A biography into The Kinks revealed, the group’s celebrated career was almost cut short before it had even begun thanks to one tumultuous gig they played in Cardiff in 1965.
The Muswell Hill four-piece were appearing at the city’s now defunct Capital Theatre when simmering tensions within the band shockingly came to the boil in front of thousands of Welsh fans, resulting in drummer Mick Avory hospitalising guitarist Dave Davies and fleeing into the summer night with South Wales police in hot pursuit.
“There’d always been a lot of underlying aggression and friction within The Kinks and, while the most common assumption is that most of it stemmed from Ray and Dave Davies’ sibling rivalry, it was actually Dave and Mick who came to blows most often,” says author Rob Jovanovic, who spent three years compiling interviews with those close to the band for his book, God Save The Kinks .
“In fact, it was at a show in Taunton that one such confrontation turned physical and left Dave with a pair of black eyes.”
And, come the following night’s show in Cardiff, Davies was finding his simmering anger as hard to disguise as his shiners, despite the big pair of dark glasses he’d now taken to wearing on stage.
“There have been so many interpretations of what happened that night and, of the several different people I talked to about it I must have got several different answers,” adds Jovanovic.
“But basically it seems like Dave and Mick had got into another disagreement over each other’s playing style, prompting the former to kick over the drum kit and the latter to subsequently smash him over the head with a drum pedal.
“And, upon seeing Dave lying motionless, Mick hightailed it out of the venue, his frilly shirt and pink hunting jacket flapping in his wake.”
In the chaos which followed an unconscious Davies was rushed to Cardiff Royal Infirmary where he received 16 stitches, while Avory – convinced he’d killed his band mate – went into hiding.
However, all charges against him were dropped.
“That could have been the end of The Kinks right there – it really had a tremendous emotional effect on me,” sighed Ray, 65, who returns to the scene of the crime tonight to play a solo show at St David’s Hall.
“We were just kids, don’t forget – Dave and Mick were just 17 and 19 back then and forever having a go.
“I just guess that on that evening Mick decided to do something about it, and that meant cutting my brother’s head off!”
The story goes that the attack came as a reprisal for the guitarist kicking over the drummer’s kit as revenge for a drunken fight the previous night in Taunton, apparently won by Avory.
Just two numbers into their set at the Capital , Davies apparently goaded him by saying: “Why don’t you get your c*** out and play the snare with it? It’ll probably sound better.”
In the chaos that followed, an unconscious Dave was rushed to Cardiff Royal Infirmary to receive 16 stitches, while Avory fled the venue and into the night – convinced he’d killed his band mate.
“Yeah, the police wanted to do Mick for attempted murder. News At Ten even interviewed him later on that night from a secret location,” recalled Ray, who admitted to carrying on playing “for a few beats” oblivious to what was going on behind him.
“When they finally caught up with and arrested him, Mick tried to deny it all.
“But the cops turned round and said ‘Mr Avory, we’ve got 5,000 witnesses!’.”
Ray’s brother did eventually drop all charges.
Valley Kink
Did you know that Ray Davies of the Kinks has a Rhondda connection?
In a book, by Ray’s brother and band guitarist Dave called Kink. An Autobiography, it states that their paternal grandfather Harry Davies came from Rhondda.
Below is the YouTube interview about the incident
The Kinks