Dave Davies reignites feud with The Beatles: “John Lennon didn’t like The Kinks”
The Kinks musician Dave Davies has reignited his old feud with the late John Lennon, after claiming the Beatle never liked his band.
Davies and his brother Ryan often supported the Fab Four at the start of their career, as both bands played a critical role in the so-called British Invasion.
While speaking at the launch of a new art exhibition with British portrait artist Christian Furr at Gibson Garage London, Davies stirred up the old rivalry with a pointed comment: “John Lennon didn’t like The Kinks, he really didn’t.”
Laughing, Davies added, as per The Daily Mirror: “In fact, John Lennon didn’t really like anybody! George Harrison was the only one I really liked. He was the nicest guy. Paul McCartney wrote a few decent songs, yeah.”
Davies has commented on the elusive singer before, after reminiscing how Lennon was protective of his musical gear: Davies once complained he “wouldn’t let us touch anything. ‘Don’t you dare touch those!’ He was a paranoid guy, but funny.”
However, Davies would soon follow up these comments with a different confession: “I think [The Beatles] liked me, mostly because he knew I didn’t give a shit. My attitude wasn’t down to inner resentment, like his was.”
As the story goes, Lennon previously insulted The Kinks while sharing a stage with them in August 1964. He jokingly told Ray Davies, “Look lads, if you forget your songs you can use one of ours.”
That same night, The Kinks brought out all the stops and played a live version of their chart-hit ‘You Really Got Me’ so well that the crowd appeared more enthralled with the openers than the Fab Four.
As a result, The Beatles’ management allegedly went on to move them down the pecking order of acts.
In response to the headline of his latest comments, Davies shared The Daily Mirror article via X, clarifying, “I like the Beatles and I do appreciate all the kind words Paul McCartney has said about the Kinks.”
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.