Kink: An Autobiography

Dave Davies - 1996

Three years younger than his brother, Ray, Dave Davies founded The Kinks without him in 1963, only to have Ray join soon after and essentially take over as lead singer, primary songwriter and mastermind. This early sibling rivalry is at the core of Dave’s grudge against his brother, one that was never resolved in the entire 33-year history of the group, (which disbanded officially in 1996, the same year as this book’s publication). The eccentric Ray Davies became one of the top songsmiths and rock visionaries of the 60s alongside Bob Dylan, Lennon & McCartney, Brian Wilson, and Pete Townshend, producing a string of classic concept albums in the 60s and 70s. It might never have happened if the rebellious, Eddie Cochran-worshipping Dave hadn’t started the band in the first place and created the signature raucous guitar sound that made the first few Kinks singles so sensational. At only seventeen years old, he experimented with his guitar and manipulated his amps to create the raw sound that characterized the legendary riffs in the songs ‘You Really Got Me’ and ‘All Day and All of the Night.’ Skyrocketed to fame overnight, Dave was more than ready to dive into the swinging sixties with regards to fashion, drugs and groupies. Dave was the outgoing and good-looking rock star while his brother Ray was the brooding, suffering and distant artist. They apparently had so little in common that it’s hard to believe they are related. Dave claims that Ray manipulated and stole credit from him repeatedly throughout their career, but (as happens with many successful musical partnerships) neither of them could break away; they needed each other to produce the magic that was The Kinks – Ray's wizardry in the studio and Dave’s dazzling onstage guitarwork and outgoing rock image. Neither could have fired the other, nor gone solo with the same success as they had together. The book seems to be Dave’s attempt at therapy, unloading a lifetime’s worth of grievances all at once in the hopes of relieving his pain. It probably didn’t work since what it seems he’s really after is some basic human warmth from his big brother. The other big trauma of his life was being torn from his girlfriend at the age of 15 after she became pregnant and both sets of parents conspired to separate them, persuading the girl that Dave wanted nothing to do with her and vice versa. Dave spent 25 years wondering what became of this girl and the daughter she raised without him. The most heart-wrenching aspect of the book is this story, with Dave eventually being able to meet his daughter as an adult. While lovable in a rascally way, Dave is also frustratingly capricious all his life, alternately bragging about his sexual conquests of nameless (often underage) girls while also professing a deep-seated spirituality that encompasses Jesus, Zen, magic, witchcraft, ESP and UFOs. On one page, he may wax poetic about falling in love with the woman of his dreams and marrying her, and on the next describe nonchalantly cheating on his wife while on tour. Dave is nothing if not bold, and that’s what makes the book so interesting. Aside from essentially inventing hard rock with those early Kinks records, creating an edgier sound that none of their contemporaries had attained, he also had the longest hair of any rocker in 1964, longer than any of the Beatles or Rolling Stones, and additionally was unabashed about pursuing sex with men when he felt like it too. While not a great writer of prose, Dave Davies makes up for it with sheer genuineness. If ghostwriters and editors were involved, they seem to have stayed out of the way and allowed Dave’s personality to come through. You come away feeling like you really know the guy and that he’s truly let his guard down, and that more than anything makes the book worthwhile.