The Kinks’ frontman Ray Davies has named the song that he doesn’t enjoy being compared to The Beatles. It is not unusual for the two bands to be compared, given that they were both making music around the same time. However, not everyone enjoyed to be compared with the rock band and this is definitely true in Davies’ case.
During interviews throughout the years, the frontman has made comments alluding to this and attempte to draw some distance between the British rock bands.
In one instance, while the band was receiving a compliment, Davies was quick to shut it down. An interviewer suggested that The Kinks were listened to as much as The Beatles at one point, but Davies came back and said: “No, we weren’t, never.”
He added:”I think we were more unpopular than they were.”
However, it happened again with their music as people would often listen and connect their decisions to what The Beatles were doing at the same time. Davies once again set the record straight and explained that their influences went a lot further back than their contempories. An example of this was when someone once said: I’ll Remember sounded similar to The Beatles, but Davies stated that it was actually Buddy Holly who had inspired the band.
“I’ll Remember? No, no, bulls***. It’s a song written on the sixth. Buddy Holly! I wrote it on a harmonica in Seattle, which is in Washington,” the singer explained.
Despite all of this however, that didn’t mean the Kinks’ frontman was not a fan of some of The Beatles work, he just did not beleive it was comparable to the music of The Kinks.
He also said in an interview: “I liked Love Me Do. When it came out, I thought it was an American surfing song. Totally unsurfer. But I did think it was an American group.”
So despite their musical differences, Davies was still a fan of The Beatles.