The Kinks, Pete Townshend, and desperate need for the greatest reunion tour
Reunions are big business within the modern music industry, what with the Gallagher brothers setting aside their differences to rake in some cash playing for audiences across the world. However, these reunion and anniversary tours aren’t necessarily a modern trend; even when The Beatles split in 1970, calls for them to reunite came almost instantly. The Who’s Pete Townshend has managed to evade these annoying reformation demands by never splitting The Who up in the first place.
It was in 1965 that The Who unveiled their debut single, ‘I Can’t Explain’, and the mod rock outfit has been a regular fixture of the British rock scene ever since. Despite multiple supposed ‘farewell’ tours and solo side projects, The Who are still technically together today, six decades later, and without drummer Keith Moon or bassist John Entwistle, who have both sadly passed away. If Neil Young is correct, and it is better to burn out than fade away, then The Who must have an exceedingly long wick.
In contrast to Townshend and the gang, many of their contemporaries from back in the swinging sixties have long since gone their separate ways. The Kinks, for instance, split up back in 1997, after decades of declining relevancy and a struggle to recapture the energy and spirit of those early recordings back in the 1960s. Since their split, Ray and Dave Davies, the brothers who were always at the core of The Kinks, have routinely refuted calls for the band to get back together, but that hasn’t stopped people from asking.
Among them, Pete Townshend is one of the many people who have called for a Kinks reunion over the years. “I pray that one day Ray and Dave can play again on a tour,” he wrote in a 2008 Q&A. “Dave was often very loud, and Ray was apparently often ratty, but to me they were like AC/DC with wit, charm and beauty.” Townshend’s adoration of the Davies-fronted outfit shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given how indebted The Who were to The Kinks during their early days.
After all, Townshend wrote The Who’s debut single, ‘I Can’t Explain’, in an overt attempt to capture the same energy as The Kinks’ ‘You Really Got Me’, as a means of grabbing the attention of Kinks producer Shel Talmy. “I am quite simply a fan,” the guitarist wrote. “I am also a huge fan of the whole Kinks band – especially Dave Davies.”
Although the two bands quickly diversified their sound, each going in different directions – Townshend pursuing rock opera masterpieces like Tommy or Quadrophenia, while The Kinks tried everything from concept albums to country rock records – they do seem to share a fanbase. Both groups were closely associated with the mod subculture back in their early days, and that subculture has been much more enduring than most, thanks in part to subsequent generations of songwriters like Paul Weller (another artist who has had to repeatedly refuse calls to reunite with his old band).
Yet, while The Who have carried on touring the world, The Kinks dissolved almost 30 years ago and have yet to resurface. In that time, both Ray and Dave Davies embarked upon respective solo projects and extracurricular activities, but it is difficult to view the two musicians as anything other than The Kinks.
Now that the pair are 78 and 81, respectively, the potential for a reunion tour is increasingly slipping away. On the other hand, if The Kinks did reunite, it wouldn’t be the first time that a sibling rivalry has subsided in favour of music and, let’s be honest, massive cheques. So, perhaps there is life in The Kinks’ reunion hopes after all.
