![English: A 1964 promotional photograph of the Kinks. London's Tower Bridge is in the background.
In band biographer Doug Hinman's 2004 book All Day and All of the Night, p. 31, he dates this photograph to around August 2, 1964. He further writes: "It is likely that classic red-hunting-jacket shots with The Kinks in various poses around the Tower Of London [sic] and sitting on a cannon are taken at this time. They are used extensively in early promotional material. The session may well have been at the urging of new press officer Brian Sommerville upon the launch of his campaign to smarten up the band's image. Also, Summerville seeks to represent them as symbols of Englishness, a notion that will in time sell well to the American market."This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in the United States between 1930 and 1977, inclusive, without a copyright notice. For further explanation, see Commons:Hirtle chart as well as a detailed definition of "publication" for public art.
Note that it may still be copyrighted in jurisdictions that do not apply the rule of the shorter term for US works (depending on the date of the author's death), such as Canada (50 p.m.a.), Mainland China (50 p.m.a., not Hong Kong or Macao), Germany (70 p.m.a.), Mexico (100 p.m.a.), Switzerland (70 p.m.a.), and other countries with individual treaties.](https://www.coolmediallc.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/TheKinks1964.webp "TheKinks1964")
Sir Ray Davies didn’t just help define British rock—he gave it a literary soul. The Ray Davies Kinks legacy is one of songs that map Britain’s emotional terrain: working-class dreams, suburban sighs, and cultural reckonings. As The Kinks’ frontman, Davies didn’t chase hits—he chronicled everyday life with playwright precision and poetic wit. From “You Really Got Me” to “Waterloo Sunset,” his music is at once timeless and defiantly local.
The Ray Davies Kinks Legacy: Music That Mapped a Nation
Now: The Enduring Influence of Sir Ray Davies By Paul Langan There is no songwriter in British rock more attuned to the comedy and quiet tragedy of everyday life than Sir Ray Davies. With his brother Dave beside him—onstage, off-kilter, and often at odds—Davies led The Kinks through one of the most mercurial and inventive careers in pop music. And yet, in 2025, his influence is as vivid as ever: in the droll observations of Alex Turner, the disaffected eloquence of Courtney Barnett, and the aching nostalgia of Damon Albarn. Born in Muswell Hill, North London, Ray Davies didn’t just chronicle British life—he mythologized it. While his peers in the British Invasion were busy conquering America with blues riffs and love songs, Davies was writing miniature plays: wry, often melancholy portraits of manners, misfits, and misadventures. From the jagged proto-punk snarl of “You Got Me” to the wistful charms of The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, his work exists in a space that is both unflinchingly local and universally resonant. As Pete Townshend once said, “Ray’s songs are social documentaries. They are English novels in three verses.” If Lennon and McCartney had mapped the emotional landscape of the ’60s, Ray Davies would have mapped the psychological one—domestic, anxious, deeply tuned to the rhythms of class and nostalgia. In songs like “Dead End Street,” he gave voice to a generation caught between post-war grit and a fading empire. “Waterloo Sunset” remains one of the most elegiac songs of the rock era, soaked in loneliness and urban romanticism. But Davies was never just a lyricist of longing. With Dave’s serrated guitar and unpredictable energy driving the band’s early hits, The Kinks shaped the DNA of garage rock and punk. “You Got Me” (1964), with its famously slashed amplifier speaker—a DIY accident turned sonic innovation—opened a path later taken by The Stooges, Van Halen, and The Ramones. That riff was Dave’s invention, and it roared with as much rebellion as Ray’s lyrics did restraint. Their dynamic—older brother Ray, the watchful satirist, and younger Dave, the combustible iconoclast—was never easy. Their onstage fights were the stuff of legend. Ray once described their relationship as “a constant tug-of-war between affection and animosity.” Dave, for his part, called it “nuclear.” But it was precisely this unstable chemistry that kept The Kinks sharp, even when commercial trends drifted elsewhere. In the 1970s, while other legacy acts leaned into glam or arena bombast, Ray Davies turned inward and theatrical. Albums like Preservation Act 1, Soap Opera, and Schoolboys in Disgrace showed his affinity for character-driven narratives, even when the critics didn’t follow. These ambitious, often flawed records anticipated the conceptual sprawl of artists like David Bowie and Pink Floyd. The influence stretched across the Atlantic. A lifelong admirer, Tom Petty, once said, “Ray Davies is one of rock’s most original and intelligent songwriters. He inspired me to write more observational songs.” Elvis Costello, too, cited him as a significant influence, particularly in his early work with The Attractions. Davies’ personal life often mirrored his lyrical themes of loss, conflict, and fleeting connection. He’s been married three times—first to Rasa Didzpetris, a backing singer who appears on several Kinks recordings, and later to Yvonne Gunner and Patricia Crosbie. He also had a widely publicized relationship with Chrissie Hynde, frontwoman of The Pretenders. “Chrissie was strong-willed, like me,” he told The Guardian in a 2010 interview. “There was a time when we were very close, very connected. Music was the glue.” He is the father of four daughters, and his later songs often reflect a more introspective tone drawn from age, fatherhood, and solitude. His 2006 solo album Other People’s Lives showed that the observational pen was still sharp, and the voice—though weathered—still carried the ache of someone who never stopped looking out the window. Even now, younger artists speak of Davies in reverent tones. Blur’s Damon Albarn called Muswell Hillbillies (1971) “one of the most overlooked masterpieces of English music.” And Courtney Barnett’s lyrical style—deadpan, observational, and often about nothing and everything—echoes Ray’s sideways approach to songwriting. In a world obsessed with reinvention, Ray Davies remains defiantly singular. He didn’t chase trends—he chronicled their passing. His songs are not monuments but windows open to the strange poetry of the everyday. And in that ordinariness, he found something rare: truth and the music it makes. Watch Ray Davies perform “Celluloid Heroes,” a masterclass in lyrical empathy: YouTube. — Sources: The Guardian (2010), BBC Radio Interviews, Pete Townshend quotes from Rolling Stone Archives, Elvis Costello from NPR Music Interview, Tom Petty via Sound Opinions.Ray Davies “Imaginary Man”
Curt2Katie2point0
I do not own the rights to this great documentary, nor am I trying to profit from this posting. I am posting this for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research into who is arguably one of the greatest songwriters in Rock ‘N’ Roll history, Mr Raymond Douglas Davies. Many thanks to director and Kinks fan, Julien Temple, who beautifully captures Ray Davies’ wistfulness in his excellent documentary on the former Kinks, Ray Davies. Davies is allowed to gently meander around his past life, talking about his childhood, his family of 7 sisters and 1 brother, his early days with The KinKs, the development of his writing skill (the quality and consistency of which now makes him seem at times better than, if not on par with Lennon & McCartney, Jagger & Richard), and onto his life of fame, of parenthood, of growing-up, all of which seemed to happen so fast…. ENJOY
“Raymond Douglas Davies is the only songwriter I can think of who can write such personal material (and he is always very personal), and never get embarrassing.”
— Chrissie Hynde, lead singer of The Pretenders
“‘Waterloo Sunset’ by Ray Davies. Without a shadow of a doubt. It’s the most perfect song I could ever hope to write, with my sort of voice.”
— Damon Albarn, frontman of Blur and Gorillaz
“When British pop is great, it’s great because of the personality behind the music. The sense of the romantic in the everyday. Ray Davies finding the poetic in watching the sun go down behind Waterloo Station.”
— Jarvis Cocker, lead singer of Pulp
“Ray Davies is one of the most original and intelligent songwriters in rock. He really inspired me to write more observational songs.”
— Tom Petty
“I’ve always admired Ray Davies for his ability to capture the nuances of everyday life in his songs. His storytelling has been a significant influence on my own songwriting.”
— Elvis Costello
Ray Davies & Chrissie Hynde – Postcard from London
I found a postcard the other day A faded photograph taken of a cold winterscape And all the children that gathered round Asked what the place was on the faded card that I had found It was a city I used to know And as a child when it was Christmas I played in the winter snow It was the homeland I left behind A better future waiting in the new world that we hoped to find Across the oceans far south we came And left the country that somehow we knew we’d never see again And read the message that you wrote On the reverse of that same postcard always seemed to give me hope Though time will pass us and fade from view I hope sometimes you think of me because I’ll always think of you And to the children who gathered round I said ‘This is the place of long ago we all called London Town’ Postcard from London’s romantic views Only serve to keep reminding me of how much I missed you Postcard from London Postcard from London Town Postcard from London Postcard from London Town We built a snowman by Hampstead Pond Walked down to Waterloo at Yuletide and we sang so many songs Later you went there not to return I took for granted love we had now I will always yearn For the great city we used to know We were so innocent back then when we played in the winter snow And now the children who gather round Ask where the place is in the postcard I say proudly ‘It was London Town’ Postcard from London Postcard from London Town Postcard from London Postcard from London Town Postcard from London Postcard from London Town London Town
“Come Dancing” is a tribute to the Davies’ older sister Rene. Living in Canada with her reportedly abusive husband, the 31-year-old Rene was visiting her childhood home in Fortis Green in London at the time of Ray Davies’ 13th birthday on which she surprised him with a gift of the Spanish guitar he had tried to persuade his parents to buy him. That evening, Rene, who had a weak heart as a result of a childhood bout of rheumatic fever, suffered a fatal heart attack while dancing at the Lyceum ballroom. The music video for “Come Dancing” was shot in November 1982 at Ilford Palais in Essex. Ilford Palais was demolished in 2007 to make room for luxury flats, meeting a similar fate to that of the palais described in the lyrics of “Come Dancing.” When first released as a single in United Kingdom in November 1982, “Come Dancing” failed to chart. Although Arista Records founder Clive Davis had reservations about releasing the single in the United States due to the English subject matter of dance halls, the track saw an American single release in April 1983. “Come Dancing” reached number six on the Hot 100, becoming the band’s highest US charting single in over a decade and tying with “Tired of Waiting for You” as the band’s highest-charting single ever. This success was achieved largely with the help of a promotional music video directed by Julien Temple that saw frequent airing on MTV. As a result of its American success, the single was re-released in Britain. Unlike its first release, the single became a top 20 British hit, reaching number 12
The Kinks – Waterloo Sunset (Live 1973)
You Really Got Me (2014 Remaster)
You Really Got Me (2014 Remaster) · The Kinks The Anthology 1964 – 1971 ℗ 2014 Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Company Released on: 2014-12-16 Lead Guitar, Background Vocals: Dave Davies Background Vocals, Bass Guitar: Pete Quaife Drums, Percussion: Mick Avory Rhythm Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals, Keyboards: Ray Davies Producer: Shel Talmy Author, Composer: Raymond Douglas Davie.