page_title: The Kinks
section_title: Theatrical incarnation (1973–1976)
hierarchical_section_title: The Kinks / History / Theatrical incarnation (1973–1976)
caption_attribution_description: English: A promotional shot of en:Ray Davies, of en:The Kinks. He is in character as "Mr Flash" (See Weisbard, Eric: This is pop: in search of the elusive at Experience Music Project, ISBN 0674013212, p. 139), from the Preservation series of albums and theatrical works. This work qualifies as PD-PRE1978. It was created around 1974 (See Weisbard for dates of Preservation), and most firmly before 1976. It depicts Ray Davies in costume as a character from Preservation, a project which began in 1973 and ended in 1974 (See Erlewine, Stephen: The Kinks on Allmusic.com). RCA would have promoted the album's release from 1973-74, when both Act 1 and Act 2 were released. This work was most certainly published before 1978, as The Kinks departed from RCA for Arista Records in 1976 (See Erlewine). Note also the "exclusively on RCA," explaining that this was released at the time when The Kinks and Ray Davies were still under contract with the company. See here for original copy, with claim of exclusivity, logo, etc.
context_page_description: The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1964 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm and blues and Merseybeat, and were briefly part of the British Invasion of the United States until their touring ban in 1965. Their third single, the Ray Davies-penned "You Really Got Me", became an international hit, topping the charts in the United Kingdom and reaching the Top 10 in the United States. Their music was influenced by a wide range of genres, including American R&B and rock and roll initially, and later adopting British music hall, folk, and country. They gained a reputation for reflecting English culture and lifestyle, fuelled by Ray Davies' wittily observational writing style.
  Early works included albums such as Face to Face, Something Else, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, Arthur, Lola Versus Powerman, and Muswell Hillbillies, along with their accompanying singles.
context_section_description: In 1973, Ray Davies dived headlong into the theatrical style, beginning with the rock opera Preservation, a sprawling chronicle of social revolution, and a more ambitious outgrowth of the earlier Village Green Preservation Society ethos. In conjunction with the Preservation project, the Kinks' line-up was expanded to include a horn section and female backup singers, essentially reconfiguring the group as a theatrical troupe.
  Ray Davies' marital problems during this period began to affect the band adversely, particularly after his wife, Rasa, took their children and left him in June 1973. Davies became depressed; during a July gig at White City Stadium he told the audience he was "fucking sick of the whole thing", and was retiring. He subsequently collapsed after a drug overdose and was taken to hospital. With Ray Davies in a seemingly critical condition, plans were discussed for Dave to continue as frontman in a worst-case scenario. Ray recovered from his illness as well as his depression, but throughout the remainder of the Kinks' theatrical incarnation the band's output remained uneven, and their already fading popularity declined even more. John Dalton later commented that when Davies "decided to work again ... I don't think he was totally better, and he's been a different person ever since."
  Preservation Act 1 (1973) and Preservation Act 2 (1974) received generally poor reviews. The story on the albums involved an anti-hero called Mr Flash, and his rival and enemy Mr Black (played by Dave Davies during live shows), an ultra-purist and corporatist. Preservation Act 2 was the first album recorded at Konk Studio; from this point forward, virtually every Kinks studio recording was produced by Ray Davies at Konk. The band embarked on an ambitious US tour throughout late 1974, adapting the Preservation story for stage. Musicologist Eric Weisbard: "[Ray] Davies expanded the Kinks into a road troupe of perhaps a dozen costumed actors, singers and horn players. ... Smoother and tighter than on record, Preservation live proved funnier as well."
  Davies began another project for Granada Television, a musical called Starmaker. After a broadcast with Ray Davies in the starring role and the Kinks as both back-up band and ancillary characters, the project eventually morphed into the concept album The Kinks Present a Soap Opera, released in May 1975, in which Ray Davies fantasised about what would happen if a rock star traded places with a "normal Norman" and took a 9–5 job. In August 1975, the Kinks recorded their final theatrical work, Schoolboys in Disgrace, a backstory biography of Preservation's Mr Flash. The record was a modest success, peaking at number 45 on the Billboard charts.
caption: Ray Davies in character as Mr Flash, the anti-hero of the Preservation series
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