The Kinks' 1965 UK tour
Tensions within the group characterised much of the tour, culminating in an onstage fight in which the drummer Mick Avory struck the lead guitarist Dave Davies in the head with a hi-hat stand.
Dave was hospitalised with a head injury, Avory retreated into hiding to avoid police charges and the Walker Brothers performed in the Kinks' place for the tour's final four dates.
[1][nb 1] The band had not experienced commercial success in the UK until their third single, "You Really Got Me", which reached number one on all of the major British charts in September 1964.
[2][3] Their success continued with their follow-up singles – "All Day and All of the Night" and "Tired of Waiting for You" – which reached number two and one on Melody Maker magazine's chart in November 1964 and February 1965, respectively.
[8] The shows formed the second leg of a world tour, following concerts in January and February in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore, in which the Kinks opened for the contemporary English rock band Manfred Mann.
[9] Subsequent legs of the world tour were planned for the United States in June and July and continental Europe from September to November.
[15] The Kinks' management initially planned for the tour to be with Manfred Mann, but both bands rejected the idea in March after neither was willing to accept second billing.
[12] The support acts on the program were Mickey Finn, Jeff & Jon, the Yardbirds, the Riot Squad, Val McKenna and the American band Goldie and the Gingerbreads.
[25] On 13 April, two weeks before the tour began,[26][27] both bands independently attempted recording some of the earliest pop songs with Indian influences, a genre later termed raga rock;[28] the Yardbirds re-recorded their song "Heart Full of Soul" on 20 April,[29] and the Kinks returned to the studio on 3 May – their first day off from the UK tour – to re-do "See My Friends".
[15] The author Peter Lavezzoli writes that the tight timeline between the bands' pioneering recordings and their time together makes it interesting to speculate whether they discussed their work with one another during the tour.
[30][nb 3] The Kinks received positive reviews in the British press for the second show of the tour's debut, held on 30 April in Slough.
Norman Jopling of Melody Maker characterised the band's music as powerful, adding that their energetic stage act led to an all-round entertaining show.
[12] In NME, Norrie Drummond similarly highlighted the show's theatrical elements, particularly the opening, which had the Kinks begin "You Really Got Me" on a darkened stage before a spotlight expanded to reveal the group.
[11] After returning from a post-show party,[11][44] a drunk and high Dave got into separate arguments with Ray, Curtis and the hotel's night porter.
[51] After a few moments on his knees,[51] Avory emerged from the wreckage, took his hi-hat stand and struck Dave over the back of the head with the cymbal end.
This guy wearing the hunting jacket and frilly yellow shirt running through the streets of Cardiff with hundreds of girls chasing after him because he's one of the Kinks.
[55][57] The band's management explained to officers that it was simply a stage act gone awry, but police soon considered charging Avory with grievous bodily harm.
[56] Arthur Howes, the Kinks' booking agent,[63] initially said to the press that the band's shows would continue,[59] but by the evening of 20 May he announced that they would not be performing due to "circumstances beyond our control".
[64][65] The package tour continued, and the Kinks' slot was filled by the Walker Brothers, a mostly unknown American pop group[15] whose recent single "Love Her" was then rising in the charts.
[57] The band briefly considered replacing Avory with another drummer; by 24 May, Mitch Mitchell of the Riot Squad had agreed in principle to joining the group.
[63][nb 7] Despite the unconvincing and sometimes contradictory stories espoused by Avory, the press expressed no skepticism, but instead criticised the group for not continuing the tour with a substitute guitarist, an option dismissed by both Dave and Curtis.
[74] Determined to reconcile the band,[75] Page phoned each Kink individually and invited them to the London offices of his firm, Denmark Productions.
"[75] The band agreed to regroup and fulfill their upcoming commitments, but the tour was delayed a week until the 17th,[63] something necessitated by Dave's head injury.
[77][78] To downplay the public perception of his injuries, Dave appeared at the Variety Club Star Gala at Battersea Park, south London, on 29 May, signing autographs for charity.
