Sunshine in the West End
Having been banned from ever returning to the United States for unspecified reasons following their 1965 American tour, The Kinks were never quite able to enjoy the same level of success, fame and fortune that some of their contemporaries were able to have.
While the Rolling Stones still venture out on the odd World Tour every few years and Paul McCartney can still be seen happily playing out Hey Jude for the five thousandth time to a sea of adoring fans from across several generations, it is the Kinks who still occupy a place on that secret mix tape we make for our crush, or grace the big screen as the soundtrack to an art house film.
Although relegated to topping the UK charts alone and largely excluded from taking part in the social upheaval and massive music festivals across the pond, the Kinks still get to claim the title of Rock n’ Roll pioneers.
They were brilliant songwriters, they cranked out albums at a rate unheard of today, toured their asses off, essentially invented the concept of distorted guitars and made cool the power chords we all take for granted and hide behind when we start our first bands. The story of the Kinks is a story worth being told and luckily, it is in the form of Sunny Afternoon on the stages of London.
Sunny Afternoon first debuted at the Hampstead Theatre back in May and went on to go on all summer to sold out crowds. This success has brought it to the Harold Pinter theatre in the west end where some of us might actually get a chance to buy a ticket, as it will continue there for the foreseeable future.
The real good news for Kinks fans is that Ray Davies is credited with music and lyrics and the show promises to feature such kinks favourites as Sunny Afternoon, Waterloo Sunset, You really got me and many more.
For tickets, head over to the Harold Pinter Theatre website and book now.
This post was categorised in Archive.