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Living on a Thin Line
The all new, must-read memoir by legendary Kinks guitarist Dave Davies'BOOK OF THE DAY' - Guardian'This powerful tell-all from the Kinks guitarist puts the spotlight on his own bad behaviour, dalliances with the occult and his recovery from a stroke.' - Observer'Heartfelt, hilarious, revealing, insightful and astonishingly candid. Boy, you really got me Dave. I can't wait to read it again.' - Mark HamillDave Davies is the co-founder and lead guitarist of epoch-defining band the Kinks, a group with fifty million record sales to their name. In his autobiography, Davies revisits the glory days of the band that spawned so much extraordinary music, and which had such a profound influence on bands from The Clash and Van Halen to Oasis and Blur.Full of tales of the tumultuous times and the ups-and-downs of his relationship with his brother Ray, along with encounters with the likes of John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix, this will be a glorious read for Kinks fans and anyone who wants to read about the heyday of rock 'n' roll.
353 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 7, 2022
55 people are currently reading
115 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 8, 2022
The summer was great, but I could not either sit still to read, or could not stay awake. I pretty terrible dearth. When in a reading rut, I go to rock autobiographies, they are my light reading, the books read themselves. Not saying they are necessarily good, but they go down easy.
I love the Kinks and has always been curious about younger brother Dave who wrote one of my favorite songs, "Strangers". I had heard this book was good, and I did want to read about the Kinks, I know so little about them.
This book was not that good. Deserved a two star, but learned about the Davies brothers, and that bumped it up one. Dave is a mess, no crime in that, but his path if of destruction with relationships, and spawning children all over the place did not seem to bother him much.
I love the Kinks and has always been curious about younger brother Dave who wrote one of my favorite songs, "Strangers". I had heard this book was good, and I did want to read about the Kinks, I know so little about them.
This book was not that good. Deserved a two star, but learned about the Davies brothers, and that bumped it up one. Dave is a mess, no crime in that, but his path if of destruction with relationships, and spawning children all over the place did not seem to bother him much.
March 12, 2024
The Harry to William's Ray? Dave Davies is a bit like the ginger Royal - much of what he feels went wrong in his life finds its roots in his older brother's attitude and behaviour towards him. Nothing to do with his screwing around or failure to take real responsibility for, well, anything much really. To be fair, unlike the Ginger Whinger, Dave can actually play guitar and write some decent tunes. 3 stars for being honest enough to make me conclude that the writer is more than a bit of a tw#t. Not nearly enough anecdotes to make it truly worth reading. And definitely not worth finding out about his thoughts on the esoteric or the wee green yins fae up in the sky. Oh dearie me Dave.
July 30, 2022
Dave's latest book on his life with and without the Kinks welcomes the reader into the famous front room where the music began. We are introduced to the entire extended family of sisters, cousins, uncles, aunts, grannies and grandads, friends and lovers. It feels warm and cosy like a sit-down with afternoon tea! And yet the backdrops featuring current events shift and change as the decades slip by providing a counterpoint to this family's journey. We are given insights into the songs as they were written, the influences and the ever present pressures from managers, publishers, and other business entities. Once again, we must be impressed by how the music came to be and always thankful that they stuck to their visions and followed their own path. Long live the Kinks!
October 24, 2023
Navigating kinks on a tightrope
I read Dave Davies’ first autobiography, ‘Kink’, about seventeen years ago and was quite impressed because there was so much previously unknown insight about Dave who, although he was the lead guitarist and backup singer of the Kinks, was always in the shadow of his older brother, Ray, the front man, singer, leader, and songwriting genius who wrote such classics as “Waterloo Sunset,” “Days,” “Lola,” “Celluloid Heroes,” and the iconic power chord rave-ups “You Really Got Me” and “All Day and All of the Night.” That raunchy guitar sound was courtesy of three years younger brother Dave and those riffs are an essential part of the DNA of almost all riff-driven rock music that has followed, now going on almost 60 years.
I wasn’t terribly surprised to learn that Dave was a rowdy hell-raiser who led the rocker’s life to the fullest in those heady years of the 60’s, going through drink, drugs, and relationships and one or two-night stands with lovers of both sexes. I was a bit surprised to learn that he was heavily into mysticism and eastern spirituality and of his account of channeling positive energy into a previously listless crowd at a Kinks concert which, within a matter of minutes, became a roaring, cheering crowd. Brother Ray didn’t know how to react to Dave’s silent power but told him the next night, “Whatever you did last night, do it again.”
‘Living on a Thin Line,’ published in 2022, covers much of the same ground but from the perspective of a much older man who had a stroke in 2004, losing much of the use of the right side of his body. With meditation he focused his energy toward learning mobility again, including relearning how to play the guitar. He did have the advantage of all those years of playing which had built up reflexes and muscles that he could call back into action. He did physiotherapy, repetitive motion, stretching, and painting. Within two years he could play guitar again.
After he was released from the hospital he still needed help from loved ones, which led him to stay with brother Ray for two weeks:
‘My brother is very talented and gifted, and I don’t want to be mean so soon, but I sometimes feel he’s like a vampire the way he draws so much energy from people. True enough, that’s helped him become a great songwriter and he knows how to channel his ability to use people in a creative way. I’m glad he has always been part of my life, but you need to be strong around him. The way he was absorbing my energy during those two weeks, eventually I thought…Ray, I love you, but really I don’t have much to give at the moment.’
This is recounted in the first chapter and brings us back to one of the perennial themes running through Dave and Ray Davies’ lives and, in turn, through the career of The Kinks.
It has been a few years since I read ‘Kink’ so I didn’t mind reading about the large Davies family, growing up in the post-war years, the six older sisters, one older brother, and extended family of cousins and aunts and how music was always in the family, the early musical attempts by the brothers to form a band with friend Pete Quaife, the heartbreaking story of Dave’s teenage affair with his first great love Sue, how their parents kept them apart, which he could see in retrospect allowed young Dave to stay focused on a music career although it formed an emotional gap over subsequent years to pursue indiscriminate sex and drugs to fill that void, later learning that Sue had given birth to Dave’s child. The ‘schoolboy in disgrace’ portion of that story formed the basis for the Kinks’ album, ‘Schoolboys in Disgrace, which included several great songs, including Dave’s favorite, “Headmaster.”
I don’t recall Dave going into as much detail with his same-sex encounters, which he viewed as less serious than his heterosexual relationships, oblivious in his breakup with one who was truly heartbroken, when Dave minimized the emotional component of the relationship, viewing their sexual activity as a frivolous bit of fun.
In this book, Dave finally provides a partial explanation for why the Kinks, in the middle of their first whirlwind tour of the U.S. were banned by the musicians’ union from playing in the country for over three years. For one thing, their managers were not as dedicated to staying with them and ensuring they went through the proper paces, often leaving them to fend for themselves.
‘Only years later did we realise that each time we cancelled a concert, or pulled one of our stunts, like playing a twenty-minute set, or driving everyone nuts with forty minutes of “You Really Got Me,’ complaints were made to the union. Each time we had an altercation with a promoter or musicians’ union representative, it was held in evidence against us. We were innocents abroad who had no idea about the power of these union people. The expectation was that US tours by British bands would tick along flawlessly. The Beatles had managed perfectly well before us, but they had Brian Epstein on their side: all they needed to do was show up and play. We had no such luck. Robert and Grenville stayed home, Larry didn’t last the distance, we failed to keep our mouths shut when things didn’t work out. In short, everyone connected with The Kinks, band and management, went wrong.’
The Kinks were virtually shut out of a U.S. market during the years of greatest experimentation and growth, missing out on even the possibility of playing at high profile festivals like Monterrey and Woodstock. The advantage of this omission was that it forced them into mining their own British culture. If The Kinks had been performing in America alongside the Rolling Stones and The Who, they probably would not have made classic albums such as ‘The Village Green Preservation Society’ and ‘Arthur (or The Decline and Fall of the British Empire),’ at least not in the same way.
Dave is very perceptive about his shortcomings, but one fact he never quite comes to terms with is, despite his insistence that his children are the center of his life, why he would leave one wife with young children once he found another young beauty with whom he is smitten. He changes partners with the casualness of trading in a car for a newer model. I lost track of how many children he fathered and how many women he had either married or lived with for an extended period.
I can understand why The Kinks will probably never reunite and the main reason stems from the distance Dave needs to keep from Ray to maintain his own psychological equilibrium. The blood relation has probably kept them involved in each other’s lives more than they would have been if they had just been friends who formed a great and enduring band together. I have never heard any of Dave’s solo albums, only basing my assessment of his songwriting ability on what he contributed to the Kinks’ output: Dave will probably never be the songwriter that Ray Davies is/was. Like it or not, he will always be the younger brother/sidekick to the Kinks’ musical visionary, no matter how much evidence he produces to set the record straight. It may not be fair, but that’s the way it is. Each of them has written two excellent autobiographies, each bearing the unique stamp of their author. For the more complete picture of most of the same events, one has only to read the account of the other brother.
I read Dave Davies’ first autobiography, ‘Kink’, about seventeen years ago and was quite impressed because there was so much previously unknown insight about Dave who, although he was the lead guitarist and backup singer of the Kinks, was always in the shadow of his older brother, Ray, the front man, singer, leader, and songwriting genius who wrote such classics as “Waterloo Sunset,” “Days,” “Lola,” “Celluloid Heroes,” and the iconic power chord rave-ups “You Really Got Me” and “All Day and All of the Night.” That raunchy guitar sound was courtesy of three years younger brother Dave and those riffs are an essential part of the DNA of almost all riff-driven rock music that has followed, now going on almost 60 years.
I wasn’t terribly surprised to learn that Dave was a rowdy hell-raiser who led the rocker’s life to the fullest in those heady years of the 60’s, going through drink, drugs, and relationships and one or two-night stands with lovers of both sexes. I was a bit surprised to learn that he was heavily into mysticism and eastern spirituality and of his account of channeling positive energy into a previously listless crowd at a Kinks concert which, within a matter of minutes, became a roaring, cheering crowd. Brother Ray didn’t know how to react to Dave’s silent power but told him the next night, “Whatever you did last night, do it again.”
‘Living on a Thin Line,’ published in 2022, covers much of the same ground but from the perspective of a much older man who had a stroke in 2004, losing much of the use of the right side of his body. With meditation he focused his energy toward learning mobility again, including relearning how to play the guitar. He did have the advantage of all those years of playing which had built up reflexes and muscles that he could call back into action. He did physiotherapy, repetitive motion, stretching, and painting. Within two years he could play guitar again.
After he was released from the hospital he still needed help from loved ones, which led him to stay with brother Ray for two weeks:
‘My brother is very talented and gifted, and I don’t want to be mean so soon, but I sometimes feel he’s like a vampire the way he draws so much energy from people. True enough, that’s helped him become a great songwriter and he knows how to channel his ability to use people in a creative way. I’m glad he has always been part of my life, but you need to be strong around him. The way he was absorbing my energy during those two weeks, eventually I thought…Ray, I love you, but really I don’t have much to give at the moment.’
This is recounted in the first chapter and brings us back to one of the perennial themes running through Dave and Ray Davies’ lives and, in turn, through the career of The Kinks.
It has been a few years since I read ‘Kink’ so I didn’t mind reading about the large Davies family, growing up in the post-war years, the six older sisters, one older brother, and extended family of cousins and aunts and how music was always in the family, the early musical attempts by the brothers to form a band with friend Pete Quaife, the heartbreaking story of Dave’s teenage affair with his first great love Sue, how their parents kept them apart, which he could see in retrospect allowed young Dave to stay focused on a music career although it formed an emotional gap over subsequent years to pursue indiscriminate sex and drugs to fill that void, later learning that Sue had given birth to Dave’s child. The ‘schoolboy in disgrace’ portion of that story formed the basis for the Kinks’ album, ‘Schoolboys in Disgrace, which included several great songs, including Dave’s favorite, “Headmaster.”
I don’t recall Dave going into as much detail with his same-sex encounters, which he viewed as less serious than his heterosexual relationships, oblivious in his breakup with one who was truly heartbroken, when Dave minimized the emotional component of the relationship, viewing their sexual activity as a frivolous bit of fun.
In this book, Dave finally provides a partial explanation for why the Kinks, in the middle of their first whirlwind tour of the U.S. were banned by the musicians’ union from playing in the country for over three years. For one thing, their managers were not as dedicated to staying with them and ensuring they went through the proper paces, often leaving them to fend for themselves.
‘Only years later did we realise that each time we cancelled a concert, or pulled one of our stunts, like playing a twenty-minute set, or driving everyone nuts with forty minutes of “You Really Got Me,’ complaints were made to the union. Each time we had an altercation with a promoter or musicians’ union representative, it was held in evidence against us. We were innocents abroad who had no idea about the power of these union people. The expectation was that US tours by British bands would tick along flawlessly. The Beatles had managed perfectly well before us, but they had Brian Epstein on their side: all they needed to do was show up and play. We had no such luck. Robert and Grenville stayed home, Larry didn’t last the distance, we failed to keep our mouths shut when things didn’t work out. In short, everyone connected with The Kinks, band and management, went wrong.’
The Kinks were virtually shut out of a U.S. market during the years of greatest experimentation and growth, missing out on even the possibility of playing at high profile festivals like Monterrey and Woodstock. The advantage of this omission was that it forced them into mining their own British culture. If The Kinks had been performing in America alongside the Rolling Stones and The Who, they probably would not have made classic albums such as ‘The Village Green Preservation Society’ and ‘Arthur (or The Decline and Fall of the British Empire),’ at least not in the same way.
Dave is very perceptive about his shortcomings, but one fact he never quite comes to terms with is, despite his insistence that his children are the center of his life, why he would leave one wife with young children once he found another young beauty with whom he is smitten. He changes partners with the casualness of trading in a car for a newer model. I lost track of how many children he fathered and how many women he had either married or lived with for an extended period.
I can understand why The Kinks will probably never reunite and the main reason stems from the distance Dave needs to keep from Ray to maintain his own psychological equilibrium. The blood relation has probably kept them involved in each other’s lives more than they would have been if they had just been friends who formed a great and enduring band together. I have never heard any of Dave’s solo albums, only basing my assessment of his songwriting ability on what he contributed to the Kinks’ output: Dave will probably never be the songwriter that Ray Davies is/was. Like it or not, he will always be the younger brother/sidekick to the Kinks’ musical visionary, no matter how much evidence he produces to set the record straight. It may not be fair, but that’s the way it is. Each of them has written two excellent autobiographies, each bearing the unique stamp of their author. For the more complete picture of most of the same events, one has only to read the account of the other brother.
August 30, 2023
[I read the hardcover book, not the Kindle edition.]
My favorite rock group is the Kinks, so I'm always willing to read about them and learn more. When it first came out, I read Dave Davies's prior book, "Kink", which made me wonder why this book was written since it covered much of the same ground. I think that Dave should have concentrated more on the period after "Kink", especially because that included his stroke and subsequent recovery.
Nonetheless, for a Kinks fan, this book is a fun read, even though it covers so much of the same ground as "Kink". A reader who has not read "Kink" may enjoy it more.
I have seen Dave speak in person, and his mind works in a rambling way, jumping from topic to topic, going off on tangents. He writes in the same way. I am already familiar with the Kinks' history, so I knew when Dave was jumping off the timeline, but that may be hard to follow for others less familiar with their history.
One thing that became more clear to me in this book than in "Kink" is how much pain his separation from his first love as a teenager and their child caused Dave.
As much as I love the Kinks, this is not a great book, so I think that three stars is a fair rating.
My favorite rock group is the Kinks, so I'm always willing to read about them and learn more. When it first came out, I read Dave Davies's prior book, "Kink", which made me wonder why this book was written since it covered much of the same ground. I think that Dave should have concentrated more on the period after "Kink", especially because that included his stroke and subsequent recovery.
Nonetheless, for a Kinks fan, this book is a fun read, even though it covers so much of the same ground as "Kink". A reader who has not read "Kink" may enjoy it more.
I have seen Dave speak in person, and his mind works in a rambling way, jumping from topic to topic, going off on tangents. He writes in the same way. I am already familiar with the Kinks' history, so I knew when Dave was jumping off the timeline, but that may be hard to follow for others less familiar with their history.
One thing that became more clear to me in this book than in "Kink" is how much pain his separation from his first love as a teenager and their child caused Dave.
As much as I love the Kinks, this is not a great book, so I think that three stars is a fair rating.
September 10, 2022
Disappointing…
Basically a rehash of “Kink,” which I loved. But 25 years later, Dave’s constant resentments about Ray doing this that or the other to him sounds quite sharp-worn. Dave comes across as rather a sad old git, and I really hope that’s not true. Not an easy read, at times. But I had to give it three stars because, well, it’s the kinks.
Basically a rehash of “Kink,” which I loved. But 25 years later, Dave’s constant resentments about Ray doing this that or the other to him sounds quite sharp-worn. Dave comes across as rather a sad old git, and I really hope that’s not true. Not an easy read, at times. But I had to give it three stars because, well, it’s the kinks.
June 25, 2023
The first two thirds of this captivated me - I really enjoyed the tales of a bustling '60s working-class London household, of struggles for success, of songwriting and musical innovation, and of terrible rock-'n'-roll excesses. I don't have a lot of experience with rock biographies, but I suspect the uncomplicated prose and straightforward tone are pretty standard for the genre. They did the job perfectly well.
There's an interesting mix of mysticality (ranging from the vaguely esoteric to the 'I think that might have been another mental health crisis, Dave'), thoughtful reflection (particularly in relation to questions of gender and sexuality), and ego (the relationship between Dave and Ray is clearly still fraught, and the accusations and remonstrations are ceaseless throughout the book). It's quite difficult at points to watch Dave move on from another relationship, leaving more small children in his wake - he acknowledges that his behaviour wasn't always great, and presents himself as having good relationships with all of his children, but I wonder how much this aligns with what goes on 'behind the scenes.'
The last third or so, dealing with the life of Dave and the Kinks into the '80s and beyond, was less captivating. I think that might have been inevitable. We all want to hear about the band's early struggle for success, the wild arguments between almost every member of the band, and the writing of their hits from the '60s and early '70s - but no one's as interested in Dave and Ray continuing to fall out into their forties, nor in the recording of Dave's flop of a 1983 album Chosen People.
This is probably more of a 3.5/5 than a 4, but I like the Kinks, so I'm rounding it up.
There's an interesting mix of mysticality (ranging from the vaguely esoteric to the 'I think that might have been another mental health crisis, Dave'), thoughtful reflection (particularly in relation to questions of gender and sexuality), and ego (the relationship between Dave and Ray is clearly still fraught, and the accusations and remonstrations are ceaseless throughout the book). It's quite difficult at points to watch Dave move on from another relationship, leaving more small children in his wake - he acknowledges that his behaviour wasn't always great, and presents himself as having good relationships with all of his children, but I wonder how much this aligns with what goes on 'behind the scenes.'
The last third or so, dealing with the life of Dave and the Kinks into the '80s and beyond, was less captivating. I think that might have been inevitable. We all want to hear about the band's early struggle for success, the wild arguments between almost every member of the band, and the writing of their hits from the '60s and early '70s - but no one's as interested in Dave and Ray continuing to fall out into their forties, nor in the recording of Dave's flop of a 1983 album Chosen People.
This is probably more of a 3.5/5 than a 4, but I like the Kinks, so I'm rounding it up.
May 25, 2024
I am a fan of the Kinks music. I have not followed the interpersonal dramas of the band except for being aware that the Davies brothers have a fierce rivalry. I have seen the odd interview with Ray or Dave Davies on Youtube and Ray comes across as painfully shy. Otherwise, I don't know anything about his personality except what Dave says about him. Dave seems to take it for granted that you will agree with him that his brother is a jerk. Maybe he is the narcissist and meglomaniac that Dave thinks he is, but I have the feeling he needs to be considered a biased and not wholly reliable narrator. Dave describes Ray has suffering from depression and although he uses the words "I am sympathetic," he doesn't really come across that way. Dave does admire Ray's song writing ability, but he clearly has some resentment about Ray not giving him the credit he feels he deserves. As I said, I am not knowledgeable or partisan (or invested) enough to be "team Dave" or "team Ray." But it does seem as though there could have been a bit more reflection on Dave's part on his own contributions to the brotherly feuding. This is something I felt was a bit lacking in general as Dave Davies described some very bad behavior both personally and professionally. He generally chalks it up to being young or not having a manager around to reign him in. Reading between the lines perhaps Ray took a more serious and focused approach to the band while his extroverted brother was enjoying rock stardom a bit too much. Dave does not come across in his book as doing much soul searching about the effects of his addiction, trashing of hotels, extramarital affairs and treating people who loved him badly. But it was interesting enough as an inside look into the Kinks career.
March 20, 2023
Dave Davies first published an autobiography, "Kink", back in 1996. It was an excellent, fast paced read covering his life and career up to that time. I read it several times. So I was curious when I heard that he had a new autobio coming out. Well, this one is a major disappointment. It's basically a rewrite of the first book, with more emphasis on the 1960's, very little on his recent activities. The only update really is on the stroke he had in 2004. He discusses the the time leading up to the stroke, and his recovery. Even then, though, things are skipped over. There is no mention of the first CD he recorded after the stroke, "Fractured Mindz". Instead, he refers to his 2014 album "I Will Be Me" as his first since his recovery. There's next to nothing about his post-Kinks solo tours (although those were mostly his versions of old Kinks songs anyway); just passing references to recent albums like "Ripping Up Time" and "Decade". The focus is heavily on the Kinks years of the 60's - his partying; his relationships with various women and men; and recording and touring with the Kinks. All of this was covered in the first book, so why the need to retrace those steps? If you have the first book, you don't need this one.
February 28, 2025
(I read the Hard Copy (NOT the Kindle version), which Goodreads (in all their infinite wisdom) decided NOT to list!)
Wow! Don't know why I even bothered to read this book. A really tough read, almost a DNF. And I thought Freddie Mercury's "Someone to Love" & Angela Bowie's "Backstage Passes/David Bowie" were BAD. This one takes the cake!! Guess I'm a sucker for rock star autobiographies / biographies!
Not really that familiar with the Kinks or their music ("Lola" is the one song I mostly recall, plus I have only one Kinks record (a 12" vinyl disco single, "Superman"). And I don't think the Kinks are as hot of band as he seems to think they are (they have only four RIAA Gold albums, ZERO Platinum or Gold! His solo albums have ZERO RIAA ratings.). No wonder John Lennon didn't like him. Davies was also miffed that the Kinks once had to open for The Who. Who does he think he is? Anyhow?
From working class beginnings to a school drop out (even Art School, for Christ's sake). But he's an 'expert' on everything from Tarot cards to Astrology to the occult to meta physics. Hears voices guiding him? Bisexual, but not staying true to anyone but himself. A love/hate relationship with his older brother Ray. Would NOT recommend this book to anyone but diehard fans.
Wow! Don't know why I even bothered to read this book. A really tough read, almost a DNF. And I thought Freddie Mercury's "Someone to Love" & Angela Bowie's "Backstage Passes/David Bowie" were BAD. This one takes the cake!! Guess I'm a sucker for rock star autobiographies / biographies!
Not really that familiar with the Kinks or their music ("Lola" is the one song I mostly recall, plus I have only one Kinks record (a 12" vinyl disco single, "Superman"). And I don't think the Kinks are as hot of band as he seems to think they are (they have only four RIAA Gold albums, ZERO Platinum or Gold! His solo albums have ZERO RIAA ratings.). No wonder John Lennon didn't like him. Davies was also miffed that the Kinks once had to open for The Who. Who does he think he is? Anyhow?
From working class beginnings to a school drop out (even Art School, for Christ's sake). But he's an 'expert' on everything from Tarot cards to Astrology to the occult to meta physics. Hears voices guiding him? Bisexual, but not staying true to anyone but himself. A love/hate relationship with his older brother Ray. Would NOT recommend this book to anyone but diehard fans.
May 10, 2023
Disappointing! I've followed the Kinks for decades, and I've read most of the books about them, including Dave's first autobiography, "Kink." This time around, his story is more linear, with more information about the evolution of the band in the 60s and 70s. But Dave comes across as a giant melodrama, chasing men and women when he was young, drinking, drugging, and running through a succession of longer relationships as an adult, leaving scattered children in his wake. He's sort of light hearted about it. It's not that pretty.
On a positive note, there is less in the book about his embrace of metaphysics and his recovery from a stroke, both of which I had expected to find. There are some good insights about his relationship with his more talented brother, Sir Raymond Douglas Davies. And he explains who David Watts was. So I more or less enjoyed the first two-thirds of the book, but the last third was truly a slog.
I'm a die hard Kinks fan. I saw them for the first time in 1972 and many times thereafter. Go play your copy of "All Day and All of the Night" - skip this book.
On a positive note, there is less in the book about his embrace of metaphysics and his recovery from a stroke, both of which I had expected to find. There are some good insights about his relationship with his more talented brother, Sir Raymond Douglas Davies. And he explains who David Watts was. So I more or less enjoyed the first two-thirds of the book, but the last third was truly a slog.
I'm a die hard Kinks fan. I saw them for the first time in 1972 and many times thereafter. Go play your copy of "All Day and All of the Night" - skip this book.
March 13, 2023
An entertaining and forthright memoir of the Kinks and the famous feuding Davies brothers. Much of the story repeats material from Davies' previous memoir "Kink", published in 1996, but the tone is lighter and perhaps tempered by the subsequent years, during which the author survived a stroke, pursued other interests and settled into a solo career once the Kinks gradually disassembled.
August 15, 2025
Definitive Dave
Loved every page. A great document not
only of the insider history of the Kinks, but the inside of Dave's head, his thoughts and feelings and psychology. It is extremely intimate and revealing. As a life long fan and devotee, I found it to be indispensable. Dave Davies is a treasure.
Loved every page. A great document not
only of the insider history of the Kinks, but the inside of Dave's head, his thoughts and feelings and psychology. It is extremely intimate and revealing. As a life long fan and devotee, I found it to be indispensable. Dave Davies is a treasure.
September 10, 2023
A great read, Dave tells it from the heart and has many interesting stories and thoughts to share. Amazing to think that when they changed the world with You Really Got Me, he was only 17 years old!
Interesting insights into his brother too, some psychologists would have a field day with some of his behaviour. It sounds very much like he never got over no longer being the centre of attention once wee Dave came along.
As for the voices in your head, Dave, steady on.
Interesting insights into his brother too, some psychologists would have a field day with some of his behaviour. It sounds very much like he never got over no longer being the centre of attention once wee Dave came along.
As for the voices in your head, Dave, steady on.
May 31, 2023
2.5 raised to 3
January 30, 2024
What a long strange trip he's had
3 stars for the Kinks' history, not so sure about the debauchery, infidelity and excess. I wish Dave the best.
3 stars for the Kinks' history, not so sure about the debauchery, infidelity and excess. I wish Dave the best.
January 30, 2024
Pretty good, got me back into the kinks. An interesting and diverse read
April 8, 2025
I listened to the audiobook, and it's pretty good. This isn't the craziest story, but If you're interested in the Kinks, the 60s, and the British invasion you'll enjoy it. I found Dave to be down to earth other than his spiritual stuff and alien beliefs. I don't think he goes too far with his different beliefs, they're interesting though I kinda wished I understood them more. Dave probably could have been a little more apologetic for constantly leaving his wives and kids, but it does seem he made it up with the kids eventually. It was interesting to hear how all the hotel trashing comes to be with the addictions, tensions, and youth. It would have been nice to have a little more tea with him and his brother, although I do appreciate that he doesn't go off too hard on him or really anyone. Dave strikes me as a good guy without too huge of an ego, which makes for a good read.
April 6, 2023
Unbelievable, I guess, really.
I want to give some credit here, but the levels of hypocrisy and just sheer silliness are too far. At least Ray Davies, arrogant and vapid as he is, is a credible musician. Dave could have been one, his solo albums were always flops, but some of the material was quite good, really. The problem is not his music, but his attitude. From the absurd outlook on same sex relationships, the complete lack of ethics and dignity, to the failure to communicate any real worthwhile reasons for his desertions of friends and family when the mood struck him, the book shows us the real Dave Davies.
Just as vapid as Ray, but with the added pretentiousness of someone who fancied himself a psychic of sorts. The scary details of his 'mental communications' from 'otherworldly beings' speaks to a need for a mental ward far more than gives us anything solid. This part of the book tells us that Dave Davies is a man in need of treatment, both for his 'voices' and for his long relationship with a cult called the Aetherius Society.
The Aetherius Society is a pip, a real winner.
Dave was intimately involved with them for many years and bought into their wanna be cult leader's absurd teachings on space beings and the beyond. Having done some research on this, I've found that to stay in such a mad cult for so long, a person genuinely has to be deficient in the thought processes.
Gullible is too kind a word, to be suckered into something this stupid, for so long.
Dave presents himself as a kind man who wants to be a good man. Yet what we read of him, and can find out about him in other writings, and his own history, tells us something very different. He's shallow, self centered, and completely lacking any real focus other than Not Being Ray.
The Kinks at least had quality. The Kinks were a great band, with great music and writing. But the Kinks had Ray Davies, and in the end, that makes all the difference.
I want to give some credit here, but the levels of hypocrisy and just sheer silliness are too far. At least Ray Davies, arrogant and vapid as he is, is a credible musician. Dave could have been one, his solo albums were always flops, but some of the material was quite good, really. The problem is not his music, but his attitude. From the absurd outlook on same sex relationships, the complete lack of ethics and dignity, to the failure to communicate any real worthwhile reasons for his desertions of friends and family when the mood struck him, the book shows us the real Dave Davies.
Just as vapid as Ray, but with the added pretentiousness of someone who fancied himself a psychic of sorts. The scary details of his 'mental communications' from 'otherworldly beings' speaks to a need for a mental ward far more than gives us anything solid. This part of the book tells us that Dave Davies is a man in need of treatment, both for his 'voices' and for his long relationship with a cult called the Aetherius Society.
The Aetherius Society is a pip, a real winner.
Dave was intimately involved with them for many years and bought into their wanna be cult leader's absurd teachings on space beings and the beyond. Having done some research on this, I've found that to stay in such a mad cult for so long, a person genuinely has to be deficient in the thought processes.
Gullible is too kind a word, to be suckered into something this stupid, for so long.
Dave presents himself as a kind man who wants to be a good man. Yet what we read of him, and can find out about him in other writings, and his own history, tells us something very different. He's shallow, self centered, and completely lacking any real focus other than Not Being Ray.
The Kinks at least had quality. The Kinks were a great band, with great music and writing. But the Kinks had Ray Davies, and in the end, that makes all the difference.
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