Legend Credentials:

Having made some of the most creative and interesting guitar music ever committed to vinyl, The Kinks are widely-hailed as the godfathers of Britpop and even had a guiding hand in the birth of Heavy Metal, placing them high up on any list of influential and important British bands.

Formed in 1963 and named after their unconventional dress sense (leather capes, boots, top hats…kinky), they were to make eccentricity a central part of their far-reaching charm.
The band’s debut number one hit ‘You Really Got Me’ was in its day the loudest, heaviest record ever made. The distorted guitar and shouted chorus was unlike anything heard before, let alone like anything capable of topping the charts.
However, this artful noise was not to mark out the band’s sound - pure pop with lush harmonies would become their calling card, on classic tracks such as ‘All Day and All of the Night’ and ‘Waterloo Sunset’.

The Kinks would later experiment with music hall and American rock which also served up classic tracks.
The line up changed even more frequently than the band’s sound. Only brothers Ray and Dave Davies survived for long, and their relationship remained tempestuous as the band played on through the next three decades.
During this time there have been two constants: the solid quality of Ray Davies’ songwriting and his music’s influence on emerging artists.

In the 1990s, Blur, Oasis and Supergrass were deeply indebted to The Kinks, as are The Killers, The Libertines, and Franz Ferdinand now.
They were a band who constantly demanded attention, and they rank alongside only The Beatles as the enduring inspiration from the classic 60s British pop era.

The Original Song:

‘Victoria’ was the opening track of The Kinks’ 1969 album, “Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)”.
In a single track, Ray Davies managed to distil the thrill of the 1960s. A simple, electric blues riff building to an exuberant climax of brass and strings, and all tinged with Indian psychedelia. It’s also comprises some of Davies’ greatest, satirical lyrics, poking fun at British stereotypes. A true classic.

Classic clip:

Recorded in January 1972 at the Rainbow Theatre in the band’s hometown of London. Particularly worth noting the bass player’s lime green tank-top.