"" employs a nameless 19-year-old first-person narrator hired by 'the Corporation' to seek out and interview a slightly demented geriatric version of Davies himself ten to twenty years after the time of the novel's publication. Thus, while technically an autobiography, the work has an unreliable narrator. In many ways a"
"initially planning for the song to be a ""more laid-back number"", later played the chords of the song to brother Dave Davies, the Kinks' lead guitarist. However, upon hearing the track, Dave decided that the riff would be much more powerful on a guitar. Ray said of the track's change to a guitar-centred track, ""I wanted it to be a jazz-type tune, because that's what I liked at the time. It's written originally around a sax line ... Dave ended up playing the sax line in fuzz guitar and it took the song a step further."" The band then began"
"new drummer, Mickey Willet; however, Willet left the band shortly before they signed to Pye. The Ravens invited Mick Avory to replace him after seeing an advertisement Avory had placed in ""Melody Maker"". Avory had a background in jazz drumming and had played one gig with the fledgling Rolling Stones. Around this period, the Ravens decided on a new, permanent name: the Kinks. Numerous explanations of the name's genesis have been offered. In Jon Savage's analysis, they ""needed a gimmick, some edge to get them attention. Here it was: 'Kinkiness'—something newsy, naughty but just on the borderline of acceptability. In"
"during Dave Davies’ concert at Islington Assembly Hall in London, Dennis Diken was drumming while Ray Davies joined his brother Dave Davies on stage for ""You Really Got Me"". It was the first time the two Kinks had performed together in nearly 2 decades. Dennis Diken Dennis Diken (born February 25, 1957) co-founded the New Jersey band The Smithereens. Besides playing with The Smithereens, Dennis is a fill-in DJ on WFMU. Diken was born on February 25, 1957, in Belleville, New Jersey. As a musician and record producer, Diken has worked with The Smithereens, Ben E. King, Mary Weiss of"
"was Ray Davies, who later formed The Kinks. The Rolling Stones played their first gig at the Crawdaddy in February 1963, because the Dave Hunt band were snowed in during the coldest winter since 1740. Although the Stones had played their first gig the previous summer, Bill Wyman did not become a member until 7 December 1962 and Charlie Watts joined in January 1963 so the Crawdaddy saw the first public performance with them in the band. This first gig was not a commercial success; Gomelsky had to plead with customers of the main hotel, offering two entries for the"
"""is a delightful spoof not only of touring but of touring songs as well."" Ray Davies also had mixed feelings on the song, once stating, ""When I first heard that song it made me sick. But then the next day I saw the humor in it."" Rock 'n' Roll Cities ""Rock 'n' Roll Cities"" is a song by the British rock group, the Kinks. The song appeared on the band's 1986 album, ""Think Visual"", and, unlike most other Kinks songs, it was written by Dave Davies rather than his brother, Ray. The track featured former Kinks drummer Mick Avory, despite"
"the Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson album ""Break Up"" in 2009. Stop Your Sobbing ""Stop Your Sobbing"" is a song written by Ray Davies for the Kinks' debut album, ""Kinks"". It was later covered by the Pretenders as their first single. The Kinks recorded ""Stop Your Sobbing"" on ""Kinks"", which was rushed out in order to capitalize on the success of ""You Really Got Me."" Kinks biographer Rob Jovanovic writes that ""Stop Your Sobbing"" was supposedly written by Ray about a former girlfriend who, fearing that fame would change him, broke down in tears upon seeing how popular he had"
"band's contracts with Pye and Reprise expired. Before the end of 1971, the Kinks signed a five-album deal with RCA Records and received a million-dollar advance, which helped fund the construction of their own recording studio, Konk. Their debut for RCA, ""Muswell Hillbillies"", was replete with the influence of music hall and traditional American musical styles, including country and bluegrass. It is often hailed as their last great record, though it was not as successful as its predecessors. It was named after Muswell Hill, where the Davies brothers were brought up, and contained songs focusing on working-class life and, again,"
"in Middlesex, which subsequently became part of the London Borough of Barnet. In 1964, three young Muswell Hill residents, the brothers Ray and Dave Davies and Pete Quaiffe, formed The Kinks. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, the Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock groups of the era. The Davies' parents' home at 6 Denmark Terrace, Fortis Green, remains a magnet for rock music tourists. In 1979 Wetherspoons opened their very first pub, on Colney Hatch Lane. In March 2013 Muswell Hill was named one of the five most desirable"
"thought we'd lost, doing those stadium tours. 'Come Dancing' was an attempt to get back to roots, about my sisters' memories of dancing in the '50s."" The song is a nostalgic look back at childhood memories of its writer: the Kinks' frontman Ray Davies, remembering his older sister going on dates to the local Palais dance hall where big bands would play. Davies later claimed that the song was about a spiv, saying, ""it was about an East End spiv, sung in a London voice. If anybody had lost any faith in us being real people, that record ['Come Dancing']"
"directions to Muswell Hill, was taken on the small traffic island at the intersection of Castle Yard and Southwood Lane in Highgate. with: Muswell Hillbillies Muswell Hillbillies is an album by the English rock group The Kinks. Released in November 1971, it was the band's first album for RCA Records. The album is named after the Muswell Hill area of North London, where band leader Ray Davies and guitarist Dave Davies grew up and the band formed in the early 1960s. The album introduces a number of working class figures and the stresses with which they must contend. It did"
"2010 of kidney failure. Quaife was born Peter Alexander Greenlaw Kinnies in Tavistock, Devon, to Joan Mary Kilby, who became pregnant during the war after an affair with an American serviceman. Kilby returned to London with her son, where she married Stanley Melville Quaife in 1947, who gave his surname to the young Peter. Quaife attended Coldfall Primary School in Muswell Hill and later William Grimshaw School (now Fortismere School where a plaque has been erected to his memory by his brother David Quaife and Penny Toumazou). After a brief period studying commercial art, he formed The Kinks in 1962"
"it time that Ray stopped writing about grey suburbanites going about their fairly unemotional daily business? ... Ray works to a formula, not a feeling, and it's becoming rather boring."" Disc jockey Mike Ahern called the song ""a load of old rubbish"". Dave's second solo single, ""Susannah's Still Alive"", was released in the UK on 24 November. It sold a modest 59,000 copies, but failed to reach the Top 10. Miller states that ""by the end of the year, the Kinks were rapidly sliding out of fashion"". Beginning early in 1968, the group largely retired from touring, instead focusing on"
"was later included on the Kinks' debut album, ""Kinks"". The song was covered by American rock band Van Halen in 1978, peaking at 36 on the ""Billboard"" Hot 100. ""You Really Got Me"" was written by Ray Davies, the Kinks' vocalist and main songwriter, sometime between 9 and 12 March 1964. Created on the piano in the front room of the Davies' home, the song was stylistically very different from the finished product, being much lighter and somewhat jazz-oriented. Ray said of the song's writing, ""When I came up with ['You Really Got Me'] I hadn't been writing songs very"
"Muswell Hillbillies Muswell Hillbillies is an album by the English rock group The Kinks. Released in November 1971, it was the band's first album for RCA Records. The album is named after the Muswell Hill area of North London, where band leader Ray Davies and guitarist Dave Davies grew up and the band formed in the early 1960s. The album introduces a number of working class figures and the stresses with which they must contend. It did not sell well but received positive reviews and critical acclaim. ""Muswell Hillbillies"" was the band's first album for RCA Records, their prior recordings"
"clubs including Bunjies, and were mentored by Alexis Korner. After adopting their new name of Café Society, they won a residency at the Troubadour Club where they were heard by Ray Davies. He signed them to his record label, Konk, and produced their self-titled 1975 album, together with fellow Kinks Dave Davies and John Gosling. However, the album reputedly only sold 600 copies, and the band were unhappy about the instrumentation added in its production. They released a single, ""Whitby Two Step"", and undertook a nationwide tour supporting Barclay James Harvest before adding a bass player, Nick South (from Vinegar"
"songwriter of the Kinks. Davies later said, ""I was floundering around trying to find an identity. It was in 1964 that I managed to do that, to be able to justify myself and say, 'I exist, I'm here.' I was literally born when that song hit."" The influential distortion sound of the guitar track was created after guitarist Dave Davies sliced the speaker cone of his guitar amplifier with a razor blade and poked it with a pin. The amplifier was affectionately called ""little green"", after the name of the amplifier made by the Elpico company, and purchased in Davies'"
"work in the studio. As the band was not available to promote their material, subsequent releases met with little success. The Kinks' next single, ""Wonderboy"", released in the spring of 1968, stalled at number 36 and became the band's first single not to make the UK Top Twenty since their early covers. In the face of the band's declining popularity, Davies continued to pursue his personal song-writing style while rebelling against the heavy demands placed on him to keep producing commercial hits, and the group continued to devote time to the studio, centring on a slowly developing project of Ray's"
"Stop Your Sobbing ""Stop Your Sobbing"" is a song written by Ray Davies for the Kinks' debut album, ""Kinks"". It was later covered by the Pretenders as their first single. The Kinks recorded ""Stop Your Sobbing"" on ""Kinks"", which was rushed out in order to capitalize on the success of ""You Really Got Me."" Kinks biographer Rob Jovanovic writes that ""Stop Your Sobbing"" was supposedly written by Ray about a former girlfriend who, fearing that fame would change him, broke down in tears upon seeing how popular he had become. Davies biographer Thomas Kitts instead suggests that the song may"