“The Kinks exploded onto the 60s music scene with a raw, energetic new sound that rocked a nation. But how did that happen, where exactly did they come from and what happened next?”
When it comes to the British Invasion there’s one band that probably comes to mind right away: The Beatles, of course. Maybe Herman’s Hermits, the Zombies, Dave Clark Five—if you know a lot about music. But there’s a band you might also know mainly from their hit “You Really Got Me” (covered by Van Halen, in case you were living under a rock the past 30 years) among many other favorites. And now many years later after the Kinks are still celebrating their musical success with a new hit live show Sunny Afternoon at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London.
With music by Kinks founder and lead singer Ray Davies also serving as executive producer of the musical, there will be an astounding 29 track soundtrack to go along with the band’s stories of the ups and downs working in the music industry during the paradigm shift from the conservative 50s to the 60s. The tracklist is likely to include Kinks favorites like “Set Me Free”, “Waterloo Sunset”, “All the Day and all of the Night”, and quite fittingly, “Sunny Afternoon”.
The Kinks musical will run through May, and hopefully we can expect to see Sunny Afternoon grace the US stages soon because I would not mind the slightest bit singing along to a great band I’ve always loved.
(photos via Sunny Afternoon & Love Theatre)