The Kinks are an English rock band that had a significant impact on rock and roll. The band experienced lineup changes throughout the years but still was a big deal. The only constant members were the Davies brothers. The band was active until 1996 with a reunion in 2018.
Among the prominent bandmember is Dave Davies. Best known for being the lead guitarist and co-founder of the band, The Kinks. He and his brother formed the band in 1964 and remained one of the most influential guitarists to hail from the 1960s.
To the topic…
Lola was one of their greatest hits. It was a big factor for the band as it had a big impact on their U.S. comeback. The song peaked at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was their third consecutive release to be on the Top 10. Dave Davies recalled the making of the song. He revealed,
“We didn’t know where we were going. But it seemed like it might be a good place.”
Talking about the song, Dave says the song is more relevant than ever. The song was full of controversies during its release due to its lyrical content. Many FM stations even refused to play the song. It was because homosexuality was illegal in England back then and the lyrics had some elements of it. About it, Davies said,
“Obviously, there were a lot of people we knew who were transgender at the time, and we knew a lot of gay people. But you have to remember, when the Kinks first started, homosexuality was illegal in England. So, there were a lot of people that were having problems with their demonstration of their sexuality or how they wanted to appear, and we were at the beginning of all that.”
Another story about this song is how Ray Davies had to fly across the Atlantic to re-record two words in the song. The song is a tale of an ill-fated young man and a transvestite. On the eve of their release, the band was informed by the BBC that they wouldn’t play the song because of a line. It was about champagne that tastes like Coca-Cola, which went against BBC’s ‘no product placement policy’.
Davies had to go to London and had to record it again. There was a brief session to change ‘Coca-Cola’ to ‘Cherry Cola’. It worked out, and BBC was happy with it. When he was asked if he had drunk champagne which tastes like cola. He answered,
“I have”.
“I had a Californian champagne that tasted like it, in some kind of L.A. bordello tourist trap.”
Listen to ‘Lola’ on any major music streaming platform.
