Ray and the Kinks are set to become celluloid heroes!
THE story of how Sixties icon Ray Davies coped with the ‘ mayhem of fame’ is being turned into a movie.
The project is based on the Olivier Award-winning musical Sunny Afternoon, which charted how, in 1964, Davies, his brother, Dave, bass guitarist Pete Quaife and drummer Mick Avory formed The Kinks — ‘four raw, workingclass boys’, as Ray put it, who collided with success.
The film-making process is at an early stage, but I understand that Joe Penhall, who wrote the book for Sunny Afternoon using an original story by Ray, will write the screenplay. Dexter Fletcher has been approached to direct.
Fletcher has form, having directed Sunshine On Leith (a favourite movie of mine) which featured music by The Proclaimers. The actor-turned-film-maker also made the Eddie The Eagle picture, starring Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman.
The songs Ray Davies wrote — hits including You Really Got Me, Dedicated Follower Of Fashion, Waterloo Sunset and the title track — tend to be rooted in the plight of the working man (and woman!). Davies enjoys thumbing his nose (extremely melodically) at high society.
Those numbers worked beautifully on stage at Hampstead Theatre, where Sunny Afternoon started three years ago before moving to the Harold Pinter Theatre. (It’s currently on tour, and this week has been at the Wolverhampton Grand.)
Looking through The Kinks back catalogue, I can see how any number of songs could be used to propel a narrative in a movie.
Add in the sibling disharmony between Ray and Dave, band infighting, the shock of dealing with success, and mismanagement (the usual woeful tale of rock ’n’ roll exploitation) and you’ve got a perfect film formula.
In addition, Davies is a fascinating character. Knighted in the New Year Honours, he is a brilliant songwriter and composer (his new album, Americana, is out tomorrow) and his best songs have stood the test of time — yet he shuns the limelight.
I remember being at the first preview of Sunny Afternoon. Ray, now 72, was there, and I could tell from his face that he was privately thrilled with how it was going. But there was also a cloud. He told me later: ‘I think it went well, but I can’t deal with the attention.’
Producers Francois Ivernel, Charles de Rosen and Sonia Friedman are producing the film and working on securing the story and music rights.
Casting is a long way off. John Dagleish and George Maguire both won Olivier awards for their portraits on stage of the Davies brothers, but it doesn’t necessarily follow that they will be offered the roles in the movie.