I've been wondering what are these 'fascist plots on the right' the lyric mentions refers to are. There's this: Harold Wilson conspiracy theories - Wikipedia Although the programme mentioned was broadcast in 2006, it seems in the mid 70s the British press was full of rumours about right wing ex-army types forming paramilitary groups to either overthrow the Labour government or to 'step in' when British democracy collapsed. So well known were these rumours there was even a character in a popular sitcom who was based on these rumoured ex-army types (Jimmy in the "The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin"). There was a later sitcom based largely on the character of Jimmy. Fairly Secret Army - Wikipedia
I presumed that the mention of the left and the right was an oblique reference to Preservation Act II. I wonder if the 'right wing ex-army types' in the UK at the time were part of the inspiration for the plot of that album?
I do remember that there was a group called the National Front in those days that attracted skinheads. Also, Oswald Mosley, the former British Fascist leader of the 1930s attempted a comeback, which was the subject of the early Elvis Costello single "Less Than Zero".
The National Front was a bit later in the 70s. 1974-75 was the peak of IRA bombings on the British mainland so that might explain the 'terrorists on the left' line except, in reality, the IRA were hardly a strictly left wing organization. There was however the Red Army Faction in Germany and, in the UK: The Angry Brigade - Wikipedia
I worry we get so hung up on categorising things that we need to know who Ray thought was making fascist plots. Was the UK National Front really organised enough to plot anything - at least until Nigel Farage used their arguments to push Brexit? And does anyone really believe IRA bombings were done in the guise of socialism rather than Irish nationalism? Ray was a superb observer and chronicler of people. To the extent these lyrics reference someone's paranoia about bombings and plotting they work well. But in my opinion they have no currency beyond that.
They have plenty of currency, it's not as if Ray Davies didn't have a track record of writing songs which addressed or were influenced by what was going on in the world around him, I mean, what's "Muswell Hillbillies" largely about? He was a superb observer and chronicler of British society as well as people. So, in 1974, Harold Wilson was back in power and there were rumours of right wing plots in the newspapers, Ray didn't just make that up, and the IRA was bombing the UK mainland, that wasn't just paranoia, it did affect people's daily lives. An office worker commuting to work in London in 1974 would have been aware of IRA bombing campaigns. In fact, when I first moved to London, in the early 2000s, one of the first things I noticed was the lack of bins in public places, tube stations and railway stations and then I found out that they'd been removed in the 70s because of IRA bombing campaigns, 20-odd years earlier. The right wing plots had nothing to do with the National Front but, as I mentioned earlier, were largely about retired colonels and disaffected MI5 members. By the way, the National Front had long since disappeared by the time of Nigel Farage and Brexit, it was effectively Thatcher who killed them off by steering the Tories to the right and, in doing so, hoovering up most of the National Front's votes. The IRA's stated aim was the formation of a socialist state in Ireland so the IRA (or at least their leadership) believed their bombings were done in the guise of socialism and Irish nationalism.
Hum, witnessing another sort of Kinks kontroversy right now… @Steve62 and @Vangro, if you'll allow me, having read all your posts so far, I'd suspect you'd both be in a agreement with me that Ray is a fabulous observer but not necessarily a deep political thinker. From what we've read in the remarkable 1974 Guardian piece shared by @ajsmith the other day, I think Ray himself would've agreed as well at the time. His whole body of work is a case of feeling things (for instance regret about things not being "what they used to be"), certainly not about thinking them (for instance making a political statement based on that regret). I tend to think, but I may be wrong, that the Preservation acts were at least partially born out of Ray's need to make it plain clear that his sentimental, ironical, affectionate, elegiac 1968 plea about the Great Britain of the past in The Village Green Preservation Society LP was never meant to be political in the first place – you just look where it'd lead us if it was! Even his outbursts against the welfare state or the civil servants in Muswell Hillbillies are just that : outbursts. Gut reactions. Supporting those he can name ("Uncle Son") against those he can't ("they"). To me, there's a fascinating notion there, and one that rings truer nowadays than it ever did : a lot of people are unsettled when they realize that what they feel is not always in line with what they'd like to think. But I'll argue feeling and thinking are not supposed to be in line. I always think against my gut reactions, I make the effort to tame them if you will, because my gut is nothing more than what it is. An organ whose function is certainly not to do the thinking… This (long) preamble to say that most of Ray's best songs are obviously the ones where he shows his sensitive side. I enjoy his social critiques just as much as the next fan but what elevates them beyond fun and wit is something else, his tenderness, his ability to understand human contradictions, his willingness to show his own. I find it timely to say this today because we've just finished the first side of Soap Opera, and while I like most of its songs, I think they somewhat lack some of that quality. Maybe because the concept gets in the way (we think it's the Starmaker speaking, so we don't feel for him). We could call it the fun Side. But the heart of this record lies in Side 2 when we start feeling empathy for Norman, identifying with him, just like we did for Arthur in the second side of his own LP. Furthermore, it doesn't mean it's got to stop being funny (quack quack…)… so we're about to get the best of both worlds.
For some reason I can't quite work out, people seem to think I was claiming Ray was making some sort of political statement with the lines about the right and left on "Have Another Drink" which is absolutely 100% not what I was doing. All I was doing was putting the lines into some sort of context: why, for instance, he specifically mentions 'fascist plots on the right' because, without the context of what was happening at the time, it's a strange thing to be occupying the average office worker's thoughts. Ditto, terrorism, which would be difficult to understand for people outside the UK because they never experienced living through the Troubles. But, OK, I can keep it simple in future and talk about Dave's guitar tone instead.
Reading everybody's praise for the song, I had another go at Have Another Drink (2 days short of the end of my Dry January), and I found more to like about it than before. Even though it gets stuck a bit too long for my taste in a repetitive stance, and somehow I feel trapped when chords don't change. I listened to Face 1 of Schoolboys today, and I realize part of what prevents me to fully appreciate Soap Opera : this mythic leap in the quality of sound that we all seem to find at a different date (and I switched dates several times) clearly occurs between Soap Opera and Schoolboys. Not only Schoolboys in Disgrace is the first Kinks album with a really, really good sound, it's also the last, in a way, before the more reverb-y sound of the late seventies came and sterilized everything. Soap Opera would have been so much better with this kind of sound. The first two tracks on side 2 will give us a glimpse of how great it could have been.
I kind of caught the fact that there seemed to be a disagreement about something linked to Ray and politics, but I didn't understand any of it (nor really tried to). But it allowed Avid @Fortuleo to put precise words on things many of us felt, I believe, so that was worth it.
... To be fair, it also gave Avid @Vangro the opportunity to share the - to me - incredible fact that there were rumours of right-wing conspiracies under Harold Wilson's second term as Prime Minister. Which is indeed very relevant context, and explains a lot of things that I didn't quite grasp about 70s Britain.
I rewatched Starmaker last night & I noticed that during the song "Nine to Five", the reason why Ray & the other workers were on that moving platform where members of the audience ducked underneath was that it was supposed to be a clock hand. I noticed numbers around it. It probably could have worked a lot better if it was filmed from above like Busby Berkley & not have members of the audience there in the first place.
I assume you mean how does the bar/pub work in the US? if so, I would say it's not family-centric. From what I understand in the UK, the pub was a place to drink with your friends...or even bring the family down and have something to eat and just hang out. In the past US bars were dark places and kids not wanted or welcome. I think that has been changing over the years. But unless you live in a city, the suburbs don't really have too many communal places like pubs.
As I said before, I see plenty of people I know w/their families at my local 99 Restaurant, which also has a bar where you can drink/eat by yourself.
Oh no, you didn't get kids or families in traditional UK pubs, perish the thought! Maybe in rural pubs where there's literally nowhere else to go or nothing else to do but, otherwise, it's more of a modern, middle class, phenomenon. I used to drink in a pub in Glasgow which didn't even have a female toilet, and that's only 20-odd years ago.
Sure. I hear you. I've been to our local 99 too. It has mediocre food and terrible drinks, so I really won't be going back. But I think of the 99 as more of a restaurant. Maybe your local one has a different vibe. Also I'm thinking more of family owned pubs rather than corporate places.
Hmmm...ok. Maybe I'm romanticizing what I believe is a British pub. I've been incorrect...once before.
