9pm-2am
$5 Cover

Featuring DJs: Joe Bryl & Eric Collins

With Rare Kinks’ TV and concert footage

Formed in 1963, The Kinks along with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who (the so-called “Big Four”) led the initial British Invasion of mopped-haired musicians that emulated American rock and blues artists from the previous generation. Initially playing a combination of skiffle, rock & roll and blues, the band led by brothers Ray and Dave went through many name changes (“The Ray Davies Quartet” with a very young Rod Stewart on vocals, “The Pete Quaife Band”, “The Bo-Weevils”, “The Ramrods” and “The Ravens”) before settling on The Kinks. Their first single “Long Tall Sally”, a Little Richard song also covered by The Beatles was overlooked. After their second single “You Still Want Me” failed The Kinks hit pay dirt with their Top 10 single and ultimate rock anthem “You Really Got Me” featuring Dave’s gritty guitar sound created by splicing the speaker cones in his Elpico amplifier.

The combination of releasing three albums and several EPs in the next two years and touring relentlessly caused various tensions within the band (which consisted of the Davies brothers, Mick Avory on drums and Pete Quaife on bass).They were refused permits by the American Federation of Musicians following their American tour in 1965, presumably due to rowdy stage behavior, cutting them off from their main money market in the States.

However hard this was initially, it really began The Kinks most fertile period moving the band’s output from hard-driving rock to more observational and idiosyncratic material with touches of satire combined with unique sounds reminiscent of British music halls. Singles like “A Well Respected Man”, “Dedicated Follower of Fashion”, “Sunny Afternoon” and “Dead End Street” were as much rock and roll as they were Noel Cowardesque.

The years between 1967 and 1972 saw what some consider The Kinks “Golden Age” with Ray Davies pursuing his deeply personal songwriting style with the albums “Something Else”, “The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society”, “Arthur or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire”, ”Lola Versus the Powerman and Moneyground. Part One”, “Percy”, and “Muswell Hillbillies”. These records are literally “little masterpieces” with their vignettes of personal observations combined with understated productions (especially peculiar in a time when artists like The Beatles were forging complicated musical territories with producer George Martin). By 1969 The Kinks replaced Peter Quaife with John Dalton and began to tour back in the States after their imposed absence also adding John Gosling in their permanent line-up on keyboards.

By 1973 Ray dived headlong into an even more theatrical style composing rock operas with “Preservation Parts 1 and 2”, “A Soap Opera” and “Schoolboys in Disgrace”. These albums, although thematically complex, were closer in spirit to vaudeville than rock and were met by generally poor reviews. However, with the emergence of the Punk movement and its back-to-basics approach The Kinks returned to commercial success. Various bands began giving The Kinks their long-awaited due with acts like The Jam covering “David Watts”, The Pretenders recording “Stop Your Sobbing” and even hard rock headliner Van Halen ripping thru “You Really Got Me”. By 1979 The Kinks headlined Madison Square Garden for the first time and appeared on the influentially hip Saturday Night Live three times between 1977 and 1984.

Sadly, however, The Kinks were beset by their own personal demons and internal strife which saw the band breaking up by 1984. The band reformed with new members and continued to record but never reaching the artistic heights of their golden years. They were inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 in which Ray Davies had this to say: “The Kinks have always been outsiders. I’m an outsider. “For us others we can just say “God Save The Kinks.”

Included in the night will be rare TV and concert footage of The Kinks. The material showcased will feature:

International TV and Promo Films. Ready Steady Go! '65: Long Tall Sally (from the Cavern Club). The Beat Room '65: You Really Got Me, Got Love If You Want It. Shindig! '65: All Day and All of the Night, You Really Got Me, Set Me Free, Who'll Be The Next In Line, Milk Cow Blues, It's Alright, I'm A Lover Not A Fighter, Long Tall Shorty, See My Friends, I Gotta Move, Set Me Free. NME Poll Winners Concert '65: You Really Got Me, Tired Of Waiting For You. Drop In '65: Set Me Free, See My Friends, Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight. Beat Beat Beat '65: A Well Respected Man, Milk Cow Blues, Till the End of The Day, I'm A Lover Not a Fighter. A Whole Scene Going '66: Sunny Afternoon. Promo Film '66: Dead End Street. Beat Club '67: Mr. Pleasant, Waterloo Sunset, Death of a Clown, Susannah's Still Alive. Top of the Pops '67: Autumn Almanac. Top of the Pops '68: Wonder Boy. Promo Film '68: Starstruck. Beat Club '69: Plastic Man. Pop Go The 60s '69: Days. Promo Film '70: Apeman. Top of the Pops '70: Lola. Promo Film '71: Money Go Round. Beat Club '72: Muswell Hillbilly. BBC-2 In-Concert '73: Village Green Preservation Society.