Imagine it's 1970. "Lola" has just become a top 10 hit in the United States, against all odds, since it's a song about a transvestite. The Kinks have just been allowed to re-enter the United States after a four year expulsion, for reasons never made clear to the public.
Now, let's fast forward to the early '80s. Ray Davies, lead singer of The Kinks, has begun to date Chrissie Hynde, who will soon have his child and leave him for Jim Kerr of the Simple Minds, all in the span of a year. Whether coincidence or stroke of fate, after their break-up in 1984, Davies and The Kinks will never have another record that makes it into the Top 40.
It's now 2004. Ray Davies has had a moderately successful solo career since the 1996 breakup of the band. He's walking down the street in New Orleans, and is mugged and shot in the leg. Thankfully for fans everywhere, he's not seriously injured.
Now, as Emeril would say, BAM! We're back in the present. It's 2008, and Davies has just appeared on Regis and Kelly, jacking up the blood pressure of (older) female fans around the country. Regis awkwardly introduces Davies and says that he'll be playing the famous "Lola" for Kelly Ripa's daughter, also named Lola.
Why awkward? Well, reportedly "Lola" was based on a night that the manager of The Kinks spent dancing and making eyes at a woman...who was really a man. Almost funnier is the Disney logo that pops up as the song plays and the screen fades to black. Oh, irony.
Davies is currently out promoting his upcoming tour, which he'll being in mid-March, and his new album Working Man's Cafe, which was released last week. He also recently spoke with The Canadian Press about the possibility of a future Kinks reunion, to which he said, "It would be fun to do and I want to set a rule that we have new music as well."
It seems that any chance of a reunion hinges on the health of both his brother and their relationship, so hopeful fans cross your fingers and send in the mediators and physicians.
Catch Davies at any of the dates below, and/or watch the aforementioned Regis and Kelly video right here:
It's a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world except for Davies... Da-da-da-da Davies:
March
15 - Fremantle, Australia @ West Coast Blues n' Roots Festival
17 - Sydney, Australia @ Enmore Theatre
19 - Melbourne, Australia @ Palais Theatre
21 - Byron Bay, Australia @ East Coast Blues Festival
23 - Hobart, Austalia @ Southern Roots Tazmania, Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens
24 - Auckland, New Zealand @ The Civic
28 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Warfield Theatre
29 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Wiltern Theatre
April
1 - Chicago, Ill. @ Chicago Theatre
3 - Music Hall, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
5 - Upper Darby, Penn. @ Tower Theatre
6 - Boston, Mass. @ Orpheum Theatre
8 - New York, N.Y. @ Beacon Theatre
Related links:
Paste: Ray Davies: Working Man's Cafe
Paste: The Kinks plot reunion tour
YouTube: Ray Davies - "Working Man's Café"
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