In 1968, The Kinks believed they wrote “the first indie record”. It took 50 years to sell 100,000 copies
Ray Davies said The Kinks’ 1968 album *The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society* was “probably one of the first indie records”, reflecting his decision to stop chasing hit singles and make music on his own terms. The shift mattered because it gave the band room to pursue a distinctly English vision, despite the album’s poor chart performance.
After early hits including three UK number ones by 1966, the band struggled to gain traction in the US and had been barred from touring there following an altercation involving Davies and a union official. Davies later said he was angry and deliberately avoided making another song like “You Really Got Me”. The album’s themes drew on British country life and a sense of traditions facing change; it took 50 years to sell 100,000 copies.
In short
- Ray Davies described the 1968 album as an early indie record.
- The Kinks chose artistic freedom over chasing another hit.
- It took 50 years for the album to sell 100,000 copies.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The album can be seen as an early independent-minded work because Davies chose artistic control over repeating a proven hit formula, creating a distinctly English record on his own terms. Its modest sales do not erase that achievement: the freedom to pursue a personal vision can matter more than immediate commercial success.
The case against
Calling it an “indie record” risks applying a later label to an album released by an established band through a major record company. Its slow sales may suggest that the choice brought artistic freedom at the cost of reaching listeners, and that its importance as a landmark was recognised only much later.
Explained simply
The Kinks were an English band led by singer and songwriter Ray Davies. After scoring several hit singles in Britain, they struggled to build an audience in the United States and were barred from touring there following an altercation with a union official.
Davies grew frustrated with the pressure to repeat the band’s early hits, including “You Really Got Me”. The 1968 album turned instead to his own interests, with songs about English country life and traditions changing over time. Its slow sales show how a work that later gained recognition could have little commercial success at first.