Davies is a spelling variation of the patronymic English surname Davis, that means David, a Hebrew name meaning "beloved"^[2]. Davies is much associated with Wales, owing to the name of its patron saint, David. Davies is also fairly widespread in the south-west of England, especially Cornwall. Davies is the 6th-most common surname in the United Kingdom.^[3]

It may refer to many people: here are some of them.

A[link]

• A. Donald Davies, American Episcopal bishop
• Adrian Davies, English barrister
• Adrian Davies (rugby player), Welsh rugby footballer
• Adrienne Davies, American musician
• Alan Davies, English actor and comedian
• Alec Davies, Scottish cricketer
• Alex Davies, English musician
• Alexandra Davies, Australian actress
• Alfred Davies, various including
• Alfred Davies (footballer), Welsh international footballer
  • Alfred Davies (Carmarthen), British Member of Parliament
  • Alfred Davies (Clitheroe), British Member of Parliament
  • Alfred Thomas Davies, British Member of Parliament
• Alun Davies, one of several people including:
  • Alun Davies (guitarist), English musician
  • Alun Davies (politician), Labour AM (member of the National Assembly for Wales)
• Andrew Davies, one of several people including:
  • Andrew Davies (footballer), English footballer
  • Andrew Davies (cricketer), Welsh cricketer
  • Andrew Davies (writer), Welsh writer
  • Andrew Davies (politician)
• Anne Davies, one of several people including:
  • Ann Davies (occultist), American occultist
  • Ann Davies (actress), English actress
  • Anne Davies (figure skater), US figure-skater and 1949 Olympic bronze-medalist
• Anthony Davies, Welsh snooker player
• Arthur B. Davies, American artist
• Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, English writer on heraldry
• Ashley Slanina-Davies, English actress

B[link]

• Barbara Davies, English teacher and activist
• Barry Davies, English sports commentator
• Benjamin Davies, one of several people including:
  • Benjamin Davies (footballer), Australian rules footballer
• Bevan Davies, American drummer
• Billy Davies, Scottish football manager
• Bob Davies, American basketball player
• Brenda Davies, wife and literary executor of Robertson Davies
• Brian Davies, birth name of British illustrator and cartoonist Michael ffolkes
• Bryan Davies, Baron Davies of Oldham, British politician
• Bryn Davies, British trade unionist and politician

C[link]

• Caitlin Davies, English writer
• Carrie Davies, British broadcaster
• Charles Lynn Davies, Wales rugby player
• Charlie Davies, American footballer
• Chris Davies, British politician
• Christopher Davies (cricketer), Australian cricketer
• Clara Novello Davies, Welsh singer, mother of Ivor Novello
• Clement Davies, British politician
• Cliff Davies (rugby player), Wales rugby player
• Curtis Davies, English footballer
• Cyril Davies, English musician

D[link]

• Dai Davies, (multiple names)
• Dangerous Davies, fictional character from The Last Detective
• Dave Davies, English rock musician and founding member of The Kinks, brother of Ray Davies
• Dave Davies (TV host), American television host
• David Davies, one of several people including:
  • David Davies (clergyman) (1714–1819), Welsh clergyman and social historian
  • David Davies (physician), sir, Royal physician
  • David Davies (Dai'r Cantwr) Rebecca rioter, (c.1812 - 1874)
  • David Davies (industrialist) (1818–1890), Welsh industrialist
  • David Charles Davies (1826–1891), nonconformist clergyman
  • David Charles Davies (museum director), (1866–1928), Director of Field Museum of Natural History
  • Sir Horatio David Davies, Lord Mayor of London (1842–1912)
  • David Ffrangcon Davies (1855–1918), baritone
  • David Davies, painter (Dyer Davies) (c.1870-1930)
  • David Ivor Davies, entertainer Ivor Novello
  • D.J. Davies (1893–1956), Economist, Socialist Plaid Cymru Activist, Constitutional Monarchist.
  • David Davies (politician), Welsh Conservative politician, and Member of Parliament elected in 2005
  • David Davies (swimmer), Welsh swimmer
  • David Davies (football administrator), current Executive Director of the English Football Association
  • Baron Davies:
    • David Davies, 1st Baron Davies (1880–1944) (grandson of David Davies (industrialist))
    • David Davies, 2nd Baron Davies (1915–1944)
    • David Davies, 3rd Baron Davies (b. 1940)
    • David Davies, Baron Davies of Coity (born 1935)
• Denys Johnson-Davies, Canadian translator
• Denzil Davies, British politician
• Diana Davies (actress) (born 1936), English actress
• Diana Davies (athlete) (born 1961), British high jumper
• Dick Davies (born 1936), American Olympic basketball player
• Dickie Davies, English television presenter
• Domenick Davies, German rugby union international
• Donald Davies, one of several people including:
  • A. Donald Davies, American Episcopal bishop
  • Donald Davies, Welsh computer scientist
• Douglas Davies, English theologian

E[link]

• Edward Davies, (multiple names)
• Edward Harold Davies, Australian conductor and music teacher
• Emily Davies, English feminist
• Eric Davies, South African cricketer

F[link]

• Freddie Davies, English comedian
• Fulham Davies, Arkansas businessman

G[link]

• Gareth Davies, musician in Suburban Vegetable
• Gary Davies, various including;
  • Gary Davies, English DJ
  • Gary Davies, English boxer
• Gavyn Davies, British banker and past BBC chairman
• Geoffrey Davies, English actor
• George Davies, British politician.
• George Davies, English fashion retailer
• George Llewelyn Davies, see Llewelyn Davies
• Geraint Davies, various including:
  • Geraint Davies, UK Labour Party politician
  • Geraint Davies, Welsh Plaid Cymru politician
  • Geraint Wyn Davies, Canadian actor
• Gerald Davies Welsh rugby player
• Grant Davies, Australian canoer
• Greg Davies, English comedian
• Godfrey Davies, English historian
• Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies, English actress

H[link]

• Henry Davies, (1804–1890) Welsh born journalist at Cheltenham
• Henry Eugene Davies, Jr., (1836–94), American soldier and lawyer
• Henry Walford Davies, English composer
• Hopkin Davies, Wales international rugby player
• Howard Davies, one of several people including:
  • Sir Howard Davies, Director of the LSE
  • Howard Davies, Theatre Director
  • Harold Whitridge Davies, (1894–1946), Australian professor of physiology and expeditionist
• Hugh Sykes Davies, English poet and academic
• Hunter Davies, Scottish writer
• Huw Irranca-Davies, British politician

I[link]

• Idris Davies, Welsh poet

J[link]

• Jack Llewelyn Davies, see Llewelyn Davies
• Jackson Davies, Canadian actor
• James Davies, one of several people including:
  • James C. Davies, sociologist
  • James Llewellyn Davies, Welsh soldier
• Jeremy Davies, English Catholic priest
• Jeremy Davies, American actor
• Jim Davies, English guitarist
• Jim Davies, Australian rules footballer
• Jimmy Davies, American racing driver
• Jocelyn Davies, Welsh politician
• John Davies, one of several people including:
  • John Davies of Hereford (1565?–1618) poet and satirist
  • Sir John Davies (1569–1626) poet, statesman, attorney-general in Ireland
  • Dr John Davies (c.1567–1644), lexicographer, translator, and editor of the 1620 Welsh edition of the Bible
  • John Davies (1814–1872), Australian publisher
  • John P. Davies (1908–1999), American diplomat
  • John R. T. Davies (1927–2004) remastering engineer of classic jazz records and musician
  • John Davies (1938–2003), New Zealand athlete
  • Dr John Davies, Welsh historian and broadcaster
  • John Henry Davies, British brewer and owner of Manchester United
  • John Howard Davies, television producer and former child actor
  • John Quentin Davies, usually called Quentin Davies, British Conservative MP
  • John Davies (swimmer)
  • John Davies (1916–1979) British businessman (British Petroleum) and cabinet minister
  • Bishop John Stewart Davies of the Diocese of St Asaph, Church in Wales
  • John Thomas Davies, English - British soldier
• John Ainsworth-Davies, English athlete
• John Rhys-Davies, Welsh actor
• Jonathan Davies, (multiple names)
• Joseph E. Davies, American diplomat
• Joseph G. Davies, Microsoft employee
• Joseph John Davies, English soldier

K[link]

• Karl Davies, English television actor
• Kay Davies, English geneticist
• Kevin Davies, English footballer
• Kevin Davies, British television director
• Kieron Davies, German rugby union player
• Kimberley Davies, Australian actress
• Kyle Davies, American baseball player
• Kyle Davies, American soccer player

L[link]

• L. P. Davies, British novelist
• Lane Davies, American actor
• Laura Davies, English golfer
• Libby Davies, Canadian politician
• Lilian May Davies, later Princess Lilian, Duchess of Halland
• Lindy Davies, Australian actress
• Llewellyn Alberic Emilius Price-Davies, British general
• Louis Henry Davies, Canadian politician
• Luke Davies, Australian writer
• Lyndal Davies, Australian wildlife documentary maker
• Lynn Davies, British athlete

M[link]

• M. C. Davies, Australian businessman
• Mandy Rice-Davies, Welsh model
• Marianne Davies, English musician
• Marion Davies, American actress
• Mark Davies, (multiple names)
• Martin Davies, multiple people
• Martyn Davies, British weather forecaster
• Mervyn Davies, Welsh rugby player
• Michael Davies, one of several people including:
  • Michael Davies, British Traditionalist Catholic writer
  • Michael Davies, television producer.
  • Michael Davies, British High Court judge
  • Michael Davies, cricketer
• Michael Llewelyn Davies, see Llewelyn Davies
• Mike Davies, American-born UK television and radio broadcaster
• Mike Davies, English footballer
• A. Morley Davies, British paleontologist
• Cooke Davies, Canadian politician

N[link]

• Nicholas Barry Davies, British ethologist, ornithologist and professor at the University of Cambridge
• Nicholas Llewelyn Davies, see Llewelyn Davies
• Nicola Davies, English children's author
• Norman Davies, English historian

O[link]

• Oliver Ford Davies, English actor
• Owen Davies, writer on witchcraft

P[link]

• Patricia Davies, Zimbabwean field hockey player
• Paul Davies, multiple people
• Peter Davies, multiple people
• Peter Ho Davies, English author
• Peter Llewelyn Davies, see Llewelyn Davies
• Peter Maxwell Davies, English composer
• Philip Davies, British politician
• A. Powell Davies, American Unitarian Minister

Q[link]

• Quentin Davies, British politician

R[link]

• Ray Davies, English rock musician, vocalist, songwriter, and founding member of The Kinks
• R.E.G. Davies, English scholar and aviation writer
• Reine Davies, American actress
• Rees Davies, Welsh historian
• Rhett Davies, producer
• Rhys Davies (disambiguation)
• Richard Davies, Welsh bishop
• Richard Davies, Welshh actor
• Richard Davies, British equerry
• Richard Bell-Davies, British fighter pilot
• Rick Davies, English musician with Supertramp
• Robert Davies (disambiguation), several persons
• Rob Davies, Welsh footballer
• Robertson Davies, Canadian author
• Roger Davies, Australian music manager
• Ronald Thomas (Ron) Davies the former football (soccer) defender who played for Cardiff City and Southampton in the 1950s and 1960s.
• Ronald Tudor Davies Former Southampton & Wales footballer
• Ron Davies, Welsh politician
• Ronald Davies, American judge
• Rosemary Davies, American actress
• Rupert Davies, English actor
• Russell Davies, Welsh television personality
• Russell T Davies, Welsh television writer
• Ryan Davies, Welsh entertainer

S[link]

• S. O. Davies, British politician
• Scott Davies, (multiple names)
• Sharron Davies (born 1962), English swimmer
• Siobhan Davies, English dancer
• Simon Davies, (multiple names)
• Sonja Davies, New Zealand trade unionist and politician
• Stan Davies (1898–1972), Welsh international footballer
• Stephen Davies, (multiple names)
• Steven Davies, English cricketer
• Stevie Davies, Welsh novelist
• Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (1866-1910) Mother of the boys who served as the inspiration for Peter Pan

T[link]

• T. Glynne Davies, Welsh poet and broadcaster
• Terence Davies, English film director
• Theophilus Harris Davies, British businessman
• Tod Davies, American screenwriter
• Tom Davies, American Football player
• Tru Davies, fictional eponymous character in Tru Calling

V[link]

• Valentine Davies, American film director

W[link]

• W. H. Davies, Welsh poet and writer
• W. P. C. Davies, English rugby player and headmaster
• W. R. Davies, second president (1941–1959) of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
• Walford Davies, English composer
• William Davies, many people including:
  • William Davies, military leader in the American Revolution
  • William Davies, Australian politician
• William Rupert Davies, former Canadian senator
• Windsor Davies, English actor

See also[link]

• Davis (disambiguation), a placename and surname - among other uses
• Davies-Gilbert
• Baron Davies
• Llewelyn Davies, the family closely connected with J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan

References[link]

This page or section lists people with the surname Davies. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.

Ray Davies
Ray Davies performing in Toronto, 1977
Background information
Birth name	Raymond Douglas Davies
Born	(1944-06-21) 21 June 1944 (age 68) Fortis Green, London England, United Kingdom
Genres	Rock, pop, hard rock
Occupations	Songwriter, Musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, harmonica, keyboards, piano
Years active	1963—
Associated acts	The Kinks
Website	www.raydavies.info

Raymond Douglas "Ray" Davies, CBE ( /ˈdeɪvɨz/ DAY-viz;^[1] born 21 June 1944) is an English rock musician. He is best known as lead singer and songwriter for The Kinks, which he led with his younger brother, Dave. He has also acted, directed and produced shows for theatre and television.

Since the dissolution of the Kinks in 1996, Ray Davies has embarked on a solo career as a singer-songwriter.

Biography[link]

6 Denmark Terrace, birthplace of the Davies brothers

Davies was born at 6 Denmark Terrace, Fortis Green in Muswell Hill, North London, England. He is the seventh of eight children born to Fred and Annie Davies, including six older sisters and younger brother Dave Davies. He went to William Grimshaw Secondary Modern School (now called Fortismere School).^[2]

Davies was an art student at Hornsey College of Art in London in 1962–1963, when the Kinks developed into a professional performing band. After the Kinks obtained a recording contract in early 1964, Davies emerged as the chief songwriter and de facto leader of the band, especially after the band's breakthrough success with his early composition "You Really Got Me", which was released as the band's third single in August of that year.

Davies led the Kinks through a period of musical experimentation between 1966 and 1975, with notable artistic achievements and commercial success. Between 1976 and their break-up twenty years later, Davies and the group reverted to their earlier mainstream rock format and enjoyed a second peak of success, with other hit songs, like "Destroyer", "Come Dancing" and "Do It Again". The Kinks disbanded in 1996, and Ray Davies has performed solo since then.

In 1973, Davies attempted suicide by overdose following the breakup of his first marriage; he was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder.^[3]

Davies has had a tempestuous relationship with younger brother Dave (the band's lead guitarist) that dominated the Kinks' career as a band. He has been married three times and has four daughters: Louisa, Victoria, Natalie and Eva. Davies was romantically involved with Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders during the 1980s, and Natalie is a product of that relationship.

In 1990, Davies was inducted, with the Kinks, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and, in 2005, into the UK Music Hall of Fame.

On 4 January 2004, Davies was shot in the leg while chasing thieves who had snatched the purse of his companion as they walked in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana.^[4] The shooting came less than a week after Davies was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

Work[link]

The Kinks: 1963–1996[link]

Early style (1964-65)[link]

The Kinks' early recordings of 1964 ranged from covers of R&B standards like "Long Tall Sally" and "Got Love If You Want It"; to the chiming, melodic beat music of Ray Davies' earliest original compositions for the band, "You Still Want Me" and "Something Better Beginning"; to the more influential proto-metal, protopunk, power chord-based hard rock of the band's first two hit singles, "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night".

However, by 1965, this raucous, hard-driving early style gradually gave way to the softer and more introspective sound of "Tired of Waiting for You", "Nothin' in the World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl", "Set Me Free", "I Go to Sleep" and "Ring the Bells". With the eerie, droning "See My Friends"—inspired by the untimely death of the Davies brothers' older sister Rene in June 1957—the band began to show signs of expanding their musical palette even further. A rare foray into early psychedelic rock, it is credited by Jonathan Bellman as the first Western pop song to integrate Indian raga sounds—being released six months before the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood".^[5]

The classic mid-period (1965-75)[link]

Beginning with "A Well Respected Man" and "Where Have All the Good Times Gone" (both recorded in the summer of 1965), Ray Davies' lyrics assumed a new sociological character. He began to explore the aspirations and frustrations of common working class people, with particular emphasis on the psychological effects of the British class system. Face to Face (1966), the first Kinks album comprised solely of original material, was a creative breakthrough. As the band began to experiment with theatrical sound effects and baroque musical arrangements (Nicky Hopkins played harpsichord on several tracks), Davies' songwriting fully acquired its distinctive elements of narrative, observation and wry social commentary. His topical songs took aim at the complacency and indolence of wealthy playboys and the upper class ("A House in the Country", "Sunny Afternoon"), the heedless ostentation of a self-indulgent spendthrift nouveau riche ("Most Exclusive Residence For Sale"), and even the mercenary nature of the music business itself ("Session Man").

By late 1966, Davies was addressing the bleakness of life at the lower end of the social spectrum: released together as the complementary A-B sides of a single, "Dead End Street" and "Big Black Smoke" were powerful neo-Dickensian sketches of urban poverty. Other songs like "Situation Vacant" (1967) and "Shangri-La" (1969) hinted at the helpless sense of insecurity and emptiness underlying the materialistic values adopted by the English working class. In a similar vein, "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" (1966) wittily satirized the consumerism and celebrity worship of Carnaby Street and 'Swinging London', while "David Watts" (1967) humorously expressed the wounded feelings of a plain schoolboy who envies the grace and privileges enjoyed by a charismatic upper class student.

Davies' mid-period work for the Kinks also showed signs of an emerging social conscience. For example, "Holiday in Waikiki" (1966) deplored the vulgar commercialization of a once unspoiled indigenous culture. Similarly, "God's Children" and "Apeman" (both 1970), and the songs "20th Century Man", "Complicated Life" and "Here Come the People in Grey" from Muswell Hillbillies (1971), passionately decried industrialization and bureaucracy in favour of simple pastoral living. Perhaps most significantly, the band's acclaimed 1968 concept album The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society gave an affectionate embrace to "Merry England" nostalgia and advocated for the preservation of traditional English country village and hamlet life.

A definitive testament to Ray Davies' reputation as a songwriter of insight, empathy and wit can be heard on the Kinks' landmark 1969 album Arthur (or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire). The band's first rock opera affectionately chronicled the trials and tribulations of a working class everyman and his family from the very end of the Victorian era through World War I and World War II, the postwar austerity years, and up to the 1960s. The overall theme of the record was partly inspired by the life of Ray and Dave Davies' brother-in-law, Arthur Anning, who had married their older sister, Rose—herself the subject of an earlier Kinks song, "Rosie Won't You Please Come Home" (1966)—and had emigrated to Australia after the war.^[6] Over the course of a dozen evocative songs, Arthur fulfils its ambitious subtitle as Davies embellishes an intimate family chronicle with satirical observations about the shifting mores of the English working class in response to the declining fortunes of the British Empire.

The Kinks have been called "the most adamantly British of the Brit Invasion bands"^[7] on account of Ray Davies' abiding fascination with England's imperial past and his tender, bittersweet evocations of "a vanishing, romanticized world of village greens, pubs and public schools".^[7] During the band's mid-period, he wrote many cheerfully eccentric—and often ironic—celebrations of traditional English culture and living: "Village Green" (1966), "Afternoon Tea" and "Autumn Almanac" (both 1967), "The Last of the Steam-Powered Trains" (1968), "Victoria" (1969), "Have a Cuppa Tea" (1971) and "Cricket" (1973).

It was also during this time that Davies began composing songs in the style of British music hall, vaudeville and trad jazz. These include "Dedicated Follower of Fashion", "Sunny Afternoon", "Dandy" and "Little Miss Queen of Darkness" (all 1966); "Mister Pleasant" and "End of the Season" (both 1967); "Sitting By the Riverside" and "All of My Friends Were There" (both 1968); "She's Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina" (1969); "Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues" and "Alcohol" (both 1971); "Look a Little on the Sunny Side" (1972); and "Holiday Romance" (1975). Occasionally, he varied the group's sound with more disparate musical influences, such as raga ("Fancy", 1966), bossa nova ("No Return", 1967) and calypso ("Monica", 1968; "Apeman", 1970; "Supersonic Rocket Ship", 1972).

Davies is often at his most affecting when he sings of giving up worldly ambition for the simple rewards of love and domesticity ("This is Where I Belong", 1966; "Two Sisters", 1967; "The Way Love Used to Be", 1971; "Sweet Lady Genevieve", 1973; "You Make It All Worthwhile", 1974), or when he extols the consolations of friendship and memory ("Days", 1968; "Do You Remember Walter?", 1968; "Picture Book", 1968; "Young and Innocent Days", 1969; "Moments", 1971; "Schooldays", 1975). Yet another perennial Ray Davies theme is the championing of individualistic personalities and lifestyles ("I'm Not Like Everybody Else", 1966; "Johnny Thunder", 1968; "Monica", 1968; "Lola", 1970; "Celluloid Heroes", 1972; "Where Are They Now?", 1973; "Sitting in the Midday Sun", 1973). On his 1967 masterpiece "Waterloo Sunset", the singer finds a fleeting sense of contentment in the midst of urban drabness and solitude.

Ray Davies performing in Toronto, 1977

Later commercial sound (1976-84)[link]

When the Kinks changed record labels from RCA to Arista in 1976, Davies abandoned his then-recent propensity for ambitious, theatrical concept albums and rock operas—the RCA era (1971–75) had produced Muswell Hillbillies, Everybody's in Show-Biz, Preservation Act 1 and Act 2, Soap Opera and Schoolboys in Disgrace—and returned to writing more basic, straightforward songs. The group would also employ newer production techniques to achieve a more refined studio sound on the albums Sleepwalker (1977) and Misfits (1978), as Davies' focus shifted to wistful ballads of restless alienation ("Life on the Road", "Misfits"), meditations on the inner lives of obsessed pop fans ("Juke Box Music", "A Rock & Roll Fantasy"), and exhortations of carpe diem ("Life Goes On", "Live Life", "Get Up"). A notable single from late 1977 reflected the contemporary influence of punk rock: "Father Christmas" (A-side) and "Prince of the Punks" (B-side—inspired by Ray Davies' troubled collaboration with Tom Robinson).

By the early 80s, the Kinks revived their commercial fortunes considerably by adopting a much more mainstream arena rock style; and the band's four remaining studio albums for Arista—Low Budget (1979), Give the People What They Want (1981), State of Confusion (1983) and Word of Mouth (1984)—showcased a decidedly canny and opportunistic approach. On "(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman", Davies vented his existential angst about the 1979 energy crisis over a thumping disco beat; on "A Gallon of Gas", he addressed the same concern over a traditional acoustic twelve-bar blues shuffle. In contrast, "Better Things" (1981), "Come Dancing" (1982), "Don't Forget to Dance" (1983) and "Good Day" (1984) were sentimental songs of hope and nostalgia for the aging Air Raid Generation. However, with "Catch Me Now I'm Falling" (1979), "Destroyer" (1981), "Clichés of the World (B Movie)" (1983) and "Do It Again" (1984), the Davies brothers cranked out strident, heavy-riffing hard rock that conveyed an attitude of bitter cynicism and world weary disillusionment.

I write songs because I get angry, and now I'm at the stage where it's not good enough to brush it off with humour.

—NME, June 1978^[8]

Solo work: 1985-present[link]

Aside from the lengthy Kinks discography, Davies has released five solo albums: the 1985 release Return to Waterloo (which accompanied a television film he wrote and directed), the 1998 release The Storyteller, Other People's Lives in early 2006, Working Man's Café in October 2007 and The Kinks Choral Collection in June 2009. Other People's Lives was his first top 40 album in the UK since the 1960s, when he worked with the Kinks.

The release of Working Man's Café was followed on 28 October 2007 with a performance at the BBC's Electric Proms series, at The Roundhouse, Camden, accompanied by the Crouch End Festival Chorus. The concert was broadcast the same evening on BBC Two. An edited version of Working Man's Café, excluding two bonus tracks and liner notes, was given away with 1.5 million copies of the Sunday Times on 21 October.

Since the Kinks ceased performing in 1996, Davies has toured independently. Initially, he toured with the mainly acoustic 20th Century Man, An Evening With Ray Davies and Storyteller shows, accompanied by guitarist Pete Mathison. He has toured with a full band consisting of, among others, Toby Baron (drums), Geoff Dugmore (drums), Dick Nolan (bass), Gunnar Frick (keyboards), Ian Gibbons (keyboards), Scott Donaldson (guitar), Mark Johns (guitar), Milton McDonald (guitar), Bill Shanley (guitar), and Damon Wilson (drums).^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, Davies released The Tourist, a four-song EP, in the UK; and Thanksgiving Day, a five-song EP, in the US.

Davies at Bluesfest 2008 in Ottawa

Ray Davies with the Crouch End Festival Chorus at Kenwood House, London, in June 2009

Davies published his "unauthorised autobiography", X-Ray, in 1994. In 1997, he published a book of short stories entitled Waterloo Sunset, described as "a concept album set on paper." He has made three films, Return to Waterloo in 1985, Weird Nightmare in 1991, a documentary about Charles Mingus and Americana (subtitled "A Work In Progress") which was included on DVD with the Working Man's Cafe disc release in 2008.

A choral album, The Kinks Choral Collection, on which Davies has been collaborating with the Crouch End Festival Chorus since 2007, was released in the UK in June 2009 and in the US in November 2009. The album was re-released as a special extended edition including Davies' charity Christmas single "Postcard From London" featuring Davies' former girlfriend and leader of The Pretenders, Chrissie Hynde. The video for the single was directed by Julien Temple and features London landmarks including Waterloo Bridge, Carnaby Street, The Statue of Eros steps and the Charlie Chaplin statue in Leicester Square. The duet was originally recorded with Kate Nash.^[9] His first choice had been Dame Vera Lynn.^[10]

In October 2009, Davies performed "All Day and All of the Night" with Metallica at the 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concert.^[11]

Davies was also a judge for the 3rd and 7th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.^[12]

Davies played at Glastonbury Festival 2010 where he dedicated several songs to the late Kinks' bassist, Pete Quaife. Davies is seen to visibly almost break down in tears while singing an a cappella intro to the song "Days".

A collaborations album, See My Friends, was released in November 2010 with a US release to follow in early 2011.^[13]

Davies performed with Mando Diao in their MTV Unplugged live show.

In 2011 Davies was "grounded" for six months following discovery of blood clots in his lungs. After the malady Davies programmed the line-up for the upcoming Meltdown Festival in London. At the festival he is scheduled to perform rendition of the Kinks' Village Green Preservation Society album with the London Philharmonic and a local chorus. He was working on his second book: a memoir that Davies described as "kind of fictionalized". His first book X-Ray was released in 1995.^[13]

2011 also marked Davies' return to New Orleans, Louisiana to play the Voodoo Experience Music festival. Davies' setlist included material by the Kinks and solo material.^[14]

In Fall 2011, Davies toured with The 88 as his backing band.

Musicals[link]

Davies "Other People's Lives" tour Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC 2006

In 1981 Davies collaborated with Barrie Keefe to write his first stage musical, Chorus Girls, which opened at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, London,^[15] starring Marc Sinden and also had a supporting cast of Michael Elphick, Anita Dobson, Kate Williams and Charlotte Cornwell. Directed by Adrian Shergold, the choreography was by Charles Augins and Jim Rodford played bass with the theatre's "house band".^[16]

Davies wrote songs for a musical version of Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days; the show, 80 Days, had a book by playwright Snoo Wilson. It was directed by Des McAnuff and ran at the La Jolla Playhouse's Mandell Weiss Theatre in San Diego from 23 August to 9 October 1988. The musical received mixed responses from the critics. Davies' multi-faceted music, McAnuff's directing, and the acting, however, were well received, with the show winning the "Best Musical" award from the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle.^[17]

Davies' musical Come Dancing, based partly on his 1983 hit single with twenty new songs, ran at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, London in September–November 2008.

Awards[link]

• On 17 March 2004, Davies received the CBE from Queen Elizabeth II for "Services to Music."
• On 22 June 2004, Davies won the Mojo Songwriter Award, which recognises "an artist whose career has been defined by his ability to pen classic material on a consistent basis."
• Davies was also a judge for the third annual Independent Music Awards. His contributions helped assist upcoming independent artists' careers.^[12]
• Davies and the Kinks were the third British band (along with The Who) to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, at which Davies was called "almost indisputably rock's most literate, witty and insightful songwriter." They were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005.
• On 3 October 2006, Davies was awarded the BMI Icon Award for his "enduring influence on generations of music makers" at the 2006 annual BMI London Awards.^[18]
• On 15 February 2009, The Mobius Best Off-West End Production in the UK for the musical Come Dancing.
• On 7 September 2010, Davies was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award at the GQ Men of the Year Awards.
• On 26 October 2010, Davies was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at his AVO Session concert in Basel; the concert was televised internationally.

Solo discography[link]

For Kinks discography see The Kinks discography

• Return to Waterloo (1985)
• The Storyteller (1998) (UK#105)
• Other People's Lives (2006) (UK#36)
• Working Man's Café (2007) (UK#179)
• The Kinks Choral Collection (2009) (UK#28)
• Ray Davies - Collected (2009) (released 19 October 2009) (Compilation)
• See My Friends (2010) (UK#12)

Chart singles written by Davies[link]

The following is a list of Davies compositions that were chart hits for artists other than The Kinks. (See The Kinks discography for hits by The Kinks.)

See also[link]

The Kinks portal

• Songs written by Ray Davies

References[link]

• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Bibliography[link]

• Polito, Robert. Bits of Me Scattered Everywhere: Ray Davies and the Kinks, pp. 119–144 in Eric Weisbard, ed., This is Pop, Harvard University Press, 2004. ISBN 0-674-01321-2 (cloth), ISBN 0-674-01344-1 (paper)
• Kitts, Thomas. Ray Davies, Not Like Everybody Else, 302 pp., Routledge Pub., 2008. ISBN 0-415-97769-X (paper)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ray Davies

• Official website
• The Kinks website

Ivor Norman Richard Davies Ph.D., F.B.A., F.R.Hist.S., D.Litt.
Born	(1939-06-08) 8 June 1939 (age 73) Bolton, Lancashire, England
Fields	European History
Institutions	School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London Wolfson College, University of Oxford
Alma mater	Magdalen College, University of Oxford (B.A. Hons) University of Sussex (M.A.) Jagiellonian University (Ph.D.)
Notable awards	Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland

Professor Ivor Norman Richard Davies^[1] FBA, FRHistS (born 8 June 1939) is a leading English historian^[2] of Welsh descent, noted for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland, and the United Kingdom.

Academic career[link]

Davies was born to Richard and Elizabeth Davies in Bolton, Lancashire. He studied in Grenoble, France from 1957 to 1958 and then under A. J. P. Taylor at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he earned a B.A. in History in 1962. He was awarded an M.A. at the University of Sussex in 1966 and also studied in Perugia, Italy. He intended to study for a Ph.D. in the Soviet Union but was denied an entry visa, so instead he went to Kraków, Poland, to study at the Jagiellonian University and do research on the Polish–Soviet War. As this war was denied in the official communist Polish historiography of that time, he was obliged to change the title of his dissertation to The British Foreign Policy towards Poland, 1919–20. After he obtained his Ph.D. in Kraków in 1968, the English text appeared under the title White Eagle, Red Star. The Polish-Soviet War 1919–20 in 1972.

From 1971, Davies taught Polish history at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies of the University of London, where he was professor from 1985 to 1996, when he retired. He subsequently became Supernumerary Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford from 1997 to 2006. Throughout his career, Davies has lectured in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, China, Poland, and in most of the rest of Europe as well. Stanford University controversially denied him a tenured faculty position in 1986.^[1][3]

Norman Davies, Warsaw (Poland), 7 October 2004

Work[link]

Davies' first book, White Eagle, Red Star: The Polish-Soviet War, 1919-20 (1972) is considered by many to be one the best English language book on the subject.^{[citation needed]}

His book, God's Playground (1981), a comprehensive overview of Polish history, is also considered by many to be one the best English language book on the subject. In Poland, the book was published officially only after the fall of communism.

In 1984, Davies published Heart of Europe, a briefer history of Poland. Interestingly, the chapters are arranged in reverse chronological order.

In the 1990s, Davies published Europe: A History (1996) and The Isles: A History (1999), about Europe and the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, respectively. Each book is a narrative interlarded with numerous sidepanel discussions of microtopics.

In 2000, Davies' Polish publishers Znak published a collection of his essays and articles under the title Smok wawelski nad Tamizą ("The Wawel Dragon on the Thames").

In 2002, at the suggestion of the city's mayor, Bogdan Zdrojewski, Davies and his former research assistant, Roger Moorhouse, co-wrote a history of Wrocław / Breslau, a Silesian city. Titled Microcosm: Portrait of a Central European City, the book was published simultaneously in English, Polish, German and Czech.

Davies also writes essays and articles for the mass media. Among others, he has worked for the BBC as well as British and American magazines and newspapers, such as The Times, The New York Review of Books and The Independent. In Poland, his articles appeared in the liberal Catholic weekly Tygodnik Powszechny.

Davies' book Rising '44. The Battle for Warsaw describes the Warsaw Uprising. It was followed by Europe at War 1939–1945: No Simple Victory (2006). In 2008 Davies participated in the documentary film "The Soviet Story".^[4]

Criticism[link]

Some historians, most vocally Lucy Dawidowicz^[5] and Abraham Brumberg,^[6] object to Davies' historical treatment of the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Poland. They accuse him of minimizing historic antisemitism, and of promoting a view that accounts of the Holocaust in international historiography largely overlook the suffering of non-Jewish Poles. Davies's supporters contend that he gives due attention to the genocide and war crimes perpetrated by both Hitler and Stalin on Polish Jews and non-Jews. Davies himself argues that "Holocaust scholars need have no fears that rational comparisons might threaten that uniqueness. Quite the opposite." and that "... one needs to re-construct mentally the fuller picture in order to comprehend the true enormity of Poland's wartime cataclysm, and then to say with absolute conviction 'Never Again'."^[7][8]

In 1986, Dawidowicz's criticism of Davies' historical treatment of the Holocaust was cited as a factor in a controversy at Stanford University in which Davies was denied a tenured faculty position for alleged "scientific flaws". Davies sued the university for breach of contract and defamation of character, but in 1989 the court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction in an academic matter.^[1][3]

Awards and distinctions[link]

Davies holds a number of honorary titles and memberships, including honorary doctorates from the universities of the Jagiellonian University (since 2003), Lublin, Gdańsk and Warsaw (since 2007), memberships in the Polish Academy of Learning (PAU) and the Academia Scientiarum et Artium Europaea,^[9] and fellowships of the British Academy and the Royal Historical Society.^[10] Davies received an honorary DLitt degree from his alma mater the University of Sussex.^[11] Davies is also an honorary citizen of Polish cities of Warsaw, Wrocław, Lublin and Kraków. Member of the committee for the Order of the Smile.

President of the Republic in exile Edward Raczyński decorated Davies with the Order of Polonia Restituta. On 22 December 1998 President of Poland - Aleksander Kwaśniewski awarded him the Grand Cross (1st class) of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.

Norman Davies has been appointed to the Advisory Board of the European Association of History Educators - EUROCLIO. In 2008 he was awarded the Order of the Cross of St Mary's Land 3rd Class by the Republic of Estonia.

Davies also received The Knight of Freedom Award in 2006 for his promotion of Polish history and the values represented by General Casimir Pulaski. ^[12][13]

Personal[link]

Norman Davies married Maria Korzeniewicz, a Polish scholar born in Dąbrowa Tarnowska, on 26 December 1966. They live in Oxford and Cracow, and have two sons.^[14]

Books[link]

• 1972: White Eagle, Red Star: The Polish-Soviet War, 1919–20. (2004 edition: ISBN 0-7126-0694-7)
• 1977: Poland, Past and Present. A Select Bibliography of Works in English. ISBN 0-89250-011-5
• 1981: God's Playground. A History of Poland. Vol. 1: The Origins to 1795, Vol. 2: 1795 to the Present. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-925339-0 / ISBN 0-19-925340-4.
• 1984: Heart of Europe. A Short History of Poland. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-285152-7.
  • 2001: Heart of Europe: The Past in Poland's Present Oxford University Press, USA; New edition ISBN 0-19-280126-0
• 1991: Jews in Eastern Poland and the USSR, 1939–46. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-312-06200-1
• 1996: Europe: A History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-820171-0
• 1997: Auschwitz and the Second World War in Poland: A lecture given at the Representations of Auschwitz international conference at the Jagiellonian University. Universitas. ISBN 83-7052-935-6
• 1999: Red Winds from the North. Able Publishing. ISBN 0-907616-45-3
• 1999: The Isles. A History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-513442-7
• 2002 (with Roger Moorhouse): Microcosm: Portrait of a Central European City London: Jonathan Cape. ISBN 0-224-06243-3
• 2004: Rising '44. The Battle for Warsaw. London: Pan Books. ISBN 0-333-90568-7
• 2006: Europe East and West: A Collection of Essays on European History. Jonathan Cape. ISBN 0-224-06924-1
• 2006: Europe at War 1939–1945: No Simple Victory. Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-69285-3
• 2011: Vanished Kingdoms: The History of Half-Forgotten Europe. Allen Lane. ISBN 978-1-84614-338-0

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Snowman, Daniel "Norman Davies" p. 36–38 from History Today, Volume 55, Issue 7, July 2005.
• America, December 18, 1982, p. 394.
• American Historical Review, April, 1991, p. 520.
• American Scholar, fall, 1997, p. 624.
• Atlantic Monthly, December, 2002, Benjamin Schwarz, review of God's Playground: A History of Poland, p. 127.
• Booklist, September 15, 1996, p. 214; December 15, 1997, Gilbert Taylor, "A History of Europe," p. 682; February 1, 2000, p. 1006; May 1, 2004, Jay Freeman, review of Rising '44: The Battle of Warsaw, p. 1538.
• Commentary, March, 1987, p. 66.
• Current History, November, 1984, p. 385.
• Economist, March 6, 1982, p. 104; February 10, 1990, p. 92; November 16, 1996, p. S3; December 4, 1999, p. 8; April 27, 2002, "What's in a Name: Central European History."
• History Today, May, 1983, p. 54; March, 2000, Robert Pearce, "The Isles: A History," p. 55.
• Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2004, review of Rising '44, p. 256.
• Library Journal, March 15, 1997, p. 73; February 1, 2000, p. 100.
• Nation, November 21, 1987, p. 584.
• National Review, June 5, 2000, John Derbyshire, "Disunited Kingdom"; May 17, 2004, David Pryce-Jones, "Remember Them," p. 46.
• New Republic, November 15, 1982, p. 25; September 22, 1997, p. 36.
• New Statesman, May 21, 1982, p. 21; August 31, 1984, p. 26.
• New Statesman & Society, December 20, 1996, Norman Davies, "How I Conquered Europe," pp. 36–38; October 17, 1997, David Herman, review of Europe: A History, pp. 30–32; May 15, 1998, Michael Pinto-Duschinsky, "The Hunted, Not the Hunters," p. 35. November 15, 1999, Alistair Moffat, "Jobs and Foxes Will Flee to England," p. 35; December 13, 1999, Geoffrey Wheatcroft, "Forging Our History," p. 57.
• New York Review of Books, September 29, 1983, p. 18; May 15, 1997, p. 30.
• New York Times Book Review, December 5, 1982, p. 52; March 4, 1984, p. 34; December 23, 1984, p. 5; June 22, 1986, p. 34; December 7, 1986, p. 84; December 1, 1996, p. 15.
• Observer (London, England), October 10, 1999, Andrew Marr, "A History Lesson for Wee Willie," p. 29.
• Publishers Weekly, August 26, 1996, p. 83; November 24, 1997, "A History of Europe," p. 64; January 24, 2000, p. 301.
• Sunday Times (London, England), October 17, 1999, Niall Ferguson, "Breaking up Is Hard to Do if You're British," p. NR4.
• Times (London, England), October 30, 1999, Richard Morrison, "Britain Dies as Mr. Tough Rewrites the Past," p. 21.
• Wilson Library Bulletin, October, 1986, p. 68.
• World and I, August, 2004, Richard M. Watt, "The Warsaw Insurrection: How Polish Capital Ferociously Resisted World War II Occupiers."*

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Norman Davies

• Small English homepage at www.normandavies.com
• "Review of Europe at War"
• Britain and the Warsaw Rising. Essay, 2004.
• Official press release on the case of Davies vs. Stanford University
• A Polish site about Norman Davies (in Polish), includes a gallery and parts of translated text
• Commonwealth of Diverse Cultures: Poland's Heritage
• BBC Interview with audio and transcript

Greg Davies^[1] is a Welsh stand-up comedian and actor best known for his roles as Greg in We Are Klang and Mr. Gilbert in The Inbetweeners and his guest appearances in Mock the Week and Fast and Loose. He has performed on the BBC's Live at the Apollo series.

Davies is noted for his stature - he stands at 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) tall, and has size 13 feet^[2] - and also his resemblance to Rik Mayall.^[3]

Early life[link]

Davies was born in St Asaph, Wales but his parents moved across the border to Shropshire soon after his birth.^[4] He grew up in Wem, a small market town in Shropshire where his parents still live and he regularly visits. He was educated at Thomas Adams School. Prior to embarking on a career in comedy, he had taught secondary school drama and English for 13 years.^[3]

Career[link]

Television[link]

Davies has performed on the BBC's Live at the Apollo, and has regularly appeared on the guest panel for Channel 4's 8 out of 10 Cats and the BBC's Mock the Week. He took part in World's Most Dangerous Roads hosted by Ben Fogle, in which he and Rhod Gilbert drove from Nepal's border with India to the border with China.

Davies was Paramount Comedy's continuity writer and announcer between October 2005 and April 2007, providing end-credit voice-overs for their peaktime programme schedule. He was recommended for the job by fellow stand up comic and friend, Rhod Gilbert.

In 2005 Davies played a caricature of cricketer W.G. Grace in a series of adverts for Channel 4's television coverage of The Ashes.^[5]

Davies has appeared regularly in various panel shows including Have I Got News For You, Never Mind The Buzzcocks and Mock the Week

Awards[link]

In 2002, Davies won the 'Laughing Horse New Act of The Year' competition and was a finalist in 'So You Think You're Funny'. In 2003, he was a runner up in ITV's 'Take the Mike' competition and a finalist in the 'Leicester Mercury New Act of The Year' competition. He was nominated for 'Best New Act of the Year' in the 2003 Chortle comedy awards.

In 2006, Davies was nominated for an If.comedy award as part of We Are Klang. In 2007, Davies was nominated three times in the Chortle Awards, in the categories 'Breakthrough Act' (for his solo stand-up act), 'Best Sketch, Variety or Character Act' and 'Best Full-Length Show' (both as part of sketch team We Are Klang).^[6]

In 2010, Davies' first solo stand-up show 'Firing Cheeseballs At A Dog' was nominated for the Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Awards at the Edinburgh Festival.^[7] The show was subsequently taken on his first ever tour the following autumn.^[8] He was also nominated for the Edinburgh Fringe's Malcolm Hardee 'Act Most Likely to Make a Million Quid' Award.^[9]

Filmography[link]

References[link]