David Russell Gordon Davies (/ˈdeɪviːz/ DAY-veez;[1][a] born 3 February 1947) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter.

He was the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the English rock band the Kinks, led by his older brother (and principal writer and singer) Ray.

Davies also sometimes undertook writing and/or lead vocals duties within the band, for example on songs such as "Death of a Clown", "Party Line", "Strangers" and "Rats".

His signature distorted power chord riffs on songs would heavily influence future heavy metal and punk rock acts.

[3] David Russell Gordon Davies was born at 6 Denmark Terrace, Muswell Hill, North London.

[10] Frederick George had changed his surname to Davies by the time he married Annie Florence Willmore (1905–1987)[11] in Islington in 1924.

[13] The oldest Davies daughter, Rene, died at the age of 31 from a heart attack on the day before Ray's 13th birthday, while she was out dancing at the Lyceum Ballroom in the Strand, London in June 1957.

Activities in the Davies household centred around this front room, culminating in large parties, where the parents would sing and play piano together.

[4] He achieved the sound by using a razor blade to slit the speaker cone on his Elpico amplifier, which he then ran through a larger Vox as a "pre-amp".

[23] The band arranged other financial support to cut the single, which became a hit, topping the charts in the UK and reaching number 7 in the US.

The most notorious incident was at the Capitol Theatre in Cardiff in May 1965, involving drummer Mick Avory and Dave Davies.

[18] The group abandoned the traditional R&B/blues sound and adopted a more nostalgic, reflective style of music, as showcased on songs like "Autumn Almanac" and "Waterloo Sunset", as well as their albums, such as Something Else by the Kinks and The Village Green Preservation Society.

In July 1967, Dave Davies released his first solo single, "Death of a Clown", credited entirely under his name as the recording artist, though it was co-written by his brother.

Pye Records, the Kinks' label, sensed potential sales in a solo release from the overlooked Davies and issued "Death of a Clown" as his debut.

By the time a fourth single, "Hold My Hand", met with the same result, a combination of his own lack of interest in continuing and Pye's decision to stop killed off any hopes of an album.

[4] Eventually, the tracks intended for his first solo album were assembled for a 2011 compilation by Russell Smith & Andrew Sandoval entitled Hidden Treasures.

[25] Although they received unanimous acclaim, Village Green failed to chart internationally, and Arthur was met with a mediocre commercial reception.

The rootsy Muswell Hillbillies, themed on country-rock and Americana, was released in late 1971 and was well-received with critics, but failed to sell strongly.

It was the first album in what critics usually call the "arena rock" phase of the group, in which more commercial and mainstream production techniques would be employed.

Mick Avory left the band after the Kinks' last album for Arista, Word of Mouth, mainly due to the growing animosity between him and Dave Davies.

At the invitation of Ray Davies, Avory agreed to manage Konk Studios, where he also served as a producer and occasional contributor on later Kinks albums.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic.com later commented that the album "represented an artistic dead end for the Kinks, as Ray Davies continued to crank out a series of competent, but undistinguished hard rockers."

It was also his first new studio effort since his stroke in the summer of 2004 besides the track "God in my Brain" (which was recorded and released on the compilation album Kinked in January 2006).

[32] In October 2014, to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Kinks, a new album by Davies, with many tracks looking back to the start of the band, titled Rippin' Up Time was released.

On 18 December, at his concert at the Islington Assembly Hall in London, he was joined onstage by Ray to perform the Kinks' hit "You Really Got Me" together.

Guitarists such as Lonnie Mack, Jimi Hendrix, Albert King and Davies himself helped stir interest in the instrument, and it would eventually become one of the signature guitars of the heavy metal era.

[38] Davies commented on his Flying V: I used to play a Guild custom built guitar and the airline lost it on our first American tour in '64 or '65.

On his website he lists the following: Davies was expelled from school at the age of 15 after being caught having sex with his girlfriend, Sue Sheehan,[40] on Hampstead Heath.

Their relationship had a profound impact on Davies, who wrote a number of songs about their separation including "Funny Face", "Susannah's Still Alive", and "Mindless Child of Motherhood".

Davies published an autobiography, entitled Kink in 1996, in which he discussed his bisexuality and brief relationships with Long John Baldry and music producer Michael Aldred in the late 1960s.