Featured In
ALBUMThe Journey, Pt. 2The Kinks
Albums by The Kinks
ALBUMPhobiaThe Kinks
ALBUMThink VisualThe Kinks
ALBUMWord of MouthThe Kinks
ALBUMState of ConfusionThe Kinks
ALBUMGive the People What They WantThe Kinks
ALBUMLow BudgetThe Kinks
ALBUMMisfitsThe Kinks
ALBUMSleepwalkerThe Kinks
ALBUMSchoolboys in DisgraceThe Kinks
ALBUMSoap OperaThe Kinks
The Kinks's Popular Music Videos
Come Dancing
The Kinks
Lola
The Kinks
Father Christmas
The Kinks
Scattered
The Kinks
Don't Forget to Dance
The Kinks
Apeman
The Kinks
Powerman (2020 Mix) [2020 - Remaster]
The Kinks
Only a Dream
The Kinks
Supersonic Rocket Ship
The Kinks
Do It Again
The Kinks
Artist Playlists
The Kinks Essentials
The English band span heavy rock and acoustic character sketches.
The Kinks Video Essentials
Playing brutal power riffs with a louche demeanour and wry grins.
Inspired by The Kinks
This collection of punchy, gritty guitar pop packs plenty of English wit.
The Kinks: Influences
The American greats who inspired a British original.
The Kinks: Deep Cuts
An alternate history of one of British pop's greatest bands.
The Kinks: Chill
Lean back and relax with some of their mellowest cuts.
Artist Biography
If all that The Kinks contributed to the rock ‘n’ roll canon was the riff to 1964’s “You Really Got Me,” they’d still be legends today. With those nasty, distorted guitar chords, the London group (formed a year prior) transformed the British Invasion into a genuine act of war, teaching the first generations of punks and metalheads how to turn it up to 11. However, the violence implicit in The Kinks’ early music tended to manifest in actual onstage fisticuffs (often between frontman Ray Davies and his guitarist brother Dave), saddling the group with a rough-cat reputation that would see them denied touring visas for the U.S. from 1965 to 1970. While that setback prevented The Kinks from achieving the stadium-conquering stardom of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, they swiftly transformed from the most unruly rock band of the era into the most erudite. They became the rare British Invasion group to speak specifically to the experience of being British, with Ray perfecting a signature blend of romantic Londontown poetry (“Waterloo Sunset”) and scathing upper-class satire (“Sunny Afternoon”) that had him wrapping himself in the Union Jack one moment and burning it the next. And he didn’t just prod at high-society norms, but at the male-dominated culture underpinning them: With 1970’s “Lola,” he delivered an uncommon celebration of gender-bending in a pre-glam landscape. While peers like The Who experimented with the rock-opera format, The Kinks made the theatrical concept album their raison d’etre throughout the ’70s—often at the expense of their commercial prospects—though later singles like 1981’s hard-rockin’ “Destroyer” and 1983’s music-hall fantasia “Come Dancing” proved they could sneak onto the charts when the mood struck. The Kinks officially disbanded in 1997—but then, thanks to spiritual descendents like Damon Albarn and Arctic Monkeys, they’ve never really gone away.
Hometown
London, England
Genre
Rock