This is about the English musician; for others, see Dave Davies (disambiguation).
Dave Davies
(born David Russell Gordon Davies
, 3 February 1947, Fortis Green, London) is an English rock musician (singer and lead guitarist), most well known for his membership with the English rock band The Kinks.
In 2003, Davies was ranked 88th in Rolling Stone
magazine list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" [1]
|
DAVE DAVIES TICKETS
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The Kinks
He founded The Kinks with
Pete Quaife in 1963. His brother
Ray, who became the best-known member of the band, joined soon after. The quartet was formed when
drummer Mick Avory joined. Davies had a turbulent relationship with Avory, one of the reasons behind the latter's departure from the band in the mid 1980s, although the two had been roommates in the mid 1960s.
The group disbanded in 1996, but Davies continued to have a steady musical career as a
performer and
songwriter until a
hypertension-induced
stroke in 2004 sidelined him.
Although never attaining the fame and reputation of his older brother, who wrote and sang lead on most of the Kinks' songs, Dave Davies wrote some
hits himself. These include "
Death of a Clown", "
Love Me Till The Sun Shines", "
Susannah's Still Alive", and "Living on a Thin Line". He is also known for his innovative way of creating the buzzing tone for the
power chords heard in the hit single "
You Really Got Me" from 1964.
The Kinks were inducted into the
UK Music Hall of Fame in November 2005. The four original members were there to receive the award.
Solo work
In July 1967, Davies released his first
solo single, credited entirely under his name, (although co-written by his brother and fellow Kinks member Ray Davies) entitled "
Death of a Clown".
[2] In the past as a member of The Kinks Dave Davies had only released his own compositions on
B-sides and as part of
albums. The Kinks'
record label sensed potential sales in a solo release from the overlooked Davies, and issued "Death of a Clown" as his debut. Although credited to Davies, it was technically a Kinks recording, as his backing band was The Kinks.
Upon release, "Death of a Clown" rose to #2 in the
UK Singles Chart. Wanting to profit off of the new buzz that was suddenly surrounding Davies, a solo LP was scheduled for release some time in 1968 or 1969.
[3]
The follow-up single, "
Susannah's Still Alive", was released in November 1967.
[4] However, it only reached #20 on the
Melody Maker
chart.
[5] The release of the solo album was held back, and it was decided to wait and see how another single would fair. As anticipation grew for the release of the new LP, fans nicknamed it
A Hole in the Sock Of
.
"Lincoln County" was chosen as the next single, but failed to chart. By the time one or two more singles were met with the same results, a combination of Davies' own disinterest in continuing and Pye's decision to stop killed off any hopes of an album.
[6]
After the aborted solo effort, Davies' solo career was not revived until 1980, with the release of
Dave Davies (AFL1-3603)
, which peaked at #42 on the
Billboard 200. He went on to release
Glamour
(1981), which charted at #152.
Chosen People
was released in 1983, but failed to crack the Billboard 200.
Davies released his first true solo studio album in twenty years,
Bug
, in 2002.
In January 2007 Davies released
Fractured Mindz
, his first album of all new material in nearly five years. It was also his first new studio effort since his stroke in the summer of 2004 besides the track "God In my Brain" (which was recorded and released on the compilation album
Kinked
in January 2006).
Stroke and personal life
On 30 June 2004, Davies suffered a
stroke in a lift at
Broadcasting House, where he had been promoting his then current album,
Bug
. He was released from the hospital on 27 August. By 2006, Davies had recovered enough to be able to walk, talk and play guitar, but was not yet able to tour.
He is friends with
horror director
John Carpenter; his work is featured on Carpenter's remake of
Village of the Damned
. Carpenter also acted as godfather to Davies' son, Daniel. Daniel is the singer and guitarist in the hard rock band
Year Long Disaster.
Davies is openly
bisexual.
[7]
Discography
Singles
Release date
| Title
| Chart Positions
|
UK Singles Chart [8]
| US Billboard Hot 100
| Australia
| Belgium
| Canada
| Germany
| Netherlands
| New Zealand
| Sweden
|
1967
| "Death of a Clown"
| #3
|
| #31
| #5
|
| #3
| #2
|
|
|
January 1968
| "Susannah's Still Alive"
| #20
|
|
| #18
|
| #27
| #10
|
| #18
|
July 1968
| "Lincoln County" [9]
|
|
|
|
|
|
| #15
|
|
|
January 1969
| "Hold My Hand"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Studio albums
#
Dave Davies (AFL1-3603)
(1980)
#
Glamour
(1981)
#
Chosen People
(1983)
#
Purusha and the Spiritual Planet
(1998)
#
Fortis Green
(1999)
#
Fragile
(2001)
#
Bug
(2002)
#
Fractured Mindz
(2007)
Live and compilation albums
- Solo Live - Live Solo Performance at Marian College
(2000)
- Bugged... Live!
(2002)
- Rock Bottom - Live At The Bottom Line
(2000)
- Transformation - Live at The Alex Theatre
(2003 release from Meta Media)
- Transformation - Live at The Alex Theatre
(2005 release on AngelAir Records)
- Kinked
(2006 release on Koch Records)
- Belly Up
(2008) - recorded live at the Belly Up Club in San Diego on 29 April 1997, which was at the start of Davies' first major solo tour of the United States.
Collaborations
- In the Mouth of Madness
soundtrack, lead guitar on track # 1 (1995)
- Village of the Damned
soundtrack (1995)
References
- Title Unavailable
- Wikipedia entry for Death of a Clown
- Kindakinks.net liner notes for T.A.T.N.W.
- Kindakinks.net
- Chart Positions
- Google Books listing for Kink
- Deavedavies.com
- British Hit Singles & Albums
- UK releases: "Lincoln County" and "Hold My Hand" were UK/European releases and were not released as singles in the U.S.