Kinks frontman Ray Davies: We came back from US tour just to watch Arsenal

Telegraph

11-07-2025

Sunny Afternoon by The Kinks became part of the national psyche, taking the coveted No 1 slot when it meant something, during the early stages of the 1966 World Cup. 'We were touring during the entire World Cup,' explains a frustrated Ray Davies. 'But we managed to see the final on TV. The band all came to my house, we were supposed to leave and drive to Exeter where we had a gig but the match went to extra time which made us late'.
Songwriting, family and football are inseparable for Sir Ray Davies, who turned 81 last month. Prior to owning a television, the radio and live matches were vital cultural touchstones. 'Before we got a TV, we would gather around the Bush radio in the kitchen when the Arsenal were playing'.
He adds that his future hits were not crafted to achieve success but to soundtrack Saturday night. 'A lot of my songs were written for my family to sing along to,' he explains. 'When I heard my dad singing Sunny Afternoon, I knew it would be a hit.'
When not in the North Bank or the East Stand for games at Highbury, Davies was attending William Grimshaw Secondary Modern School alongside fellow football fan and budding musician Rod Stewart. As he explains: 'I remember 'Rod the Mod' as we used to call him; he was a formidable tackler. We didn't play together as we were in different school houses, although we did play games in Los Angeles at the park.'
Growing up in the deprivation of post-war London, Ray suffered from poor health. Along with his brother Dave, the only other consistent member of The Kinks, they absorbed music-hall culture and the melancholic crooner Al Bowlly. The upright piano in his front room – and his banjo-playing Arsenal-supporting father – provided a window to another world.
'The [football] result would always determine the mood around the house on a Saturday night. When the match didn't go our way, Dad would even sometimes give the front room a miss and have a few drinks on his own in the pub. This would allow Dave and me to play the music of our generation, such as Buddy Holly.'
His father, Fred, was a notable and direct influence on his son's writing. Released later that year in 1966, Dead End Street challenged the idealism of the era and Swinging London. 'My dad talked about the stock-market crash and subsequent mass unemployment before I was born, and this probably rubbed off on me,' Davies recalls. Poetic character studies of English daily life, such as on Autumn Almanac and particularly the line 'I like my football on a Saturday' could have been about Davies.
'Arsenal was part of our family background, Dad was a big supporter and would go regularly to matches. My brother Dave and I were taken to games as soon as we could walk. Dad would pass on memories to us of players who were around before our time. My sister, Gwen, would sometimes go because she had a secret crush on the goalkeeper Jack Kelsey.'
The seventh of eight children born into a working-class family, Davies remembers one player stubbing a cigarette out on his hand before running on to the pitch and another downing a half-bottle of whisky before the second half of a cup final. The sense of anticipation on match day has never faded.
'Dave and I would get on the 212 bus at the top of Muswell Hill and ride to Finsbury Park, get off and then walk to the ground, hearing the crowds chanting in the distance and feeling that sense of expectation.'
Football remained part of the backdrop when The Kinks became a success. 'We even came back for a game when we had a few days off during a US tour, and we managed to play a match with the Showbiz XI before returning to America.'
The charity side, established in 1957, raised money for a range of causes and featured well-known public figures, musicians, actors, ex-players and industry insiders.
Davies says: 'In the early days of the Showbiz XI, it was televised live. I started playing in the late 1960s; it's fair to say that most of the players were frustrated footballers, including myself.'
At one notable game, Dave was sent off for calling the ref 'fatty'. I was captain for the day and protested to the ref, who promptly sent me off as well.'
The Kinks were at their most potent when, much like Oasis, the brothers combined forces and turned their grievances away from each other. Another British No 1 You Really Got Me (1964) is credited by some as having invented heavy metal and punk while shaping the output of subsequent generations. 'I would agree to a certain extent,' suggests Davies, 'because it's a simple riff that can be adopted by many genres'.
Much like Noel and Liam Gallagher, who love Manchester City, or Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant, who adores Wolverhampton Wanderers, staying loyal to a childhood football club retains an active link to bygone days. Davies also celebrates modern aspects of the game as much as its cherished past. 'Football has become multilingual and multinational, which is a good thing.'
He adds: 'Highbury was magical, the atmosphere was unrivalled. It was a tough act to follow but the Emirates is getting close and the toilets smell better! When I've been to the Emirates, I sometimes go to the guest box and find myself sitting there next to ex-players, for example, Liam Brady and Tony Adams.'
While David Bowie was not a football supporter, he did develop a fleeting obsession with England's national team during the 2002 World Cup and was once photographed wearing the 1996 edition England grey away shirt in New York with his daughter Lexi (around 2006).
'We did Carnegie Hall together', Davies says of meeting Bowie in 2003 for a live rendition of Waterloo Sunset. 'When working out who should sing what, we agreed to impersonate one another on the solo parts, and it went very well. We became good friends after that and would message each other regularly.'
We finish where it all began, even now he views the club with his father in mind. 'Declan Rice would have been one of my dad's favourites, he had all the qualities that Dad would have appreciated, a hard-working and skilful player.'