61 Years Ago, the Kinks Were Banned From the U.S. After a Catastrophic Tour

The Kinks were among the many British groups to blow up in America in the 1960s, following up on the success The Beatles had. Following great success in the United Kingdom, the band, like all the other ones from the movement denominated the British Invasion, was offered a tour of the U.S. On paper, it sounded like a dream. Making it in America was the dream of many bands of that time, and it could really change their careers for the better.

However, from the very beginning, that tour seemed to be cursed. It was not a good moment in their personal lives to be leaving home for so long, not to mention the fact that their relationships within the band were not in good shape. But, after insistence from their manager, they eventually agreed. To say it didn’t go well would be an understatement. Everything that could have gone wrong, did, and it took years before they returned to the U.S.

The Kinks’ 1965 U.S. Tour Was Doomed From the Start

When The Kinks were offered a tour of the US in 1965, singer Ray Davies had just become a father. He was hesitant about leaving his wife at home alone with their baby, and eventually agreed to go when his family promised to take care of them. But that wasn’t the only problem they had with going. At the time, the band members weren’t getting along. Guitarist Dave Davies admitted that they “hated the sight of each other” in 1965, and spending weeks on end together 24 hours a day sounded like a nightmare.

“We would fly into a temper at the slightest provocation. I suppose, in a way, it was only natural when we spent so much time together,” Dave explained. So, needless to say, the proximity didn’t end well. The Kinks had a reputation for being aggressive in their shows and getting out of control. But unlike The Rolling Stones, who made scandal part of their brand, The Kinks were more shy and reserved when it came to the press, and it resulted in them getting negative attention.

The lack of actual promotion, and several errors in management, led to miscommunication and disagreements with the promoters. According to Ray Davies, when they arrived at the Dick Clark Show, “Some guy who said he worked for the TV company walked up and accused us of being late.” It evolved into a fight, and the guy told them that “once I file my report on you guys, you’ll never work in the U.S.A. again.” He wasn’t the only one who did it, and soon enough, their dream of taking over America fizzled.

The Kinks Were Banned from America, but it Turned Out for the Best

Like that man from the TV show, many promoters complained about the band, and eventually, the American Federation of Musicians ended up banning them from performing in the U.S. ““The reason we got banned was a mixture of bad agency, bad management, bad luck, and bad behavior,” Ray Davies explained at a book signing last year. It lasted for four years, until they signed a heartfelt apology. “We literally signed a confession — it was a confessional. We didn’t even read it.”

However, being banned from the U.S. led to them going back to their roots, and they stopped making music to reach the masses and instead focused on writing about what they truly wanted to. The result was their album “The Village Green Preservation Society,” was a protest album they had no expectations for. It came out in 1968 and it blew up in America. A year later, their ban was lifted.

“‘The Village Green [Preservation Society]’ was an anti-war album and there were many anti-war activists in America, particularly among young college students,” Ray Davies shared. “Somehow, this uncommercial record could spark off something in the American psyche. In a strange way, things were looking up. We were not selling records, but we had become a cult band. Perhaps the ban had been a blessing in disguise.”

This ban might have affected The Kinks in the short-term. Being banned from America could have ended their whole career. And yet, the band managed to not only find a way around it but to let it fuel them. They are still one of the most iconic bands in rock n’ roll.