The British invasion band Ray Davies thinks were out of The Kinks’ league: “Playing a totally different game”
Ray Davies believes The Kinks and The Who shared roots and some musical ambitions, but were pursuing different paths rather than competing in the same league. His view matters because it frames their contrasting careers: The Who sought broad international success, while The Kinks took risks and remained more closely associated with Britain.
Davies said The Who’s early incarnation, The High Numbers, opened for The Kinks, and he expected them to become outstanding. He described The Kinks as less successful in America and more willing to fail, while The Who and Led Zeppelin were, in his view, built to succeed; he also said he and Pete Townshend respect each other’s privacy.
In short
- Davies saw The Kinks and The Who as playing different games.
- He felt The Who pursued greater international success.
- The Kinks took risks despite limited US reach.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Davies’s view can be read as recognising that The Who pursued a more outward-facing path, built for broad international success, while The Kinks took greater creative risks and accepted the possibility of failure. On that account, the bands shared roots and ambition but were measured by different goals, so describing them as playing different games need not diminish either band.
The case against
The comparison may understate how much the bands shared: The Who’s early incarnation opened for The Kinks, and both emerged from the same British scene with serious musical ambitions. Their different outcomes, including The Kinks’ weaker American success, do not by themselves show they were in separate leagues; the framing could obscure the ways their careers and achievements can reasonably be compared.