On the 19th May 1965, one of the most influential and dysfunctional bands of the 60’s took to the stage in the Capital Theatre in Cardiff. Around 5,000 fans, mainly consisting of teenagers, lined the streets around the theatre in anticipation to see their favourite band. The Kinks were a four-piece band who were known for their timeless classics such as Waterloo Sunset and Sunny Afternoon.[1]
Embed from Getty ImagesThey were known for being controversial and well renowned for their public busts up and their gig in the Welsh capital was no exception. This blog will explore the impact the gig had on the band and the effects of the new culture that emerged in the 60’s. The 60’s saw the birth of the new teenager where a wider cultural impact was taking place. They challenged the existing formalities that existed through forms such as music, fashion and movements. The Kinks immersed themselves in this culture with their lyrics and messages within their songs.
The events of the Cardiff gig
The rivalry between two band members, brothers Ray and Dave Davies, is well documented throughout the history of the band and contributed to the event that took place in the capital. However, the incident in Cardiff involved Dave Davies and drummer Mick Avory.[2] Previous to the Cardiff gig, the band had a gig in Taunton where the band had a drunken fight, apparently won by Avory, which resulted in tensions between the members on the day of the Cardiff gig.[3] The show contained a set list of only two songs, You Really Got Me and Beautiful Delilah, as the show ended during the second song where the incident occurred. The incident on the stage started from Dave Davies taking a kick out of Mick Avory’s drum kit and then Avory retaliating by smashing Davies over the head with a drum pedal. The crowd’s reaction was to applaud and cheer as they believed it was a part of the set.
In the aftermath, after lying unconscious on stage, Dave Davies was rushed to Cardiff Royal Infirmary where he received 16 stitches and Avory, who had been convinced that he had actually killed his band mate, ran from the venue with fans chasing him around the streets of Cardiff. The police wanted to charge Avory with attempted murder but eventually all criminal charges against Avory were dropped and the relations in the band seemed to have smoothed over.[4]
From a 2019 interview with Mick Avory, he was asked about the incident in Cardiff where he stated that the true story was:
“We had a row the night before and they kept us apart. When Dave counted the second number in, he proceeded to kick my drum kit stage right and there was only the hi-hat left. I picked the hi-hat up and whacked him with the pedal end, but it was a rubber pedal, an old Premier thing. But it hurt him and that was the end of the show and the tour actually”[5]
The events that took place in Cardiff were publicised and broadcast both on television and in the public domain with many newspapers featuring articles about it. As The Kinks were not at the highest point in their career, it was not front page news but still became a feature in many newspapers. The news of the incident spread further than just newspaper publications in Wales with an example of an article from the Liverpool Echo on the 20th May 1965 which reported with a statement from The Kinks manager, Mr. Ray Lovegrove, stating ‘The boys have been working very hard recently with very little rest. They are inclined to get a bit highly strung.’[6] The Port Talbot Guardian reported on the 10th December 1965, that “despite what was said about The Kinks on their recent visit to the area, Ray Davies has written a really outstanding number for Boddy Rydell.”[7] The quote showcases that The Kinks had a big musical impact regardless of their reputations and that their talent overshadowed their reputation that had been talked about since their bust up at the Cardiff gig.
Impact of the gig
Many believe that the events that took place in Cardiff contributed and tarnished their international career as The Kinks were banned from touring and entering America not long after the Cardiff concert took place. The Kinks went on a small tour of America but due to their reputation and image the American Federation of Musicians refused to let the band tour around America for the next four years.[8] Therefore, the events tarnished their careers in America as they were cut off from a huge American fan base at a time in the 60’s when British music, in particular, was taking a front with bands such as The Beatles. The banning from America is believed to have made their song writing more quintessentially English with an example, The Village Green Preservation Society, which some believe to be a direct response to their transatlantic ban. At the time of its release, hardly any copies were sold compared to the status of seminal work it has today.[9]
The youth of the sixties
The events of the gig in Cardiff were set against a back drop of a country that was caught between the conservative 50’s and the new riotous 60’s.[10] The 60’s saw the birth of the new teenager and it was a time where cultural shifts occurred throughout. The decade offered a wider cultural choice and it was the start of a new social and sexual revolution. It was partly a reaction to the austerity of the past post war years and increased prosperity. The younger generations were more wealthy, compared to previous generations, and there were more of the younger generation due to the post war baby boom of the 40’s and 50’s.[11] The late 50’s and early 60’s saw a new era of steady employment in Britain, as it marked the end of an era of austerity and post-war affluence settled in. There were low unemployment figures and the welfare state was working which showed the future to be bright and the younger generation represented that future directly.[12] The youth became a more serious economic force as they had more disposable income which they spent luxury items, leisure and cultural markets.[13] Teenagers were now buying cheap and portable plastic Dansette record players for their own enjoyment in their bedrooms, along with new record players and posters of their groups and singers.[14]
Embed from Getty ImagesFears around popular culture
One of the biggest and most defining aspects of the 60’s was music, as it allowed young people to shape their own environment. It gave a new sense of freedom and independence as they believed they could identify themselves based by their fashion, behaviour and most importantly their musical preferences. Although the 50’s saw the effects of rock and roll, the 60’s showcased the revolutionary changes that music can have. Music created a concept of community among the younger generation that did not previously exist in the post war era. As David Simonelli has stated, ‘It was their own collective unconscious, a common thread, the central constituent of youth culture and all teenagers in Britain understood the language of music and could connect across it whatever their social or cultural circumstances.’[15] The Kinks were one of the most influential bands of this time along with the likes of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
Teenagers had started to break free from the usual traditions and rules that had been followed by previous generations in forms of sexual behaviour, lifestyle and fashion.[16] The youths had developed their own rebellious autonomy that was expressed with leisure pursuits. The result of this was a moral panic about impending social breakdowns.[17] This resulted in a new social concern around the new founded youth culture and this is highlighted in The Kinks songs that are underpinned by themes of nostalgia, patriotism and class, which appealed to their target audience.
Moral panic and social scandal were beginning to shape the public perception of metropolitan culture in general and youth culture in particular. The Kinks immersed themselves into this culture, particularly with a focus on appealing to the working class. British rock and roll music had the ability to articulate the language of youth and the image of a rebellious working class that youths identified with.[18] Young people started to stand up for what they believed in and created a sense of their own identity. They could have a different lifestyle and identity compared to their parents.[19] Therefore, music became associated with the idea of rebellion and youth.[20]
The events that took place on stage in Cardiff showcase a wider significance and relevance to the wider context of the 60’s. The Kinks therefore, paved the way for later performers that sought to break away from the over generalised youth identity. The Kinks were one of the most unique bands to thrive in the 60’s as they were keen to illustrate the experience of class through popular culture. They emphasised the importance in culture in creating and sealing working-class identities. They were able to bring a youth to a new found brink of ecstasy which represents the cultural shifts that were occurring within the 60’s.
[1] Nathan Bevan, The Kinks: Almost over before they began thanks to on-stage Cardiff bust-up, (2013) <https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/showbiz/kinks-over-before-began-thanks-4704360> [accessed 15 October 2020]
[2] Richard Fox, The night The Kinks exploded (2017)<https://richardhfox.wordpress.com/2017/01/30/the-night-the-kinks-exploded/> [accessed 15 October 2020]
[3] Richard Fox, The night The Kinks exploded (2017)<https://richardhfox.wordpress.com/2017/01/30/the-night-the-kinks-exploded/> [accessed 15 October 2020]
[4] Richard Fox, The night The Kinks exploded (2017)<https://richardhfox.wordpress.com/2017/01/30/the-night-the-kinks-exploded/> [accessed 15 October 2020]
[5] Goldmine Mag, The Kinks: Village Green Preservation Society Interview: Pt. 2: Mick Avory <https://www.goldminemag.com/articles/the-kinks-village-green-preservation-society-interview-pt-2-mick-avory> [accessed 16 October 2020]
[6] ‘Kinks Guitarist Hurt’, Liverpool Echo, 20th May 1965
[7] ‘It’ll be a gaudy summer’, Port Talbot Guardian, 10th December 1965
[8] Nathan Bevan, ‘The Kinks: Almost over before they began thanks to on-stage Cardiff bust-up’, Wales Online, 25 June 2013 <https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/showbiz/kinks-over-before-began-thanks-4704360>
[9] Nathan Bevan, The Kinks: Almost over before they began thanks to on-stage Cardiff bust-up, (2013) <https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/showbiz/kinks-over-before-began-thanks-4704360> [accessed 15 October 2020]
[10] The Newsroom, The Kinks to clash on Sunderland stage, (2016) <https://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/kinks-clash-sunderland-stage-404540> [accessed 16 October 2020]
[11] Simonelli, p.9
[12] David Simonelli, Working Class Heroes : Rock Music and British Society in the 1960s and 1970s, (Maryland: Lexington Books, 2012), p.9
[13] Mark Donnelly, Sixties Britain: culture, society and politics (London: Routledge, 2005) p. 35
[14] Ibid.
[15] Simonelli, p.10
[16] BBC, My generation – the rise of the teenager (2014) <http://www.bbc.co.uk/nationonfilm/topics/family-and-community/teenagers.shtml> [accessed 10 October 2020]
[17] Donnelly, p. 36.
[18] Simonelli, p. 10.
[19] BBC, My generation – the rise of the teenager (2014) <http://www.bbc.co.uk/nationonfilm/topics/family-and-community/teenagers.shtml> [accessed 10 October 2020]
[20] Martin Johnes, Wales since 1939 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2012) p. 103.
Further reading:
August, Andrew, ‘Gender and 1960s Youth Culture: The Rolling Stones and the New Woman’. Contemporary British History, 23.1 (2009) 79–100.
Baxter-Moore, Nick, ‘This is Where I Belong: Identity, Social Class, and the Nostalgic Englishness of Ray Davies and the Kinks’, Popular Music and Society, 29.2 (2006) 145–65.
Bourke, Joanna, Working-Class Cultures in Britain, 1890–1960: Gender, Class and Ethnicity (London: Routledge, 1996).
DeGroot, Gerard, The Sixties Unplugged: A Kaleidoscopic History Of A Disorderly Decade (London: Macmillan, 2013).
Gildart, Keith, Images of England Through Popular Music: Class, Youth and Rock ‘n’ Roll, 1955-1976 (Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013).
Heilbronner, ‘Oded, Music and Protest: The Case of the 1960’s and its Long Shadow’, Journal of Contemporary History, 51.1 (2016).
Hinman, Doug, The Kinks All Day and All of the Night. Day-by-Day Concerts, Recordings and Broadcasts, 1961–1996, (San Francisco: Backbeat, 2004).
Kraus, Michael J. ‘The Greatest Rock Star of the 19th Century: Ray Davies, Romanticism, and the Art of Being English’, Popular Music and Society, 29.1 (2006).
Marwick, Arthur. The Sixties. Cultural Revolution in Britain, France, Italy, and the United States, c.1958–c.1974 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998).
Rogan, Johnny, The Kinks, The Sound and the Fury (London: Elm Tree, 1984).
Savage, Jon, The Kinks: The Official Biography (London: Faber and Faber, 1984).
Simonelli, David, Working Class Heroes: Rock Music, and British Society in the 1960’s and 1970’s (London: Lexington Books, 2012).
Wales since 1945 