History Music / TheKinks

* EpicRocking: Pops up throughout their career, but might be most evident in "Shangri-La."

!!The Kinks provide examples of these tropes:

* AlliterativeName: Dave Davies is a good RealLife example.

* WritingAroundTrademarks: Some versions of "Lola" change the line "you drink champagne and it tastes just like Coca-Cola" to "cherry cola". This was to allow the song to be played on [[TheBBC BBC]] radio, which at the time had a draconian policy against ProductPlacement that banned even fleeting or derogatory references to brand names in songs.

* UsefulNotes/{{Britain}}: One of the most famous and acclaimed bands to come from there.

* ''Kinks'' (1964)
* ''Kinda Kinks'' (1965)
* ''The Kink Kontroversy'' (1965)
* ''Face to Face'' (1966)
* ''Something Else by The Kinks'' (1967)
* ''The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society'' (1968)
* ''Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)'' (1969)
* ''Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One'' (1970)

* ''Muswell Hillbillies'' (1971)
* ''Everybody's in Show-Biz'' (1972)
* ''Preservation Act 1'' (1973)
* ''Preservation Act 2'' (1974)
* ''Soap Opera'' (1975)
* ''Schoolboys in Disgrace'' (1976)
* ''Sleepwalker'' (1977)
* ''Misfits'' (1978)
* ''Low Budget'' (1979)
* ''Give the People What They Want'' (1981)
* ''State of Confusion'' (1983)
* ''Word of Mouth'' (1984)
* ''Think Visual'' (1986)
* ''UK Jive'' (1989)
* ''Phobia'' (1993)

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: "Lola" by was censored by the BBC not for its lyrics about a sexual tryst with a transvestite, but for its use of the brand name Coca-Cola. This was duly changed to "cherry cola". Perhaps more a case of LettingCrapPastTheRadar?

* HeavyMeta: ''Lola versus Powerman...'' is about the music industry as a whole. Furthermore, there's "Session Man" (which is about session musicians, and how no one treats them like "real" musicians) and "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" (which is more aimed at the Mod scene as a whole rather than just the music). For an extra slice of meta, consider the fact that quintessential "session man" Nicky Hopkins plays on a song reportedly inspired by him.

** "Dandy", despite its title, is ''not'' about one of these, but rather a {{Casanova}}.

They changed gears in 1965, diversifying away from just [[{{Cracked}} scrotum-grinding guitar anthems]] to experiment with other genres like folk, music hall, country and blues-rock, resulting in a more laid-back sound. It was also around this period that Ray developed his now-famous lyrical talent. This period saw the release of songs like "Dedicated Follower of Fashion", "Sunny Afternoon" and "Waterloo Sunset", culminating with what is generally held as their best album, ''The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society''.

* DoubleEntendre: "I know what I am and I'm glad I'm a man, and so is Lola."
** Ah - but is Lola a man ... or is Lola also glad?

The band changed once again in TheSeventies, exploring a more theatrical, campy sound. However, this only worsened their declining popularity and the resulting {{Concept Album}}s are still one huge YourMileageMayVary on their actual quality. Due to a combination of a new record label wanting them to cut the crap and everybody but Ray being sick of {{Rock Opera}}s, The Kinks restyled themselves as an arena rock band in 1976. Lucky enough to be synchronised with the PunkRock explosion and some successful covers of their songs by Punk and Music/NewWave bands, The Kinks rode their second wave of popularity until the early 80's, culminating when their single "Come Dancing" became a worldwide smash in early 1983. They then went back to being a cult band before calling it quits in 1996.

* HeavyMeta: ''Lola versus Powerman...'' is about the music industry as a whole. Furthermore, there's "Session Man" (which is about session musicians, and how no one treats them like "real" musicians) and "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" (which is more aimed at the Mod scene as a whole rather than just the music).

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Lola by was censored by the BBC not for its lyrics about a sexual tryst with a transvestite, but for its use of the brand name Coca-Cola. This was duly changed to "cherry cola". Perhaps more a case of LettingCrapPastTheRadar?
** Their next single, Apeman, contains the line "this air pollution is fogging up my eyes". They knew it sounds like "fucking". We know it sounds like "fucking". And whoever produced the album knew it sounds like "fucking", since they very clumsily reduce that solitary word's volume so it's barely audible. Ironically, while everyone involved claims it's definitely "fogging", this makes it harder to decipher whether Ray Davies does actually sing "fogging" or "fucking".

* SpotOfTea: Whole songs are written on the subject.

The band changed once again in TheSeventies, exploring a more theatrical, campy sound. However, this only worsened their declining popularity and the resulting {{Concept Album}}s are still one huge YourMileageMayVary on their actual quality. Due to a combination of a new record label wanting them to cut the crap and everybody but Ray being sick of {{Rock Opera}}s, The Kinks restyled themselves as an arena rock band in 1976. Lucky enough to be synchronised with the PunkRock explosion and some successful covers of their songs by Punk and NewWave bands, The Kinks rode their second wave of popularity until the early 80's, culminating when their single "Come Dancing" became a worldwide smash in early 1983. They then went back to being a cult band before calling it quits in 1996.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Lola by was censored by the BBC not for its lyrics about a sexual tryst with a transvestite, but for its use of the brand name Coca-Cola. This was duly changed to "cherry cola". Perhaps more a case of Letting Crap Past The Radar?

* EpicRiff: "You Really Got Me", "All Day and All of the Night"

* AlliterativeName: Dave Davies

* GenreLaunch: "You Really Got Me" is widely considered to have been the blueprint for kicking off everything from Garage Rock to Metal to Punk.

The Kinks were an English rock band, one of the "Big Four" [[TheBritishInvasion British Invasion]] bands of TheSixties (along with TheBeatles, TheRollingStones, and TheWho) and a LongRunner, having experienced a long career's worth of highs and lows before throwing in the towel in 1996. While they have had numerous members, their most famous line-up was composed of vocalist/guitarist/[[IAmTheBand mastermind]] Ray Davies, his vocalist/guitarist brother Dave Davies, bassist Pete Quaife (who left in 1969) and drummer Mick Avory (who left in 1984).