Recommendations of the Editorial team
In an interview with The Guardian, Moby named the Kinks’ 1970 classic “Lola” as a song he “couldn’t listen to anymore” because of the lyrics. “The song popped up on a Spotify playlist and I found the lyrics disgusting and transphobic,” he said. “I like their early music, but I was really shocked at how half-baked the lyrics were.”
Kinks guitarist Dave Davies initially responded on Twitter, saying he was “deeply offended that Moby would in any way call my brother ‘immature’ or transphobic.” He also shared an unpublished essay by pioneering transgender artist Jayne County that she submitted for the 50th anniversary box set of Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One in 2020. In it, County described “Lola” as “one of those songs that ‘broke the ice’ for me, so to speak! A song that breaks down barriers and brings a previously hidden topic to the fore – while making it sound completely natural to sing a song about a ‘girl’ named Lola!”
When we spoke to Dave Davies to find out more, he revealed that he had recently spoken on the phone with his brother, Kinks frontman and “Lola” songwriter Ray Davies. “Ray said to me, ‘Who the hell is Moby?'” says Dave Davies. “I said, ‘Someone who’s doing pretty well. I don’t actually know the guy.'”
Davies listens to Moby
After the conversation, Davies sat down and listened to Moby’s 2000 hit “South Side” as well as a few other songs to get an idea of him. “I don’t really like to criticize anyone,” said Davies. “But I didn’t particularly like his music. And I don’t like him because he spreads all this crap about something that’s none of his business. I don’t think we should make a big deal about it… I really love animals. I appreciate Moby’s commitment to animals. But he’s just misinterpreting us.”
Davies also pointed out that Soft Cell frontman Marc Almond defended the song on Instagram. “For God’s sake,” Almond wrote, “a brilliant, funny, loving, wonderfully warm-hearted and truly groundbreaking song that tells a Soho story about a naive guy in the big city – one of my all-time favorites. Relax.” (A Moby spokesperson did not immediately respond to ROLLING STONE’s request for comment.)
The Kinks guitarist has led a very reclusive life in recent years, but is apparently planning to book some shows in the fall. “But not a hard-hitting rock concert,” he says. “I want to play something quieter.”
Plans for fall shows
“He had breakfast with Dennis Diken, the Smithereens’ drummer, and they’re talking about it,” adds Rebecca Wilson, Dave’s friend and assistant. “He’s also currently jamming with another guitarist. The shows are becoming more like MTV Unplugged and Tiny Desk concerts where he tells stories and sings.”
A fixed date has already been set: the Gene Simmons Legends of Rock Expo in Las Vegas at the end of September, where Dave will perform together with Simmons, Disturbed bassist John Moyer, Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice, Black Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice and Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick. “They do a big all-star band thing one night,” Wilson says. “Dave could come on stage.”
Despite all the arguments in the past, Dave says he currently gets along very well with Ray. “We get along really well,” says Dave, “really, really well.”
Kinks art exhibition in London
The two are also working with British painter Christian Furr on a Kinks art exhibition in London. “It’s based on a selfie that Ray and Dave took in a London photo booth in the late 1960s,” says Wilson. “Christian transferred the image to large canvases and made it look like Andy Warhol paintings. This will be a huge exhibition.”
The Kinks have been inactive for 30 years, and Ray and Dave’s only performance together since the split was a one-off performance of “You Really Got Me” at the Islington Assembly Hall in London in 2015.
Is a reunion in any form possible? “I don’t think so,” says Dave. “It doesn’t look like it. But who knows? I can’t answer that. I’m not sure.”
