The Kinks hailed from Muswill Hill in north London and centered
on the Davies brothers, Ray and Dave. With Ray's school friend Pete Quaife, they
were in various bands together starting in 1961 until forming The Kinks in
early 1964. The line-up was completed with the addition of drummer Mick Avory. Initially an R&B/blues outfit, they steadily
evolved from their early garage/punk days to become one of the quintessentially
English rock bands of 1960s. Along the
way, The Kink's story is filled with fights, blown opportunities and a bizarre
ban from performing in the USA from 1965-1969.

Although singer Ray Davies has called tales of the Kinks' American misbehavior "character assassination; a plot to destroy us," sources
close to the band confirm that they found trouble wherever they went, at least
some of it of their own making. The band skipped a show in Sacramento, Ray
Davies punched a union official who kept insinuating that England was already
as good as Communist, and they appeared on a Dick Clark special for NBC without
paying their mandatory dues to the American Federation of Television and
Recording Artists. Years later, Ray Davies mused, "In many respects,
that ridiculous ban took away the best years of the Kinks' career when the
original band was performing at its peak." He went on to say, "The reason we got banned was a mixture of bad
agency, bad management, bad luck, and bad behavior.... So we deserved
everything we got. But it got lifted four years later. We literally
signed a confession — it was a confessional. We didn't even read it."
From a commercial standpoint, the ban was horrific, cutting the band off from
touring when they were at their commercial peak. From an artistic
standpoint, though, it may have been the best thing to ever happen to
them. It forced Ray Davies to mature, become more introspective and
observational (not to mention sober).

Though The Kinks would go on to gain fame and acceptance
in America in the 70s, particularly with a resurgence in play of the phenomenal
and iconic “You Really Got Me,” a huge chuck of the 60s eludes their presence
in America.