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In 1982, Ray Davies released the most British single of his career. It became The Kinks’ biggest US success
The Kinks’ biggest US hit arrived in 1982 with “Come Dancing”, despite Ray Davies considering it among the band’s most distinctly British songs. Its success came nearly two decades after the group’s early British Invasion peers found American audiences, showing how a music video could help the band reach listeners there.
Davies drew on the death of his older sister, who had gone to a dance hall, and the song reflected the band’s North London upbringing. He later said MTV helped break the single in America. It reached number six on the Billboard chart, compared with number 12 in the UK.
In short
- “Come Dancing” became The Kinks’ biggest US hit in 1982.
- MTV helped the distinctly British song find an American audience.
- It peaked at number six in the US and 12 in the UK.
Explained simply
The Kinks are an English rock band formed in north London in the 1960s, led by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They became known for songs that often drew on everyday British life, while also finding audiences in the United States during the era when British bands were popular there.
“Come Dancing” draws on Ray Davies’s memories of his older sister, who died after going to a dance hall, and evokes the local dance halls of his upbringing. Its US success came much later than the band’s early hits, at a time when music videos were becoming an important way for songs to reach audiences.