The Kinks formed way back in 1963. The band consisted of the Davies brothers, Ray and Dave, Pete Quaife, and Mick Avory. Over the years, the band went through many lineup changes with the Davies brothers being the only people from the original lineup. They were a major influence on punk rock, new wave, and Britpop.
Ray Davies was the genius behind The Kinks, but Dave was one hell of a driving force. His guitar-playing style defined the band. He is among the best guitar players in the world. Also, his distinctive guitar style with the use of distortion and feedback was awesome.
Another prominent band back then was The Beatles. The Kinks and The Beatles did play alongside each other in their early days. But looks like the bands never really worked their way out in more personal terms. The Kinks couldn’t become as big as The Beatles. Back in 1964, promoters booked The Kinks to support The Beatles. While the Kinks were excited about the experience, Davies found Lennon very aggressive.
Talking with Classic Rock he revealed he wanted to see the guitars they used. He continued, “We knew they were Rickenbackers. I was going to go up there and play one, but John Lennon wouldn’t let us touch anything. ‘Don’t you dare touch those!’ He was a paranoid guy, but funny”.
Davies also revealed that they were protective about other stuff too. It wasn’t just guitars. According to Davies, the Beatles were protective about everything, with their posh suits and Beatle haircuts. Despite that, Davies thinks Lennon liked him. After the performance, years later both the bands were drinking at the same place in London. He said, “I think he liked me, mostly because he knew I didn’t give a shit. My attitude wasn’t down to inner resentment, like his was.”
He said the Beatles didn’t offend him. Davies had quite an approach to why Lennon acted that was. He said, “A lot of his discontent was born from deep-rooted experience and resentment. But, unlike John, I’d had a great childhood. We were once both drunk, sitting at the table in the Scotch of St James. I’d had a few pills as well, and he couldn’t stop me talking. As I was leaving, John said to me: ‘You’re one of the most obnoxious people I’ve ever met!’ I took that as a great compliment.”
What a thing to say.
Most people who met Lennon knew he was a tough guy. He had a different character than most of his counterparts. Despite all their lashings, Dave has revealed that he loves The Beatles. He revealed that via his Twitter.
That’s not the only thing. Paul McCartney is a Kinks fan. In the documentary, “McCartney 3, 2, 1” he revealed, “Kinks, I mean, we loved that first hit ‘You Really Got Me’ and the guitar. They supported us, we were in Brighton, we were due to come on the second half, they did the first half. We all kind of came out so we could watch them.”
Here are some of their greatest hits.
