The Kinks' 1965 US tour

The English rock band the Kinks staged their first concert tour of the United States in June and July 1965. The sixteen concerts comprised the third stage of a world tour, following shows in Australasia, Asia and in the United Kingdom and before later stages in continental Europe. Initially one of the most popular British Invasion groups, the Kinks saw major commercial opportunity in the US, but the resultant tour was plagued with issues between the band, their management, local promoters and the American music unions. Promoters and union officials filed complaints over the Kinks' conduct, prompting the US musicians' union to withhold work permits from the band for the next four years, effectively banning them from US performance.

The programme was in the package-tour format typical of the 1960s, with one show per day, several support acts on the bill and the Kinks' set lasting around 40 minutes. Concerts were characterised by screaming fans and weak sound systems. The US press, which still largely viewed rock music as simple teenage entertainment, generally avoided reporting on the tour. Some shows were poorly attended, owing to a lack of advertising and promotion, leaving local promoters sometimes unable to pay the band the full amount they were due. A payment disagreement led to the band refusing to perform at the Cow Palace near San Francisco, and an argument over a union contract before a television appearance resulted in Ray Davies, the Kinks' bandleader, physically fighting with a union official.

The relationship between Ray and the Kinks' personal manager, Larry Page, was marked by continual friction. Bothered by Ray's behaviour, Page departed to England in the tour's final week, an action that the Kinks viewed as an abandonment. The band's subsequent efforts to dismiss Page led to a protracted legal dispute in English courts. Unable to promote their music in the US via tours or television appearances, the Kinks saw a decline in their American record sales. Cut off from the American music scene, Ray shifted his songwriting approach towards more overt English influences. Ray resolved the ban in early 1969, and the Kinks staged a comeback tour later that year, but they did not achieve regular commercial success in the country again until the late 1970s.

Background

In April 1965, the Kinks' personal manager Larry Page announced the band's intention to tour the United States. Initially planned to begin on 11 June, the tour would run for three weeks and would be the band's first in the country.^[1] The shows formed the third leg of a world tour, following concerts in January and February in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore, and concerts in the United Kingdom in April and May.^[2] Page began co-managing the Kinks in November 1963, around two months after the band's two other managers, Grenville Collins and Robert Wace,^[3] operating in a complicated three-manager set-up.^[4]

After witnessing the enormous commercial success experienced in the US by the Beatles in 1964, Page was hoping to break the Kinks into the American market before the Rolling Stones, who he felt had been underpromoted.^{[5][nb 1]} Like their contemporaries, the Kinks were part of the British Invasion, a cultural phenomenon where British pop acts experienced sudden popularity in the US.^[10][11] A second wave of British acts, including the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds and Them,^[12] entered the American charts in early 1965,^[13] and the Kinks were initially the most popular of these.^[12] Two of their earliest US singles – "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night", released in September and December 1964, respectively^[14] – had each reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, while their first US album was moderately successful,^[15] peaking at number 29 in the magazine's Top LPs chart in March 1965.^[16] As the Kinks appeared to be on the verge of major American success,^[17] the band and their management considered a US tour to be the next pivotal step in their career.^[18][19]

From 10 to 14 February 1965, while returning to Britain from the first leg of their world tour, the Kinks visited the US for the first time.^[20] The original plan had the band appearing on two musical variety programmes – Hullabaloo in New York and Shindig! in Los Angeles – along with two concert dates, but only the Hullabaloo appearance went ahead.^[21] When the band appeared on the programme,^[22] they angered trade union officials by initially refusing to sign paperwork with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), the US performers' union.^[21][23] Joining the union was a requirement of the Kinks' appearance,^[21][23] but the band were not convinced that it was necessary.^[24] Two weeks after the band's visit, their US label Reprise Records issued "Tired of Waiting for You" as a single in the US.^[25] It subsequently reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100,^[26] making it the Kinks' third consecutive top ten single in the US.^[22] To capitalise on the nationwide publicity the band were experiencing,^[22] Reprise rushed out a second album in late March, Kinks-Size,^[27] which peaked at number 13 in the third week of June,^[28] the same week the US tour commenced.^[29]

By early 1965, the Kinks had developed a reputation for violence and aggression,

The US shows were in the package-tour format typical of the 1960s. The Kinks and the Moody Blues were set to be joint headliners,^[43] but when the Moody Blues were unable to enter the country after having been denied US visas,^[44][45] they were replaced with different acts at various stages of the tour, including the Supremes, the Dave Clark Five and Sonny & Cher.^[43] Local groups and musicians performed as support acts, including Paul Peterson, Dick and Dee Dee, the Hollywood Argyles, the Rivieras and Dobie Gray, among others.^[46] Rather than headlining at the shows in California on 3 and 4 July, the Kinks instead appeared as one of several support acts for the American rock band the Beach Boys.^[47][48][49]

The shows ran for several hours,^[50] the Kinks' set usually lasting for around 40 minutes.^[51][52] On Page's recommendation, they based their shows around their first hit single "You Really Got Me". To generate anticipation, they played the opening bars of the song at the start of each concert before abruptly switching to a different number. They performed a complete version of the song midway through the set and repeated it during their encore.^[51]

The band wore matching red

Dave began the tour with his main guitar, a black Guild archtop electric with two Guild humbucking pick-ups and a Bigsby tailpiece,^[64] a custom-built instrument originally meant for Beatle George Harrison.^[65] The guitar was lost by an airline when the band flew to Los Angeles,^[66] and because the band did not travel with spare guitars, Dave was obliged to find a replacement at a local music shop.^[67] He bought a 1958 Gibson Flying V, which he debuted on Shindig! on 1 July.^[47][68] Dave played the guitar at chest-height, placing his arm through the cut-out V shape at the guitar's base.^{[65][nb 3]}

The Kinks were accompanied on tour by Page and road manager Sam Curtis, who was hired two months earlier, before the band's recent UK tour.^[72] Page saw his own role as mainly promotional, dealing with stage management and public relations, while Curtis handled custodial duties, such as organising transport, meals and sleeping arrangements.^[73] In the final week of the US tour, California businessman Don Zacharlini stood in as temporary tour manager in Page's place.^[47] Collins and Wace, who generally focused on office work,^[74] remained in the UK for the duration of the tour.^[59][75] The band were regularly visited by their publisher Edward Kassner, who took time to promote Ray's songwriting catalogue; the band's publicist Brian Sommerville and booking agent Arthur Howes arrived three weeks before the start of the tour to perform advance work. The tour was booked through Ken Kendall Associates in New York City.^[76]

Tour

Final preparations

After announcing the tour, Page made several changes to the itinerary. He announced different dates in press releases before delaying the start by a week to 17 June,^[77] something necessitated by Dave's head injury in Cardiff.^[78][79] Early plans included different locations, including a Canadian show, probably for Vancouver, on 11 July.^[80] By 16 June, five of 16 finalised shows were cancelled, prompting the addition of hastily arranged concerts in downstate Illinois, Denver and Honolulu.^[29]

The Kinks signed contracts for the tour on 16 June at Denmark Productions,^[29] the London offices of Page and Kassner.^[82] Among the forms were applications to join the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), the US musicians' union.^[29][79] The union's main purpose was to regulate the movement and placement of professional musicians in America,^[83] and joining was a requirement for working in the country.^[84] Concerned that foreign workers would take away jobs from American citizens, the AFM in 1964 initially opposed allowing any British rock musicians to perform in the US.^[85] British groups often found the regulations of the AFM and AFTRA overly complicated,^[86] and some complained about the requirements to pay hundreds of dollars in fees for each visit.^[87] Ray initially expressed reservations about signing the necessary paperwork;^[88] after working a union job as a teenager, he had come to see trade unions as needlessly corrupt and militant.^[89] Page instead ascribed Ray's hesitance to his tendency towards prima donna–like behaviour.^[88]

Each of the Kinks had held romantic notions about the US since they were young,^[24][90] but Ray was apprehensive about visiting the country, having become more cynical after the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy in November 1963.^[91] He worried in part how American police would respond to the Kinks' sometimes violent intra-band disputes,^[88] especially since only a month had passed since the incident in Cardiff.^[91] He was further disappointed by the poor financial returns of the band's February visit and was unhappy about leaving his wife Rasa at home with their first-born child, who was born weeks earlier in mid-May.^[92] Ray agreed to go after receiving assurances from his father that he would help Rasa take care of the baby.^[93]

Arrival and first week

External audio
Clay Cole Meets the Kinks, 17 June

The Kinks departed London at midday on 17 June and arrived in New York City early that afternoon. The same day of their arrival, the band appeared on The Clay Cole Show to promote their latest single "Set Me Free",^[29][94] which entered the Hot 100 the week before and peaked a month later at number 23.^[95] The tour's first show occurred the following day at the Academy of Music, a cinema in New York City.^[29] The appearance was beset by issues; the band were disappointed by the old venue's facilities and the theatre's employees, who showed open contempt to those in the rock and roll business. The venue's marquee initially incorrectly advertised "The Kings", and a dispute arose when the Kinks, the Supremes and the Dave Clark Five realised that promoter Sid Bernstein had promised each group that they would be topping the bill.^[96][97] Problems continued at the following day's performance in Philadelphia, where Page was arrested and briefly jailed for failing to pay a local tax as demanded by a union official.^[52][98]

The Kinks' audience, many of whom were teenage girls, were prone to fanatical behaviour.^[100][101] Curtis recalled women following the band throughout the tour out of sexual interest, especially for Dave.^[102] Upon their arrival in New York, the band were unable to enter their hotel for about two hours owing to a large crowd; and on other nights fans clung to the side of their moving vehicle or smashed its windows with their fists.^[101] After fans rushed the Kinks at the conclusion of their concert in Chicago, police and security guarded the stage at a show two nights later in Springfield, Illinois.^[99] To keep the fans further at bay during the tour,^[100] police escorted the band throughout the day and were posted at their hotel.^[103][104]

Tensions among the Kinks remained high during the tour.^[105][106] Since the incident in Cardiff, Dave and Avory had generally stopped speaking to one another,^[106] and Page later recalled separating the group to prevent more fighting.^[59][105] He further recalled that bassist Pete Quaife was generally a calming influence among his bandmates, but he remained hesitant to take sides.^[105] Throughout the tour, Page experienced regular issues from Ray, who often pestered his manager to amuse himself.^[107][108] Page described Ray as behaving like a prima donna, and Curtis suggested that Ray regularly sought to annoy anyone whose interest in him was entirely financial.^[109] While the other Kinks went out to clubs, Ray spent much of his free time during the tour alone in his hotel room, disappointed he was not at home with Rasa and their newborn.^[24]

The Kinks' shows received little to no coverage in local newspapers, as most journalists viewed the band and rock music more broadly as simple teenage entertainment.

The Kinks were disappointed by the tour's early financial returns, which left them staying in inexpensive hotels and travelling mostly by coach.^{[24][nb 6]} The band and their management experienced regular issues with local promoters, who often looked for reasons to avoid paying the full amount required by contract.^[122] Having been hastily arranged only weeks earlier, the band's shows in downstate Illinois were poorly advertised and poorly run,^[52] contributing to a growing feeling among the band that the tour was not meeting their original expectations.^{[52][123][nb 7]} The band's 25 June concert in Reno, Nevada, was poorly attended because of both a lack of advertising and its conflicting with the opening day of the popular Annual Reno Rodeo. Kaye offered the band half of the agreed payment upfront, promising them the rest after the next night's performance in Sacramento, California.^[62][98] In retaliation, Page threatened to sue her, and the Kinks only performed for 20 minutes rather than the 40 minutes originally contracted. At the Sacramento show, Kaye was further offended when the Kinks played for 45 minutes but filled much of their set with a prolonged version of "You Really Got Me".^[103]

Promotional work

From 27 June to 2 July, the Kinks had a week off from concerts, during which time they mostly did promotional work in Hollywood, California. The band lip-synched performances on the television programmes Shivaree, The Lloyd Thaxton Show, Shindig! and Dick Clark's variety show Where the Action Is. At the same time, Kassner promoted Ray's songwriting catalogue around Los Angeles. By the end of the week he had secured four agreements, including from Peggy Lee, who recorded "I Go to Sleep" as a single.^{[119][nb 8]} The same week, Page met Cher as she finished sessions for her debut album at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood, and he convinced her to record "I Go to Sleep" as well.^{[119][nb 9]}

Cher's recording inspired Page, who booked studio time for the Kinks at Gold Star on 30 June.

The Kinks were the featured performers on Shindig! for the week of 1 July, and the band selected "Long Tally Shorty" to play as the show's closing number. Rather than have the band mime to the version they recorded for their first LP, AFM requirements dictated that a new backing track be made, which the show's house band the Shindogs recorded at a separate evening session on 30 June. The Kinks attended the session, but Dave was the only one of them who appeared on the recording, contributing rhythm guitar.^[119] Among the Shindogs was lead guitarist James Burton, whom the Kinks were especially excited to meet, having known him for his guitar solos on many of Ricky Nelson's hits; Ray later recalled that getting to play with Burton was both "the biggest thrill" and "the only good thing" to happen during the tour.^{[119][nb 11]}

On 2 July, the Kinks appeared at the Cinnamon Cinder club in North Hollywood for a daytime shoot of Where the Action Is.^[47] While waiting beforehand in the band's dressing room,^[134] Dave refused to sign a contract presented to the band by AFTRA.^[47] The refusal prompted a union official to threaten to have the Kinks banned from ever playing in the US again.^[47] After a further exchange of words, a physical altercation occurred between the official and Ray,^[47] which ended when Ray punched him in the face.^[135] Ray later said the worker taunted the Kinks by calling them "communists", "limey bastards" and "fairies".^[135] He also recalled:

I remember a guy came down – they kept on harassing us for various reasons ... and this guy kept going on at me about, "When the Commies overrun Britain you're really going to want to come here, aren't you?" I just turned around and hit him, about three times. I later found out that he was a union official.^[136]

Final week

Ray's fight with the union official on 2 July marked a low point on the tour for him,^[47] a depression exacerbated by the absence of Rasa.^[137][138] The following day, after the afternoon soundcheck at the Hollywood Bowl, Ray informed Page that he was not going to perform the evening's show.^[47] Advertised as "The Beach Boys Summer Spectacular",^[47] the concert had the Kinks billed highest among the Beach Boys' ten support acts.^[48][139] Page regarded the concert as the pinnacle of the tour and an opportunity to present the Kinks as a second Beatles, and he later recalled trying to convince Ray to perform: "I spent all day pleading, begging, grovelling – and this was after a very heavy tour ... it was totally degrading for me."^[137] Ray demanded of Page that Rasa and Quaife's girlfriend Nicola be flown out to see them, and Page contacted Collins back in London to arrange the flight.^[140] Ray agreed to perform,^[47] and the concert proceeded as normal in front of around 15,000 concertgoers.^[141][142] Rasa and Nicola arrived in Los Angeles after the show and joined the group for the remainder of the tour.^[47][143]

After weeks of being agitated by Ray's behaviour, Page lost his patience at the Hollywood Bowl.^[144] He abruptly departed back to London on the morning of 4 July.^[47][137] In his place, he arranged for the band to be led by both Curtis and temporary tour manager Don Zacharlini, a local businessman who owned a chain of laundromats.^[145] Page advised Dave, Quaife and Avory of his intentions but did not tell Ray, who learned of Page's absence later that day. Ray was incensed by what he saw as an abandonment of the band; after expressing his feelings to his bandmates, the group decided that they would extricate Page from their business dealings upon their return to the UK.^[47]

The same day as Page's departure, the Kinks arrived at the Cow Palace near San Francisco for an afternoon show as part of "The Beach Boys' Firecracker". The promoter, again Kaye, lost a significant amount of money when only 3,500 tickets were sold out of 14,000. The Kinks demanded to be paid upfront, but a lack of cash receipts meant that she was only able to offer a cheque. In light of their earlier pay disputes with her in Reno and Sacramento, the band refused to perform the San Francisco show.^[47]

Despite the absence of Page,^[75] the final week of the tour proceeded generally without incident.^[146] The band arrived in Hawaii on 5 July and held two concerts in Honolulu the following day,^[47] including a show for US Army troops at Schofield Barracks.^[147] Ray had expected Hawaii to be overly commercialised, but he was charmed by the islands' quiet beaches; he later named it his best holiday ever,^[110][148] and Rasa described her time there with Ray as like a second honeymoon.^[149] After an off-day spent in Waikiki, the band flew to Washington state and held three concerts, concluding the tour in Seattle on 10 July.^{[110][nb 12]}

Aftermath

Return to England and dismissal of Larry Page

Quaife and Avory remained in the US for an extra ten days sightseeing southern California with Zacharlini;^[110][153] Ray and Dave arrived home in London on 11 July and immediately conveyed their angry feelings about Page to Wace.^[110] Page was initially unaware of the others' plans to oust him, and though Ray and Wace continued to be friendly in their interactions with him, the two met with a solicitor on 2 August to begin planning the separation.^[154][155] The following day, Ray arrived unannounced at a Sonny & Cher recording session at which Page was present, angrily objecting to the duo recording one of his compositions,^[154] "Set Me Free", while also expressing his wish for Page to terminate involvement with the Kinks.^[127]

The Kinks resumed their world tour in Sweden on 1 September, accompanied only by Curtis.^[156] The following day, Wace and Collins' firm Boscobel Productions served a legal notice advising Page and Kassners' firm Denmark Productions that the Kinks intended to terminate their existing contract.^[157][158] Page filed litigation in November over his subsequent remuneration,^[159][160] leading to a protracted legal dispute between the two parties in London's High Court in May and June 1967, followed by the Court of Appeal from March to June 1968.^[161][162] Key aspects of each of the hearings centred on whether Page's departure to London in the final week of the US tour constituted a legal abandonment, something which generated disagreement among the three justices hearing the appeal.^[163][164] Page was only partially successful, when both courts awarded him compensation up to 14 September 1965.^[165][166] The management dispute ended on 9 October 1968, when a final appeal filed by Page was rejected.^{[167][nb 13]}

American performance ban

Following the issues between the Kinks and promoter Betty Kaye in Reno, Sacramento and San Francisco,^[98][171] she filed a formal complaint with Local 6,^[135] the San Francisco branch of the AFM.^[172] Union officials in Los Angeles and likely San Francisco filed further complaints.^{[171][nb 14]} In response, the AFM withheld future work permits from the Kinks,^[145] in effect banning the band from future US performance.^{[175][nb 15]}

The AFM made no public statements regarding their action against the Kinks,^[179] nor did they communicate to the band an explanation or possible duration.^{[175][179][nb 16]} The Kinks hoped to return to the US soon after,^[110][180] but four tours booked for between December 1965 and December 1966 were each cancelled a month beforehand after the band proved unable to obtain work visas.^[181] Anticipating further visa issues, they declined an invitation to the Monterey International Pop Festival,^[182][183] a June 1967 Californian music festival which elevated the American popularity of several acts.^{[184][185][nb 17]} Plans to tour the US in December 1967 and December 1968 similarly fell through after more visa denials.^[189]

The AFM's ban on the Kinks persisted for four years.^[174] Ray negotiated with the union to lift it when he visited Los Angeles in April 1969.^[190] As part of the agreement, the AFM required the Kinks and their management to write apologies to Kaye^[191] and refrain from discussing the matter publicly.^[192] Ray, Dave and the band's management were vague in explaining the situation in interviews over ensuing decades.^{[193][nb 18]} Asked for comment in December 1969 by Rolling Stone magazine, the union stated that it had no official paperwork regarding a ban on the Kinks but added that the reciprocity agreement between the AFM and the British Musicians' Union allowed either organisation to withhold permits from acts which "behave badly on stage or fail to show for scheduled performances without good reason".^[180][196] Other AFM officials subsequently said that the Kinks were banned on the grounds of "unprofessional conduct".^{[197][nb 19]} The biographer Thomas M. Kitts alternatively suggests that the AFM's sanctions against the Kinks were motivated by a desire "to make an example of some young English musicians who, the union believed, were taking work from Americans". Kitts adds that the Kinks proved an easier target than the Rolling Stones, who, despite their presentation as one of teenage rebellion, often remained on agreeable terms with officials and promoters.^{[145][197][nb 20]}

In later interviews, Ray regularly cited the ban as producing a pivot in his songwriting towards English-focused lyrics.^[202] The situation left the Kinks comparatively isolated from American influence and changes in its music scene,^[203] guiding the band away from their earlier blues-based riffing towards a distinctly English style.^[204][205] While American songwriters explored the emerging drug culture and genre of psychedelia,^[206] Ray focused on English musical influences like music hall.^[205][207] Ray later suggested that visiting America ended his envy of the country's music,^[110] leading him to abandon attempts to "Americanise" his accent while withdrawing into what he later termed "complete Englishness and quaintness".^[208]

The American ban hampered the development of the Kinks' career. Unable to promote their music in the US via tours or television appearances, they saw a decline in their American record sales.

The Kinks played for around 40 minutes,[51]^[52] but no complete set lists from the US tour are known to band biographers.^[46] Below are examples of set lists from the second and fifth legs of the world tour, roughly two months before and three months after the US tour, respectively:^[222]

Tour dates

According to band researcher Doug Hinman:^{[46][nb 22]}

Note

• The above table includes neither those shows which were cancelled before the tour began nor those dates which were not finalised.^[46] The cancelled shows were in Indianapolis, Louisville, Rockford, San Jose and San Diego, planned for 20, 22, 23 June and 2 and 5 July, respectively.^[224] Tentative dates planned for 9–16 June but never finalised included Manchester, Wappingers Falls, Boston, Providence, New Haven, Bridgeport, Hartford and Youngstown, as well as Vancouver on 11 July.^[29]

Notes