Dave Davies
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This is about the English musician; for others, see Dave Davies (disambiguation).
| Dave Davies | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | David Russell Gordon Davies |
| Born | 3 February 1947 Fortis Green, London, England |
| Genre(s) | Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar |
| Years active | 1960s - present |
| Associated acts | The Kinks |
| Website | http://www.davedavies.com/ |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| Gibson "prototype" V | |
David Russell Gordon Davies (born 3 February 1947, in Fortis Green, London) is an English rock musician (singer and lead guitarist), most well known for his membership 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, one of the reasons behind the 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 1996, 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", "Love Me Till The Sun Shines", "Susannah's Still Alive", and "Living on a Thin Line"). But his rock legacy was cemented in 1964, when he created the buzzing power chords for his brother's "You Really Got Me".
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". [1]
On 30 June 2004, Davies suffered a stroke in a lift at Broadcasting House, where he had been promoting his then current album, Bug. He was released from the hospital on 27 August.
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 Carpenter's remake of "Village of the Damned." Carpenter also acted as godfather to Davies's son, Daniel. Daniel is the singer and guitarist in the hard rock band Year Long Disaster.
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 2007 Davies released Fractured Mindz, his first album of all new material 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 2006).
Contents |
[edit] Discography
[edit] Singles
| Release date | Title | Chart Positions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | US Billboard Hot 100 | Australia | Belgium | Canada | Germany | Netherlands | New Zealand | Sweden | |||
| 1967 | "Death of a Clown" | #3 | #31 | #5 | #3 | #2 | |||||
| January 1968 | "Susannah's Still Alive" | #20 | #18 | #27 | #10 | #18 | |||||
| July 1968 | "Lincoln County" [2] | #15 | |||||||||
| January 1969 | "Hold My Hand" [2] | ||||||||||
[edit] Solo discography
[edit] Studio albums
- Dave Davies (AFL1-3603) (1980)
- Glamour (1981)
- Chosen People (1983)
- Purusha and the Spiritual Planet (1998)
- Fortis Green (1999)
- Fragile (2001)
- Bug (2002)
- Fractured Mindz (2007)
[edit] Lives and compilations
- Solo Live - Live Solo Performance at Marion College (2000)
- Bugged... Live! (2002)
- Rock Bottom - Live At The Bottom Line (2000)
- 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)
[edit] Collaborations
- In the Mouth of Madness soundtrack, lead guitar on track # 1 (1995)
- Village of the Damned soundtrack (1995)
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time : Rolling Stone
- ^ a b UK releases: "Lincoln County" and "Hold My Hand" were UK/European releases and were not released as singles in the US.
