Dave Davies

Dave Davies (born David Russell Gordon Davies, 3 February 1947, in Muswell Hill, London, England) was a singer and guitarist with the English rock band The Kinks, which he founded 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, and is a reason behind latter's departure from the band in the mid 1980s, although the two had been roommates in the mid 1960s.

The group has been all but disbanded since the early 1990s, but Davies continued to have a steady musical career as a performer and songwriter until a 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 (notably "Death of a Clown", "Susannah's Still Alive", and "Living on a Thin Line"), and his vocals were a vital part of the Kinks' sound. But his rock legacy was cemented in 1964, when he created the buzzing, slam-dunk power chords for his brother's "You Really Got Me". Davies has given various accounts of how he got that sound, including one tale in which he said he slashed the speaker cones on his eight-watt Elpico amplifier with a razor blade to achieve the distorted sound which he sought for his guitar; at other times, he said he used knitting needles.

Davies published an autobiography, entitled Kink, in 1996, in which he discussed his bisexuality at length, including a sexual relationship with Long John Baldry. He also wrote of the tense professional relationship with his brother over the Kinks' 30-year career.

In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Davies 88th on the list of the "100 greatest guitarists of all time". 

On June 30, 2004, Davies suffered a stroke in an elevator at the London offices of the BBC, where he had been promoting his then current album, Bug. He was released from the hospital on August 27.

The Kinks were inducted into the British Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in November 2005. The four original members were there to receive the award.

He is good friends with horror director, John Carpenter. Dave's work is featured on the remake of Carpenter's "Village of The Damned."

As of 2006, Davies has somewhat recovered. He can walk and talk and play guitar, but has a hard time singing and playing at the same time, and has not been able to go on tour.

In January of 2007 Davies released his first album of all new material, Fractured Mindz, 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 of 2006).

Discography

 * Dave Davies (AFL1-3603) (1980)
 * Glamour (1981)
 * Chosen People (1983)
 * In the Mouth of Madness soundtrack, lead guitar on track # 1 (1995)
 * Village of the Damned soundtrack (1995)
 * Purusha and the Spiritual Planet (1998)
 * Fortis Green (1999)
 * Solo Live - Live Solo Performance at Marion College (2000)
 * Rock Bottom - Live At The Bottom Line (2000)
 * Fragile (2001)
 * Bug (2002)
 * Bugged... Live! (2002)
 * Transformation - Live at The Alex Theatre (2003 release from Meta Media)
 * Transformation - Live at The Alex Theatre (2005 release on AngelAir Records)
 * Kinked ( 7 March 2006 released on Koch Records)
 * Fractured Mindz (30 January 2007 released on Meta Records via Davies' official website)