As a young musician in England in the 1960s, David Gilmour witnessed the evolution of an incredible musical scene that gave the world countless legendary bands and some of the greatest albums of all time. Pink Floyd, which he joined in 1967 and helped transform into one of the biggest bands around, was one of them.
But there were many other groups, such as The Kinks, which, despite being highly successful and influential, were still considered “too British”, especially in their lyrics. Some people believe this may have hindered their chances of achieving greater global success. Over the decades, David Gilmour has shared his opinions on many bands from that era, including the one led by brothers Ray and Dave Davies.
What is David Gilmour’s opinion on The Kinks
David Gilmour has always been a huge fan of The Kinks and thinks that “Waterloo Sunset” is the perfect Pop song. “I don’t think you can’t get a more perfect Pop song than ‘Waterloo Sunset’ and never even made number 1. I’ve seen a list of great number ones and I was looking for it and it wasn’t there, I realized. But it is probably the most perfect imagery, music and all tied together into that little moment of musical perfection. So I would love to have written that song,” he said in an interview with BBC Radio 2 show “Tracks Of My Years” back in 2006 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).
Three years before he had already mentioned that song to BBC when picking which tracks he would take to a desert island. “The first track (I would choose to take to a desert island) is ‘Waterloo Sunset’ by The Kinks. On a lovely warm beach to listen to this in somewhere else sunset and missing London would be a wonderful moment,” he said.
More recently, in an interview with Rick Beato, he also mentioned that song when asked if there is a perfect one. “Well, I bet a lot of people would say ‘Waterloo Sunset,’” David said, referring to the classic 1967 Kinks tune. “And I think that would certainly be up there for me.”
The Pink Floyd song David Gilmour said was inspired by The Kinks
Growing up in England, David Gilmour naturally was very influenced by the local bands like The Kinks. Interestingly, he once said that they were an inspiration for Pink Floyd’s “Fat Old Sun”.
“It’s one of those songs where the whole thing fell together very easily. I remember thinking at the time, ‘What have I ripped this off? I’m sure it’s by the Kinks or someone.’ But since whenever it was – 1968, ’69 – no one has ever yet said, ‘It’s exactly like this.’ It’s a nice lyric, I’m very happy with that,” he told Uncut in 2017. That song is part of Floyd’s 1970 album “Atom Heart Mother”, the fourth one to feature Gilmour.
The Kinks were successful worldwide but, at the same time, were very English in their lyrics. Many of their songs dealt with the country’s history and culture, which the British public could easily identify with. In Gilmour’s view, early Pink Floyd had that in common with them.
“We are very English, and I wouldn’t dream of living anywhere other than England. Also, the early Pink Floyd, under Syd’s tutelage, was quintessentially English, in the same way that Ray Davies is. It wasn’t your usual rock’n’roll, R&B stuff, which is very American-oriented. And all the stuff that Roger and I sang through the ’70s had an English accent,” David Gilmour said during a conversation with Interview magazine in 1994.
One of the differences between The Kinks and Pink Floyd’s songwriting and visual imagery according to Ray Davies
The Kinks’ vocalist, rhythm guitarist and main songwriter, Ray Davies, has previously mentioned Pink Floyd when discussing his band’s songwriting and visual imagery. “The Kinks don’t write songs about the headlines in the newspapers, they wrote about the stories contained between the lines. It’s not the big headlines, it’s not the big grabber. I was looking for a shot to show London demolished after a bombing raid from the Germans. My editor picked out a shot that showed devastation and flames sort of like Armageddon. I said ,’no that’s not us. That’s more Pink Floyd.'”
“I want to show just a little bit of rubble with actual faces of people who were affected by it. That’s what the Kinks do. We go in with a hand-held camera up to the people rather than show the world demolished. My music with the Kinks showed the people face to face rather than the big expanse,” he said in an interview with Dan O’Connor in 1998. A few years later, in 2005, Ray revealed that The Kinks bought a desk Pink Floyd used to record the movie “The Wall”.
Ray Davies said:
“We bought it off of Pink Floyd; it’s the desk they used to record the movie The Wall. And I’ve been offered so much for that desk every year that I’m tempted to sell it. We get people coming in from all over just to use that desk to do overdubs. And in the other room now we’ve got an SSL (Solid State Logic),” he told Analog Planet at the time.
The Kinks are one of the most influential British bands from their generation. They sold an estimated amount of more than 50 million records worldwide. Besides “Waterloo Sunset”, they are also known for songs like “You Really Got Me”, “Lola” and “Sunny Afternoon”.