Meet the Kinks: Spotlight falls on British pop group.
Prime Rocks explores The Kinks’ influential album The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society. Here are 10 things you might not know about the British group.
1. The Kinks were founded by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. Early names for the band included The Ravens and The Bo Weevils but they settled on the name The Kinks after hearing the word ‘Kinky’ on TV show The Avengers.
2. The song Lola contains the line, “I met her in a club down in old Soho” but the encounter actually took place in a Paris nightclub. Ray Davies wrote the lyrics after the The Kinks’ manager started dancing with someone he thought was a woman but towards the end of the night he noticed his dance partner needed a shave.
3. The BBC originally banned Lola because it featured the line, “Tastes just like Coca-Cola”, words which went against its product placement policy. The words Cherry-Cola were substituted for Coca-Cola.
4. The Kinks were banned from performing in America for nearly five years in the 1960s because of their frequent on-stage fights.
5. Drummer Mick Avory almost joined The Rolling Stones. He played with them at a few early live shows.
6. Ray Davies had an affair with Chrissie Hynde. They have a daughter, Natalie.
7. Ray Davies was shot in New Orleans in 2004 after a mugger stole his wife’s bag. Davies gave chase and was shot in the leg.
8. Ray Davies was knighted in 2017 for services to the arts. He told Britain’s Times newspaper, “When I got the notification I thought it was a tax demand. I didn’t open it for ages.”
9. The Kinks’ sixth album, The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society (1968), is ranked number 258 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time.
10. The Kinks first toured Australia and New Zealand in 1965 with Manfred Mann. They made three Australasian tours in total.