Imagine meeting with the promoter for one of your gigs, and then 20 odd years later finding out that he turned out to be one of the most notorious serial killers in modern history, good god lol

Ray is on a different level than most songwriters. There is no subject untapped by Ray. Every aspect of life covered with incredible wit, humor and humanity. Plus the infectious melodies, hooks and varied musical styles across the Kinks catalog. The word genius is overused these days, but Ray and the Kinks are that. Plain and simple.

@MickBokulich-gg1ro

13 күн бұрын

Well said.

@BillPeschel

11 күн бұрын

Imagine me, a college DJ who may have heard their hits, come across in the radio station library, their album "Soap Opera." Someone had written next to "Ducks on the Wall," "THIS SONG IS HILARIOUS" and me playing it immediately. Yup, a different level indeed.

@newforestpixie5297

2 күн бұрын

TRB weren’t bad though 😁👍

My ex father in law was on that tour for the dates in Illinois. He said he remembers Ray & Dave fighting and Gacey as “oily”. He’s got some film footage of the band that’s never been published. He went on to win several local Emmy’s as a local news cameraman.

@zimma2330

10 күн бұрын

interesting. peoples life story just blows me away sometimes.

@djquinn11

9 күн бұрын

He remembers Gacy? What a monster that guy turned out to be.

@rapman5791

8 күн бұрын

@@djquinn11Who could forget Gacy?? If you lived anywhere around the country you’d remember him. That’s not such a huge deal to remember his deeds. 🤷‍♂️

@lamper2

7 күн бұрын

it's time to put that film on youtube

@TTM9691

6 күн бұрын

@@rapman5791 You misunderstood the comment. He's not talking about "his deeds". He's marveling that his father in law remembered/knew Gacy.....way back when, BEFORE he was famous for those deeds.

Finding the kinks as an american is like stepping into another world and I love it

Great video, thanks. I graduated high school in June 1965, and was a huge Kinks fan, along with many other UK Bands. Being Canadian, I was unaware of all the crap they went through in their 1965 US tour. What a shame. The Kinks are still on my iPhone play list. As an interesting aside, Peter Quaife was a member of the Astronomy Club in the southern Ontario city where I live. He generally did not want talk much about his days with The Kinks.

@catholiccowboy8545

2 күн бұрын

" Great video " ????!! ... lol ..

I was 10 yrs old when the Kinks hit and I've been a fan ever since. 70 now and still listening.

@humboldthammer

10 күн бұрын

Boomers are everywhere. I saw The Animals at the Cow Palace when I was 12. Roy Orbison played, too -- and the Beau Brummels. At the top of the bill: Bobby Freeman showed us how to Do the Swim. My best friend's older sisters, 14, 15, and 17, were down in front screaming at the stage for the Animals.

Ray Davies - arguably one of the greatest songwriters of the sixties. Such an inspiration.

@user-ll2yj3hy4c

5 күн бұрын

unarguably.

@1000_Jeezai

5 күн бұрын

You could leave out 'of the sixties' too

@fabrikk60

4 күн бұрын

@@1000_Jeezai Indeed. In the sixties Ray hadn't even yet reached his peak as a lyricist.

Thank you. Informative and instructive. I was 10 when the Beatles, Stones, and the Kinks hit America. The music was new and exiting, and befuddled mum and dad. May kind deities and fae folk continue to bless Britannia. Slainte mor!

I wouldn't be disappointed with a full set of you really got me!

@johnorgan3

8 күн бұрын

the Warlocks were touring living room tests at that time. On becoming the Dead, they were the extended song specialists, along with Zepplin. Ray Davies rocked!

One of my favourite rock bands and Ray is another genius in songwriting. Excellent video, James.

Let's face it. American Unions were not what us British would have regarded as Unions but rather extentions of the Mafia.

@wellesradio

4 күн бұрын

That’s not true. That’s like saying a city with gangs in it is not a city but “an extension of the Bloods” and then going on to say that all cities are extensions of that gang. The truth is that the Mafia infiltrated sectors of organized labor in some cities and killed labor organizers who resisted. There were also plenty of competing labor unions who had to out up with the same tactics.

@fabrikk60

4 күн бұрын

Frank Zappa quite openly said the same thing.

@scottevans2685

4 күн бұрын

A very accurate description, given the extent of the mafia's control over them.

Beautiful memorable band!!! Thank you for sharing!! 👍🙂

I love this. MOJO Magazine type of research. The Kinks, Dylan, and Marillion showed this 1980's teenager what songwriting could be. High standards. Hopefully you could do one on the chaos that was the original lineup of Public Image Limited?

Now you're talking James! THE KINKS!! Im 67 and have seen them 17 X 1980- 1993 ( their last year touring was 1984). I was there when Mick Avory left the stage over what else- an arguement with Dave Davies. I went to 4 different states to see the Kinks and I will tell you - there is nothing like a Kinks Koncert. The fans are so dedicated. My only complaint is I cant find " Arthur 50th Anniversary ( I own everything except a few bonus tracks on expanded issued CDs. I buy everything! Saw Ray solo twice and even met Ray and Dave twice, submitted to Kinks fanzines and am kredited in 5 of their books. Come on Ray- your next solo albums long overdue. Thank you James. BTW- I know someone who saw a 1965 US koncert date. Thank you for mentioning Wappingers Falls cancelled gig. Its actually Roy C Ketcham High School- which I graduated from !!!! You did good James!!

Thank you for a great video sir. Great memories. My band regularly opened for many great bands in the mid 1960's. One of those bands was The Kinks [in an Ice Rink of all places] back in the summer of 1966 and backstage we would mix and chat. The guys seemed warm and friendly and I saw no such bad behaviour. Thanks again for sharing. Regards E.

@bw6316

12 күн бұрын

What an absolute deranged comment! You definitely didn’t open for the kinks brah…jeez

I saw the show in Denver, June 24, but it wasn't anything to brag about. I saw the Beatles two months later, and the difference was night and day. I've been a Kinks' fan since I heard All Day and All of the Night, but it's hard to justify their asininities in '65 as anything but immaturity, bad behavior, and the ravings of fools away from home.

Saw them in a relatively small venue in Austin, Texas in 1980 or so. The crowd was into the music. The band seemed to really be enjoying themselves that night and put on a great show.

I saw the Kinks in Minneapolis in the early 70’s. They were splendid.

This was fascinating, thank you for posting!

Terrific job of this, Mr. Hargreaves. Thank you!👍😄

April 11,1973. Went to see the kinks at the Hollywood Palladium. Rory Gallagher opened the show. Off to a good start, The Kinks came out seeming to be sloppy drunk but still playing well. They didn’t seem to be getting along in between numbers. They played Skin and Bones and just as the crowd was really digging it the brothers began to argue and stopped in the middle of the tune and began a different song. The encore consisted of their two most well known rockers, All Of The Night and Really Got Me. Now this is in the days before crowd diving so we were surprised when Ray FELL INTO THE AUDIENCE. This time they did not stop the song, the band just kept playing. He did crawl back up on the stage but NO PANTS. With one hand holding the mic and the other holding his boxer shorts closed, he finished the two songs and they left. Worst concert ever and I loved every minute of it.

i was not aware of all this negative stuff.....i have always loved the kinks since my life on the west coast....i have 90 minutes of them on cassette.....i really like ape man....was my anthem for a long time....at 73 years old i can still rock out with them...

@dourmoose

10 күн бұрын

My Kinks anthem is Low Budget. 🤣

Cool info on my favorite band The Kinks. Mind blowing how many great songs Ray has written. The Kinks music is part of my DNA.

I actually think Noel got a lot of inspiration from the Kinks - as the Kinks brand was being British working class lads. Also he maybe got the lyric 'Supersonic' from 'Supersonic rocket ship' and the Kinks have a song called 'Definite Maybe'..... just saying

@amatingmind7258

16 күн бұрын

Noel said he once brought up "Village Green" with Ray Davies. Ray got extremely impatient, saying something like "Oh, for F-s sake! That was years ago!" Noel has said that Ray, of all his heroes except for John Lydon, has been the most difficult.

Great video. The Kinks 60s singles are incredible. They pronounce their surname Davis not Davies.

@halcyon289

15 күн бұрын

Correct .

@total.stranger

15 күн бұрын

Ray has pronounced it both ways, and Dave has stated that it's DAY-veez, not DAY-viss.

@jeffclement2468

4 күн бұрын

It's the accent. Like the word "daisies" might come out sounding like "daze-izz."

@chrisfriedrich6830

2 күн бұрын

Strangely enough, the brothers each pronounce the name "Davies" differently.

Excellent work. Thank you.

Wow! John Wayne Gacy promoted a Kinks gig? I’m 65 years old and I never heard this!

@rapman5791

8 күн бұрын

Only a few say it’s true, Ray’s memory of it became clearer as the years went by, meaning he may be confusing it with another gig or maybe just going along with the narrative. The Federated Music folks say the show didn’t happen and there is no hard proof the show actually happened. So who knows?? It was a time of heavy drug use, stress and misery so I would take anything said about the time with a grain of salt.

Thanks James, great video

That was extremely well-presented, thanks so much. Showing the books you get the info from, that's great. Very comprehensive and made it come alive.

Love the Kinks,thanks for the video James

Low Budget Tour of USA in 81 was great, fantastic, loved it.

That was terrific storytelling about The Kinks' jinxed American tour, James! The details and perspectives you laid out explain it all. Some of us Americans know and love the band's Brit-centric music from '66~'70. For me, it was because of an excellent U.S. 2-Lp set, "The Kinks Kronikles."

Really enjoyed this one. Thank you.

They also influenced early Genesis from a lyrical point of view . Listen to For Absent Friends , Harold the Barrel , The Musical Box and Dancing with the Moonlit Knight among others .

Nice to see The Kinks on the channel. I first picked up guitar at about 14 and The Kinks were one of my obsessions during my school years , along with The Who, Small Faces, The Jam and the Sex Pistols.

@halcyon289

15 күн бұрын

Autumn Stone by The Small Faces ; incredible .

I knew Pete Quaife in 1965. I was also a bass player and I was very envious that he was a Kink. Sounds like I was well out of it!

Thanks. Good breakdown. Good presentation

Good one that one James. Knew some of the stories but you've done a good job putting them in chronological order. I was wondering if the Gacy bit would come in and it did lol.

One of the most underrated bands of all time. Brilliant, original sound.R.I.P THE KINKS

@davekeith576

7 күн бұрын

We didn't underrate the them .

@gregnicolle

7 күн бұрын

No entiendo. I never mentioned the them,only the Kinks

Fantastic different drummer style outfit, o love the Kinks. I’ve been blessed with the presence to go for their shows when they appeared at the Tower theatre out Upper Darby.

@thomasjordan5578

12 күн бұрын

Behind the scenes in a league with our Doors.

Omfg I’m eating GOOD tonight with this video! Thank you so much James 🫡

Not only were The Kinks later allowed to return to the US, it seems that their American fan-base eventually eclipsed their British one. It appears that the Kinks were largely forgotten in Britain after 1970, due to being pigeon-holed as a pop singles act from the 60s. Meanwhile in the US, The Kinks' RCA and Arista albums increasingly sold quite respectably to a college audience who appreciated their sophisticated conceptual themes and very fine lyrics. The Kinks were playing to larger venues, though not often as headliners. Their North American popularity peaked in the mid 80s, with the smash hit "Come Dancing".

I love The Kinks. ‘Shangri La’ is, arguably, the greatest song about the post-war decline of the English working class - that they traded the ‘lavatories in the backyard’ for a suburban ‘paradise’ but lost their identity and community. Quite a bleak song in many ways - Ray was a visionary. I wonder what he thinks of England now?

@gavintuesday4959

16 күн бұрын

What was their identity ? Britain was pretty violent in many cities in the 1950s -1960s . So shit outdoor toilets and poverty is better than decent hoses outside the central area ? 🤦‍♀️🤫

@user-cz2ce2jb1k

14 күн бұрын

Living on a thin line

@LadyOfShaIott

14 күн бұрын

@@user-cz2ce2jb1k Brilliant track about the desperation of English nationalism.

@chrisbotelho7212

14 күн бұрын

@@user-cz2ce2jb1k Written and sung by Dave.

@donkeyshot8472

13 күн бұрын

besides, "waterloo sunset" turned out to be arguably the greatest, most quintessentially british pop song of all time.

Bravo! Great and useful doc!

Excellent video! New info I’ve never heard before.

Amazing Informative Video 🎶 Thank You

Great video! Now I FINALLY know what the hell happened with that ban!

When people are laid off...I often them, "I've been laid off twice in my life....each time was ultimately a blessing and I was glad it happened. Now I look forward to my third time.".

This makes THIS IS SPINAL TAP a victory tour! Well told, clear informative and even handed, reality is always more interesting to me as much as I did like the movie. Thanks much

Excellent work. I never knew this but it makes sense. I’ve always felt that the Kinks should have been much more popular. Even though they were banned to tour here in the US early on their music was popular and received a lot of airplay. I love how Van Halen covered You Really Got Me and Where Have all the Good Times Gone. A nod of approval back from a huge American rock band who was also influenced by this oddly British music.

Great in depth video.❤

Kinks, nice one James, on rotation🎉🎉🎉🎉

I’ve heard about this disaster tour for 40 years now- never got any important info. You just told the full story in objective journalistic detail. Thanks much. Yeah I’ll subscribe!

James, thanks for this very detailed story. I saw the Kinks in 1970 Philly Electric Factory. they were touring to support The Arthur LP. They were terrific!

Great video. I've always loved the Kinks and felt that they didn't get the respect they deserved here in the US.

Years later Blur had a similar first U.S tour and came back and recorded Modern life is rubbish

@fabrikk60

4 күн бұрын

Add the Stranglers' early US experiences, and their songs "Dead Loss Angeles" and "Big in America". Stranglers were another all-time great band that should've been much better known globally.

Excellent telling of events that made The Kinks the Finest English Group Ever, those DAYS returned to haunt the USA, when Ray wrote & performed 'Hollywood Boulevard' it Really was a kick in the USA pants. I sang it as I walked down the Boulevard - Passing a star, 6 down on Vine Street, S.West of the Apollo X1 star, Broncho Billy Anderson (he was one of the early western Stars - bloody amazing to see my own name there, THANKS Ray), You Really Got Them back Good Style..

Nice job. Thanks

Great job - appreciate that you avoided sensationalism and simply told a great story

Thanks for your insightful video. I’d heard about the Kinks problems with the American unions, but not in this depth. I had to laugh at the pronunciation of Decatur, GA. When I was living in Atlanta my British girlfriend came for a visit and she pronounced it the same way. For future reference, the second syllable is stressed. De-KAY-tur.

I had a really crazy thing happen in what I recall as the Sumner of 1965. I was living in Newport Beach and the first summer that our family moved there. We were in a new housing development right in front of the local high school where Dick Clark filmed one of his early shows on the Campas of Corona del Mar High School. They had Paul Revere and the Raiders and honestly I can't remember anyone else. I remember seeing those shows on TV too as we tried to see ourselves in the crowd shots. The new University of California at Irvine was being built out and was also quite near our house. Through a connection with a Hi Y youth group leader our group were granted access to the UCI gymnasium before the University officially opened. I'm not sure if it was that summer or within the same period of time,... but my high-school friend said hey the Kinks were going to play at the gymnasium and we were able to go for free. I of course knew of the Kinks but even then thought it odd they would be playing there as it seemed like a totally impromptu gig. Maybe it was a rehersal ?!? The performance did in fact happen as I was there. I didn't see anything about the UCI Kinks performance even in the UCI online history. When doing further reading before finishing this comment to this explosive and much appreciated video history of the Kinks I ran across a header called Notes: in Wikipedia and the last entry was an uconfirmed account of a gig the Kinks did in Decanter Illinois at a "Gymnasium". So I don't know if anyone knows more about this, but it definitely happened and it could not have been any later than 1966. The University of California at Irvine officially opened in October of 1965. Good Grief, I'll be 72 in June and just wonder where did it all go?!? What a Wild Ride it has been !

A fascinating video. Thanks. Small connection: A friend of mine sold a house to Dave Davis!

Great stories about the greatest band ever. God Save the Kinks

@MickBokulich-gg1ro

13 күн бұрын

They sure are.

if ever there was a band that, in passing, invented heavy metal with *that* riff, it was the kinks.

I love The Kinks!

Many thanks for this. It's the first time I've seen this episode in the kinks' career explained properly. In any account of this period, the reason for the US ban is covered only vaguely. I've even seen interviews with Ray Davies where he was asked directly what exactly happened and he just said something like 'Union problems' and wouldn't elaborate. Perhaps the memory is still too painful for him.

That's an earlier Academy of Music, not the one in which the Kinks eventually appeared (on East 14th Street). Great video. Thanks.

Great video, thanks very much. Jim Morrison admitted to being a great Kinks fan and maybe the Doors plagiarised "All Day and All of the Night" with "Hello, I Love You" but Ray Davies said he didn't mind.

Been a fan of the Kinks since 1965 - when I was 12. The Kinks got me into playing guitar and I supported myself throughout my life as a professional session guy. Thanks Kinks...I owe you one.

@arthurtaneI557

4 күн бұрын

I was 4 months old when this tour started, been a Kinks fan for a long time now , not as long as you though !

Thanks for this a very well put testimony.Kinks ✔️.I wonder if they still hav that photo of a round painting of mine .I sent it to conk studio would have made a good colour vinyl Lp .Its probably the only existing example .

God save the KinGs! The Kinks didn’t have any of their records from late 66 to 1970 😮chart at ALL in America thanks to that ban!!! When they did finally come back in fall 1969, they had to open up for other bands like “Spirit”. I was lucky enough to catch them in 1972 and they were so great! Ray a treated us like we were watching a theatrical play and sprinkled in old standards like “Mr Wonderful” and “The Bananna boat song”! Such a funny and confident frontman and the band was tight! Thank you for such an excellent detailed. story!

@jammer3618

4 күн бұрын

All the records were released during the period. I 26:43 this to be true as I bought them.

Brilliant video report

Finally got to see The Kinks here in Brentwood Essex, in the 90's. After a very dodgy start, with Ray take'n the piss with "Essex Man-Essex Girl" Joke's & BOO'S from the audience IT WAS A FANTASTIC GIG!!!!! THANK YOU KINKS.

The Kinks and the Zombies were the first big name rock bands I ever saw play. It was in the 60's and I was in Jr. High School. They played in a municipal building in a public park in the small town where I lived that was large enough to house a basketball court. I loved the show. And I've been listening to rock and roll ever since.

"Don't get too upset. They're just a bunch of spirited boys, that's all." - Jack Elam

Thank you

Nice video bud , love the kinks 😊

The Beatles and the Kinks and co took an awful lot of shit before Peter Grant told everyone to fuck off when Zeppelin stormed America .

Great video with great detail of the 1965 tour from hell that led to their US ban.

One of the best! Saw them in Detroit every time they played!

I wonder if that 'missing' guitar was ever found or put up for sale, promptly seized and the owner arrested for theft especially if it's provenance is revealed. Otherwise whoever has it will need to be buried with it.

One of my favorite concerts, 1980, Portland OR.

Just ordered 'The story of the Kinks' off Amazon.Really thorough video BTW.

Mother of God I Love the KinKs!

I got to see them in Philly in 1980, great show

I love the kinks around 71-71 they were a “college” band. A thinkers music. I never missed a tour in the 70’s the last Lps IMHO are masterpieces I’m buying Rays solo stuff on CD.

That $5.75 top ticket price in 1965 for the Hollywood Bowl show translates into just under $57 today (per a Google search). Can you imagine getting top-tier bands today on the same ticket for $57 ??

Onya James.Nice one!!

As an American radio DJ in the ‘70s and a lifelong musician, I always held the Kinks (and the Who) in higher esteem than the Beatles and Stones. I think I liked the grittiness of the music and the more clever lyrics. As a songwriter myself, my theory is that solo songwriters like Davies and Townshend could write more personally, than the “teams” of Jagger/Richards and Lennon/McCartney tended to be a bit more “production line” and make their work more commercial by nature. All those bands produced great stuff but, sonically, it was a bit more vanilla when written by duos.

The American Musician's Union also stopped The Yardbird's 1st US tour that same year after two just gigs. They ended up playing private parties in the Hollywood Hills. -God Save the Kinks!

Till the end of the day ,I'm not like anybody else - even better .My favourite s

The Kinks played on the floor of the gym, along with their largely dancing audience, at the university I attended after HS - SUNY Binghamton - in 1973 or 4. I have warm memories of that, of my being a very naive and impressionable 17 y.o., the band and my dancing peers, and of walking up to one of the Davies 'boys', Ray probably, during a respite period, and chatting it up with him, as much as a youthful introvert might. Is this what R & R was all about? A cool evening, for sure. This would have been around the same time (Feb. '74) that I attended a YES concert at the local arena. I sat in the penalty box. Also a very memorable experience, including not ever getting back at least some of the hearing loss received (awful the next day!) I bring this up as it is about two very different incidents from the (back end? of) British invasion. Being open-minded, or restrained from making and acting upon any judgements I might have had/felt... well, I enjoyed them both, and I have good memories of them both.

I remember the Kinks playing at the Seattle Coliseum on July 10, 1965 with a lot of other groups. The place was packed and it was a good event. I remember the Kinks had outrageous hair and did a good act. Maybe it didn't make news because it went well.

I agree with your final comment about The Kinks being one of the most influential bands. Those American musician unions were barstards. We did not seem to have all that in the UK. Although Britain was obviously less luctrative than the States, because it was a much smaller country, things were easier to control, not so many promoters or unions wanting your money. But if their U.S. concerts were that badly promoted, I can understand them not wanting to pay any union fees.

Great clip.

It’s a shame that Americans missed out on the kinks. I’d put them in the top 5 British bands of the 60s I’m sure had they been allowed to tour again in America they’d have been a success even with the music that gravitates more towards British culture

Similar to Oasis story…both deserved success in the states..they both certainly had the songs!

Ray moved to Los Angeles in 1970........Probably sick of handing over 3/4 of his earnings to The Crown.

Blur are a very similar first tour in USA on 1992, the people hated them whitout reason, and a year later they recorded "Modern Life Is Rubbish" in 1993.

@gavintuesday4959

16 күн бұрын

Just one look at the bass play , Alex , is enough to dislike them lol Anyway, American was into that depressing navel gassing dirge known as Grunge at the time . All bunch of whiny man children with smelly long hair crying about their mental health and being sissy boys wooo wooo woo

@brunomiranda2029

16 күн бұрын

@@gavintuesday4959 you're crazy, all the Britpop bands that made their first North American tour, had a lukewarm or aggressive reception from the public, very different from the public that adores them in the country of origin, in the case of Blur, they have always been a band that played shows in smaller places in the United States, this is the same thing that happened with the Kinks in the 60s, they never had the same reception as the Beatles and Rolling Stones, or even The Who, they were always a band with cult status, more alternative so to speak, and totally British, this influenced the Village Green and Arthur albums.

How does anyone conclusively know Ray Davies' songwriting wouldn't have zeroed in on English life without the US ban? Never understood that cliche of Kinks biography. Englishness and London were the centre of world fashion at the time...Were 'Winchester Cathedral' 'England Swings' 'Portobello Road' all written as the result of US bans? The Beatles went the same direction without any US ban. I think the idea of a lost England was something deep within RD which would have surfaced soon enough, ban or no.

@edryba4867

12 күн бұрын

Hurray for The Kinks!! It does my heart incredible amounts of good to hear of a great band standing up for themselves during a dreadful situation. Just one listen to The Kinds on L.A.’s now-legendary Top-40 stations told my young ears The Kinks were destined for greatness! Between then and now, those ears have never been wrong, and I’ve used them to great effect hundreds of times in multiple thousands of Radio Commercials, many of which, in their day, ran in the U.S. from Coast-to-Coast and border-to-border. That The Kinks had to suffer the complete incompetence illustrated here, is proof that The Peter Principle was alive and in robust health, even well before Dr Peter gave it a name. If you don’t know what that means, LOOK IT UP ON YOUR FAVORITE SEARCH ENGINE. If the individuals involved in this cascade of worsening errors had done tHIS kind of horrendous damage while working for me, I would have done everything in my power to make sure the people responsible NEVER collected a DIME of unemployment compensation after their short flight out the door of the building and onto the sidewalk… preferably face-first. And you must admit that during those years, England did indeed swing as a pendulum do!.

@edryba4867

12 күн бұрын

Well, you must admit that during those years, England did indeed swing as a pendulum do!.

@edryba4867

12 күн бұрын

Well, you must admit that during those years, England did indeed swing as a pendulum do!.