The Kinks’ Dave Davies announces memoir ‘Living On A Thin Line’
"I’ve had a laugh, and shed quite a few tears, thinking back over the last six decades"
The Kinks’ guitarist Dave Davies has announced details of his new memoir, to be titled ‘Living On A Thin Line’.
The book will be published by Headline on July 22, 2022. A synopsis reads: “Dave Davies is the co-founder and lead guitarist of epoch-defining band The Kinks, a group with fifty million record sales to their name.
“In his autobiography, Davies revisits the glory days of the band that spawned so much extraordinary music, and which had such a profound influence on bands from The Clash and Van Halen to Oasis and Blur. “
It continues: “Full of tales of the tumultuous times and the ups-and-downs of his relationship with his brother Ray, along with encounters with the likes of John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix, this will be a glorious read for Kinks fans and anyone who wants to read about the heyday of rock ‘n’ roll.”
Davies said about the book: “I’ve had a laugh, and shed quite a few tears, thinking back over the last six decades since The Kinks had our first hit in 1964 with ‘You Really Got Me’.
“Here are the ups and downs of my life in The Kinks and what happened afterwards. Prepare to be amazed and, I hope, surprised.”
Davies’ brother Ray, The Kinks’ frontman, released an autobiography of his own in 2013. Titled ‘Americana’, it detailed his lifelong fascination with the music and culture of the United States, and his experiences of touring and living there.
It was followed by two accompanying albums, ‘Americana’ and ‘Our Country: Americana Act II’ in 2017 and 2018 respectively. The Kinks’ career was also the basis of the musical ‘Sunny Afternoon’, which premiered in 2014 and featured a selection of their songs.
The two brothers have long been rumoured for a reunion, and were reportedly working on new music in July 2019. In December last year, Ray Davies indicated that not much work had been done, saying: “I’d like to work with Dave again — if he’ll work with me.”
In an interview published the following month, Dave Davies said “We’ve been talking about it. I mean there’s a lot of material and, you know, it could still happen.”