“Sunny Afternoon” is The Kink’s Musical, currently showing at Richmond Theatre and I would urge not only Kink’s fans to go and see it, but also those who don’t know much about the band and their history. The electrifying story is based on the formation and career of the English rock band The Kinks, the band that changed rock music forever. Their music is understandably the thread, setting the story to a soundtrack of era defining songs that brings the sound of the 60’s roaring back to life. It offers a fascinating insight into the history of the band and you certainly leave with a far greater understanding of the depth and context of their vast array of songs.
The semi-biographical story is set against the backdrop of political and social change in the 1960’s. It examines the early years of the two brothers, Ray and Dave Davies and how they started their band in a Muswell Hill bedroom in 1962 and then expanded to include Mick Avory and Pete Quaife to become one of the most influential bands of all time. After some initial failure, they experimented and created a distorted power chord sound, by slashing their speaker and developing the raw edge they were looking for on their third single “You Really Got Me” that sent them to No.1 in the UK charts in 1964 and preceded a string of hits.
The “Sunny Afternoon” Musical is a combination of the music and lyrics by Ray Davies and a book by Joe Penhall and opened initially in 2014 with a world premiere at Hampstead Theatre before transferring to the West End for two successful years and now luckily the “indisputably terrific” (The Times) musical is back, ten years later and can still move us with it’s rock and roll story of friendship and rebellion – and of course banging anthems. The set design by multi award winning stage designer Miriam Buether was very impressive.
Woven into the music are the themes of the brothers sibling rivalry, management problems, their sister’s untimely death, violent interludes and their subsequent banning from the United States for four years following a dispute with the musician’s union.
Ray Davies is a poet of the kitchen sink variety who has created an impressive oeuvre of love songs to Britain and it was wonderful to be reminded of that in such a joyful, upbeat 2 hours and 45 minutes (with an interval) of entertainment. The crowd at Richmond Theatre were a mixture of young and old and it was lovely to see parents out with their adult children all up on their feet cheering and dancing. They most certainly got a standing ovation for their spectacular show.
The band members were all brilliant, Ray Davies (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) is played by Danny Horn who has a wonderful voice and stage presence and Dave Davies (lead guitar, vocals) played by Oliver Hoare is mesmeric. He certainly rocks the Harry Styles vibe and is brilliantly athletic and charismatic, even at one point swinging from the chandelier and playing the angry younger brother role very skilfully. Mick Avory (drums, percussion) is played by Zakarie Stokes and he gives us a drum solo that is up there with some of the best I’ve ever heard. Pete Quaife (bass) is played by Harry Curley and they all work well together. The girls that perform in various roles throughout, mostly dancing and singing, but also being air hostesses are all perfectly cast.
There’s something about Ray’s inspirational poetic lyrics and social satire, together with their big band style that’s naturally inspired numerous bands that have come after them. The fact that they were banned from the USA was actually a blessing for all the British fans, as they returned to their roots to produce some of the best known, most loved Brit Pop music. It makes them one of the most influential and successful bands to emerge from the 60’s, with 14 Top 10 international hits and it made me go straight home and start listening to them all over again.
“Sitting In My Hotel” and “I Go To Sleep”, sung beautifully with his (first) wife Rasa (played by Lisa Wright) reminds us that Noel and Liam Gallagher weren’t the only warring brothers in rock to turn sibling rivalry into an art form (it’s got a “Champagne Supernova” vibe). Throughout the musical we witness numerous onstage fights and anger that doesn’t always stay below the surface. The violence often involved the drummer Mick Avory, who actually graced us with his presence at the end of the show to say a few words and was a huge bonus for us in the audience. I love how old rockers never seem to lose their original hairstyle:-
“Hello You, Hello Me” offers us a beautiful insight into the emotion that was involved with the near break up of the band and gave us a deeper understanding of what they were all going through.
When we witnessed the creation of “Waterloo Sunset” we were reminded that it’s not just about the words, but about the atmosphere and it was cleverly portrayed that for them it was all about home. It’s no wonder that Ray Davies was invited to perform his love song to London at the 2012 Olympics.
The song “Sunny Afternoon” was joyful and beautifully set against the backdrop of what was happening at the time. It became the definitive sound of the 60’s summer and the ultimate soundtrack to the England World Cup win in 1966.
Many of their other hits were covered including “Lola” and “Days.” Just as a fun fact, “Stop Your Sobbing” and “I Go To Sleep” are two of my favourite Kinks songs and notably also made famous by Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, who has a daughter with Ray Davies. I learnt so much about their story and it made me love them all over again.
