UK hardcover

UK paperback

US hardcover

US paperback

Spain paperback

Kink, An Autobiography

Author:

Dave Davies

Publisher:

UK: Boxtree Limited, Broadwall House, 21 Broadwall, London SE1 9PL
US: Hyperion Books
Spain: Lenoir Ediciones, Barcelona
Australia: Random House Australia

Publishing Dates:

UK hardcover: February 1996
UK paperback: June 1997
US hardcover: February 1997
US paperback: February 1998
Spain: November 2005

ISBN:

UK hardcover: ISBN 07522 1695 3
UK paperback: ISBN 0330353772
US hardcover: ISBN 0786861495
US paperback: ISBN 0786882697
Spain paperback: ISBN 84-934580-2-3
Australia: ISBN 0752205749

Misc. Stats:

UK hardcover: 6" x 9", 280 pages
UK paperback:
US hardcover: 6.5" x 9.8", 280 pages
US paperback: 6.2" x 9.2", 288 pages
Spain paperback: 7" x 9.75", 231 pages

Jacket notes:

[UK hardcover]
Kink is the autobiography of a man, a band, and an era. Dave Davies, founding member and lead guitarist of British rock phenomenon the Kinks, formed with his brother Ray a partnership as legendary as Lennon and McCartney, Jagger and Richards, Simon and Garfunkel or Townshend and Daltrey. But among these they are unique, both in being brothers and in their sound -- which has gone on to shape three decades of music history.

Born the youngest child of a family of eight in post-war suburban London, Dave Davies was expelled from school at 15 and soon plunged into the hedonistic world of the 1960s rock explosion. From a small band performing at society functions and backing beauty queens, strippers and muscle men's acts, the Davies's group had a meteoric rise to the top with the 1964 hit, 'You Really Got Me'. Thrown into a whirlwind of tours and personal appearances demanded by an unprecedentedly large youth audience, Dave became notorious as the wild boy of rock.

Kink is the inside story of these years, of friendships and rivalries with the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Beatles, Chrissie Hynde. Dave's strings of liaisons resulted in children, paternity suits, and a host of sexual contradictions.

In this honest assessment of his life, Dave also looks at how he survived the cut-throat dealings of the record business, conquered alcohol and drugs, and overcame the tortures of paranoia and mental breakdown -- and reveals his often volatile relationship with Ray. And here, for the first time, Dave tells his remarkable story of personal spiritual discovery.

The Who opened for the Kinks; the Kinks both opened and closed for the Beatles. But as Dave shows, Kinks culture was its own, its fashion subversive long before contemporaries were labelled 'anti-establishment', and the complexity of its music pre-dating their experiments. In Kink, he also talks about his own influences of blues music and 'things with a bit of soul' -- making for a sound which has in turn influenced artists such as the Jam, Kirsty McColl and the Pretenders. In particular, Dave shows how the Doors lifted 'Hello, I Love You' from 'All Day and All of the Night' -- and explains why the Davies did not sue.

Kink shows the irrepressible personality of Dave Davies: he and the Kinks have always had a knack of bouncing back. While 'You Really Got Me' was followed by the successes of 'All Day and All of the Night' (1964) and 'Tired of Waiting for You' (1965), they were banned from touring the US in 1965-69 by the American Federation of Musicians. Yet this provided the opportunity to go out and win international stardom on every other continent, pen further hits -- 'Sunny Afternoon' (1966), 'Dedicated Follower of Fashion' (1966), 'Waterloo Sunset' (1967) -- and record three classic albums, Something Else, Village Green Preservation Society and Arthur. But the Kinks part of the story doesn't end there: 'Lola' (1970) and 'Come Dancing' (1983) both achieved over one million plays, making for chart success in three decades, and their unique sound continues to find fresh expression in recent albums including Phobia (1993).

Dave Davies still tours with the Kinks all over the world and has been writing screenplays and composing film scores. In 1990 he and the Kinks were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.


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