The Kinks, influential 1960s British Invasion group who infused their rhythm-and-blues beginnings with sharp social observation and the theatricality of the British music hall, becoming an English archetype. The principal members were Ray Davies (b. June 21, 1944, London, England), Dave Davies (b. February 3, 1947, London), Peter Quaife (b. December 31, 1943, Tavistock, Devonshire—d. June 23, 2010, Herlev, Denmark), and Mick Avory (b. February 15, 1944, London).

Formed as a rhythm-and-blues band in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies, the Kinks originated in Muswell Hill in northern London. Built on power chords, their third single, “You Really Got Me,” provided their big break. It stands, along with the work of the early Rolling Stones, as a landmark of creative exploration of rhythm and blues by white musicians. As such, it had a huge influence on the early Who, mid-1960s American garage punk, and early 1970s heavy metal. Moreover, the Kinks exaggerated the androgynous image cultivated by the Rolling Stones with foppish clothes, extremely long hair, and Ray Davies’s often camp demeanour. After two more international hits, “All Day and All of the Night” and “Tired of Waiting for You,” the Kinks quickly diversified their approach with the remarkable “See My Friends” (1965), an ambiguous story of male bonding, which represents the first satisfying fusion of Western pop with Indian musical forms. As their impact on the American market lessened after a disastrous tour in 1965, the Kinks became more idiosyncratically English, with social comment songs like “A Well-Respected Man,” “Dedicated Follower of Fashion,” and “Sunny Afternoon,” the last of which reached number one on the U.K. charts in 1966 and on which Ray Davies imitated 1930s British crooner Al Bowlly.