Ray & Dave Davies of The Kinks interview, Ireland 1994

The Kinks founders Ray and Dave Davies on how the band has endured despite their sometimes feisty relationship.

The brothers Ray and Dave Davies formed the influential rock band The Kinks in London in 1963. They joined the actor, writer, director, and Monty Python member Terry Jones and the New York-based performance artist Penny Arcade as guests on ‘The Late Late Show’.

Ray and Dave Davies have a complex relationship. Over the years they have regularly come to blows.

You beat each other up so much, in the end there’s nothing else to do but to make a truce.

The Kinks have released 24 albums in a recording career spanning three decades. Ray Davies thinks they have managed to keep the band together because,

We're amateurs at heart.

Dave Davies interjects,

Ray's an amateur, I'm a professional.

Pressed by Terry Jones on what he means by amateur Ray Davies explains,

It's that aspect of our music that is doing it for fun.

Dave Davies adds,

Also not to take things too seriously.

The Kinks 1970 hit song ‘Lola’ was almost banned by the BBC for its reference to Coca-Cola. Ray Davies changed the offending lyric to cherry-cola. The more controversial subject at the time of cross-dressing went unnoticed.

It genuinely ended up as a love song.

Hearing ‘Lola’ had a huge impact on Penny Arcade as a 19-year-old,

When it came out, for the gay population, it was like, wow, look here's social commentary in rock and roll that includes everybody.

Tongue firmly in cheek Ray Davies agrees,

Well, I'm a very serious social commentator.

This episode of ‘The Late Late Show’ was broadcast on 14 October 1994. The presenter is Gay Byrne.