KINKS DISASTER: The Cursed 1965 US Tour (That Changed UK Music Forever)
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- Опубліковано 25 кві 2024
- In June 1965, The Kinks embarked on their first concert tour of the USA, and virtually everything that could possibly go wrong, did. But that 3 week nightmare had major repercussions for the band and by extension, the UK music scene - which are still being felt today.
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Many thanks, JH.
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.
interesting. peoples life story just blows me away sometimes.
He remembers Gacy? What a monster that guy turned out to be.
@@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. 🤷♂️
it's time to put that film on youtube
@@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.
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.
Well said.
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.
I was 10 yrs old when the Kinks hit and I've been a fan ever since. 70 now and still listening.
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.
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.
Ray Davies - arguably one of the greatest songwriters of the sixties. Such an inspiration.
unarguably.
You could leave out 'of the sixties' too
@@1000_Jeezai Indeed. In the sixties Ray hadn't even yet reached his peak as a lyricist.
I wouldn't be disappointed with a full set of you really got me!
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!
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!
One of my favourite rock bands and Ray is another genius in songwriting. Excellent video, James.
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?
Let's face it. American Unions were not what us British would have regarded as Unions but rather extentions of the Mafia.
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.
Frank Zappa quite openly said the same thing.
A very accurate description, given the extent of the mafia's control over them.
I saw the Kinks in Minneapolis in the early 70’s. They were splendid.
Beautiful memorable band!!! Thank you for sharing!! 👍🙂
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.
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.
What an absolute deranged comment! You definitely didn’t open for the kinks brah…jeez
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.
This was fascinating, thank you for posting!
One of the most underrated bands of all time. Brilliant, original sound.R.I.P THE KINKS
We didn't underrate the them .
No entiendo. I never mentioned the them,only the Kinks
Terrific job of this, Mr. Hargreaves. Thank you!👍😄
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...
My Kinks anthem is Low Budget. 🤣
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.
Thanks James, great video
Excellent work. Thank you.
Love the Kinks,thanks for the video James
Great video. The Kinks 60s singles are incredible.
They pronounce their surname Davis not Davies.
Correct .
Ray has pronounced it both ways, and Dave has stated that it's DAY-veez, not DAY-viss.
It's the accent. Like the word "daisies" might come out sounding like "daze-izz."
Really enjoyed this one. Thank you.
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.
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
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.
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.
Behind the scenes in a league with our Doors.
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.
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.
Autumn Stone by The Small Faces ; incredible .
Omfg I’m eating GOOD tonight with this video! Thank you so much James 🫡
Wow! John Wayne Gacy promoted a Kinks gig? I’m 65 years old and I never heard this!
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.
Excellent video! New info I’ve never heard before.
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
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 .
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!
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."
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?
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 ? 🤦♀️🤫
Living on a thin line
@@user-cz2ce2jb1k Brilliant track about the desperation of English nationalism.
@@user-cz2ce2jb1k Written and sung by Dave.
besides, "waterloo sunset" turned out to be arguably the greatest, most quintessentially british pop song of all time.
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".
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.".
Great video! Now I FINALLY know what the hell happened with that ban!
Bravo! Great and useful doc!
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!
Great in depth video.❤
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!
Low Budget Tour of USA in 81 was great, fantastic, loved it.
Kinks, nice one James, on rotation🎉🎉🎉🎉
Amazing Informative Video 🎶 Thank You
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.
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.
I love The Kinks!
Great job - appreciate that you avoided sensationalism and simply told a great story
"Don't get too upset. They're just a bunch of spirited boys, that's all." - Jack Elam
Nice job. Thanks
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 !
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.
A fascinating video. Thanks. Small connection: A friend of mine sold a house to Dave Davis!
Great video. I've always loved the Kinks and felt that they didn't get the respect they deserved here in the US.
Great stories about the greatest band ever. God Save the Kinks
They sure are.
Years later Blur had a similar first U.S tour and came back and recorded Modern life is rubbish
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.
if ever there was a band that, in passing, invented heavy metal with *that* riff, it was the kinks.
One of my favorite concerts, 1980, Portland OR.
One of the best! Saw them in Detroit every time they played!
Thank you
Nice video bud , love the kinks 😊
Brilliant video report
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 .
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.
Till the end of the day ,I'm not like anybody else - even better .My favourite s
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.
Just ordered 'The story of the Kinks' off Amazon.Really thorough video BTW.
MUST WATCH THE END FROM @24:00! The story of the tour is fascinating, well told, and not too long... bit the last four minutes are gold!
I won't spoiler it.
Thanks so much. I never knew this, but those songs are what put Ray Davies and the Kinks into the top-echelons. Influencing Oasis counts as major, but the earliest which comes to mind is Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett.
Silver lining, all right! :D
Mother of God I Love the KinKs!
IMAGINE THE EFFECT OF THOSE RIFFS AS THE CURTAIN OPENED - INSANE
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.
I think that I may be the only Yankee that had (and thoroughly enjoyed) The Kinks “Are The Village Green Preservation Society” cassette! Found that and the Kelvin Hall tape in the 99 cent bin at a store, bought both, but couldn’t stand the quality of the Kelvin Hall tape. (And I think you covered that in another post).
One of the all-time great albums. Could even apply to dying American small-towns and suburbs.
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.
Great clip.
holy hell,what a band.
Great video with great detail of the 1965 tour from hell that led to their US ban.
Brilliant band. Always loved them.
Great documentary 🎵
Ray moved to Los Angeles in 1970........Probably sick of handing over 3/4 of his earnings to
The Crown.
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.
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!
Love ❤️ the Kinks. Saw them at the Hollywood Palladium for the Muswell Hillbillies tour. They were great! I think that they are one of the most important British bands of the sixties.
Love the Kinks 👏🏻
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.
I was 4 months old when this tour started, been a Kinks fan for a long time now , not as long as you though !
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!
All the records were released during the period. I 26:43 this to be true as I bought them.
good vid, my housemate says its the best one you've done.
Similar to Oasis story…both deserved success in the states..they both certainly had the songs!
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 .
Yeah they just got better after that, saw Ray Davies in Melbourne about fifteen to twenty years ago ( that cant be right,lol) he just rocked, youngish band , played an interesting set some obscurities etc really great show better than i had expected seemed at least half his age ,lol,amazing
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.
Onya James.Nice one!!