Ray Davies Interview Sleepwalker March 8, 1977

Ray Davies Interview Sleepwalker

[@LeeB9999]

We're divorced at the moment. I like the look Dave gives after that is said by Ray.

[@weallshineon704]

I love Mick Jagger but I think Ray (and Dave!) are much prettier than him. heh.

[@drstrangelov3]

yes!!!

[@kristinadospoy7347]

I beg to differ, Dave was the better looking one

[@drstrangelov3]

Kristina Dospoy idk for me Ray is SO sweet and pretty

[@kristinadospoy7347]

@@drstrangelov3 I admit Ray did have nice hair, but I don't like his teeth. Dave had really nice teeth and a better face.

[@helencampbell4900]

@@drstrangelov3 I agree. I preferred Ray. His face is stronger than Dave's.

[@maxbobness]

0:44 - "we're divorced at the moment." Ah yes, the story of the Kinks right there in a nutshell.

[@swirlingfudge]

Wit breaking through for the only time in this interview

[@burnleyvest5807]

Love how Dave waits for the camera light, then mouths "a**hole" at his brother.

[@mauricioamaro5698]

Such an intelligent and sensitive artist, such blunt and shallow interviewers...

[@kristinadospoy7347]

Classic sibling rivalry

[@kristinadospoy7347]

Ray probably meant "estranged"

[@BartowWing]

Ray Davies (and his brother actually) are a legend.

[@keithford1115]

I have followed the kinks all my life they were one of the best groups ever.

[@ClaudiaGonzalezKinkyFloyd]

Poor Ray, he seems so uncomfortable and bored.... I love this man though, forever and ever

[@tammykumdumpster407]

Compared to performing for him the interview was extremely boring indeed

[@fishhookism]

I don't blame him.

[@divingduck1970]

Ray sitting next to Tony Bennett. Great.

[@cinevita]

He's such a darling man. I'm so happy I got to see him in concert a couple of years ago. He's a genius.

[@Arturo-sm1tb]

Genius, but a real dckhead to his brother.

[@tarnsand]

Ray seems shy therefore nervous..resorting to joking self put downs. Mike Douglas was a huge supporter of young talent and overall genuinely nice man. It's hard to interview someone who either hates interviews or is very shy/ nervous.

[@v1m]

What a wonderful, smart, relaxed interview. Not particularly deep, but neither shallow nor canned in the know-nothing, PR-shaped style of 2017. You can sense what was still operating in parts of American media at that time: curiosity about the world, a wish to connect, a spiritual generosity. Most strikingly of all Douglas listens, perhaps the last of his talk show kind to do. Ray is open and very appealing.

[@oughtssought1198]

there was generally more of that on US talk shows in the '70s than the 60s is my recall amen re: Mike Douglas's interview style

[@lucyfoster4082]

Yeah Ray wasn’t making it particularly interesting but Mike kept up a nice tone.

[@lucyfoster4082]

*easy on him, not interesting. Sorry brain fart

[@Shadobanned4life]

Mr Davies is a very humble gentleman.Today's self-obsessed 'stars' should take a cue from Mr Davies.

[@Fitzroyfallz]

Harry Canary oh yes, because rock and roll stars are known for their humility...

[@crisp9929]

@@Fitzroyfallz Yeah lmao... honestly it seems like some of the modern artists are more humble sometimes. Of course, Ray is an exception. Very humble.

[@GlennWW]

@@crisp9929 He's not humble as far as Dave is concerned though! Quite the primadonna

[@Urlocallordandsavior]

You sound like the Rick Beato sort of geezers.

[@bluebellbeatnik4945]

humble???

[@aracelireyes4187]

He's so beyond all the cameras and unnecessary bull. I can really relate to him because he knows exactly what he's thinking but i feel like he doesn't think others would dig or get it.

[@ianng5098]

uh what a gorgeous man

[@julenepegher6999]

I think so too

[@apexjoe4769]

That would have been perfect Ray Davies interview had this showed them performing "Celluloid Heroes"

[@paschkefan]

This would have been better if they let Dave come down for part of the interview. Then Ray and him could have fought it out.

[@Tomtomlatomate]

cutest smile of rock and roll (along with Paul Simonon's:p)

[@Poshnoodles]

What about Roger Daltrey's smile?

[@honeycatacomb1191]

You have a thing for boys with big gaps between their teeth huh?

[@doctorfuse007]

Holy awkward, Bat-Kids! You can cut the tension in the air with a coke-encrusted razor blade. But the looks of understanding between Davies and Bennett is priceless. A bond that cuts through generations. Priceless clip.

[@mriamright1740]

Ray Davies was not on cocaine

[@just4music687]

"Most of the time when you perform the kids scream through most of what you're doing." Ray: "Not really." Oh yeah I did, well after this interview...at 17 during the Give the People What They Want tour. Met Ray backstage; he signed my arm and I xeroxed it in school the next day. xoxo

[@sharonra2000]

he is just so sweet. so humble and just a bit shy. would i love to meet you ray davies,,,,,,,,,maybe one day hopefully.

[@ustheserfs]

Ray getting thru the promo rounds is not unlike you vigorously rubbing a cheese grater on the back of your calf.

[@3ld919]

Thank God that little local station asked him to write a rock opera. Arguably out of all their stellar music "Arthur" is their best.

[@williamberry2351]

Arthur is one of the finest from Britain’s finest band

[@freyasangria]

great English nose. i could look up his nostril

[@joeybenoit6269]

What a f****** legend! Even with the problems with his brother! Ray is a true musicians musician!

[@jimkeogh8552]

Mike: the reason your audience screamed during Bay City Rollers was self preservation. People don't scream during the Kinks' shows is because the music is actually worth listening to.

[@askox]

I love how truthfully he is and always has been :)

[@Jonathan-mt9up]

Haha, Dave seems to mouth "a**hole" to his brother after Ray says "we're divorced at the moment."

[@rockisheaven]

He was trying to disguise it, but yeah, that absolutely is what he was saying. :P My heart belongs to Dave, but I love them both!

[@tarnsand]

Jon The feelings of sadness by fans seems to be magnified when band mates especially brothers do not get along. Even more tragic never do seem to reconcile. It was rampant in 60's Brit bands..I'm guessing very young talent sudden success dodgey managers/ less earnings than anticipated. I think The Tremeloes may be one of few bands remained close over the decades even if tbey didn't always tour together. And of course Rolling Stones.

[@thomaspick4123]

How Dave could sit through those slights is unbelievable. Dave would have been justified in smacking Ray in the kisser. Dave and others band members contributed a lot to the sound. They got no credit and were basically salaried side men. No wonder they broke up. I love the Kinks and their music. This clip shows what an asshole Ray could be.

[@kristinadospoy7347]

@@tarnsand The Zombies too are still close

[@duffbaker9554]

@@kristinadospoy7347 Just two of them are.

[@MermaidPrincess9]

Ray Davies was a Beautiful English Boy when i first met him in 69.. HE walked up to me after the show, i was so flattered to ask me the most important question to any englishman, "Excuse me Luv, Do you know where the nearest Pub is? i was only to happy to oblige.. So thats when my love affair with Ray Davies began and it continued all through the Kinks years and beyond to his Solo career.. where i met him once again but this time we talked about how his sisters name is Rosie and thats my name.

[@CarlBowlby]

I WANT to spend my life living in a rock and roll fantasy!

[@lawsonj39]

Mike Douglas obviously has no idea who he's talking to.

[@tankhalffull]

Mike Douglas was just fantastic.., he welcomed such a diverse collection of performers to his show... from Tom Waits to The Kinks

[@martinbench3657]

The Kinks with Tony Bennett , God bless Mike Douglas

[@sceneofthecrash99]

His smiiiile is sooo cuute.

[@julenepegher6999]

No, Ray you are prettier than him💋

[@caveatemp]

"Do you know Rogers and Hammerstein?" Did you even listen to their album Muswell Hillbilly? "Oklahoma USA, with Shirley Jones and Gordon McRae"

[@katebadley5464]

I love how he continues to turn towards Tony in his attempts to chat him up. Musicians love to talk shop with other musicians. ❤️

[@jeffreystrain6031]

I think his name is pronounced Davis.

[@DrTomoculus]

In England it's pronounced this way, in America it's always been like Mike Douglas says it. (I've lived in both countries.)

[@brandnutopian]

I wish Tony Bennett were doing the interview. It's obvious that Ray would rather talk to him anyway.

[@hattyhat13]

dave is fricken hot.

[@just4music687]

Geez Ray was gorgeous.

[@toniigx8]

i second this

[@daysjours]

@@toniigx8 I saw him up close and personal many times and he was knee-knocking gorgeous.

[@toniigx8]

daysjours omg lucky!!! i have always wanted to see ray in person, at least i’ve seen dave live before!

[@daysjours]

@@toniigx8 Yes, I was very lucky -- he sort of took me under his wing let me travel to a show with him and let me stand on the side of the stage at one concert. Special times! I was star struck and pinching myself :-)

[@toniigx8]

daysjours holy shit ... that’s amazing !!

[@tinamarie3696]

I don't get why Dave is in the background and not in the Interview. I love Dave! he's hotter than Mick Jagger & Ray!

[@389383]

His would have been a livelier interview.

[@missmusic6760]

Tina Marie well I think Ray is pretty attractive 😝😂😂

[@artprince9163]

Ray is the genius writer and voice of the Kinks. Dave is a great player but the kinks are who they are essentially because of Ray.

[@kristinadospoy7347]

@@389383 He would've belted Ray in the face

[@kristinadospoy7347]

@@missmusic6760 no, I think Dave was more attractive.

[@fenderstratguy]

I never saw Freddy Mercury live, but of the many many front men I have seen, the top 3 were probably Mick Jagger, Ray Davies and Noddy Holder of Slade. Every one of those guys could wrap the audience around his little finger. They could make them laugh, cry, clap, stomp, or sit up and beg, at will.

[@ksmontanaro]

This host seems like a nice guy, but it would have been great if Tony did the interview instead.

[@barrycross2585]

My previous comment regarding the shows host is for a number of reasons. His show is totally unknown over this side of the pond, and didn’t appear to know that much about Ray Davies as a guest. Show hosts are supposed to be prepared with some kind of background info, and he appeared particularly clueless of this bloke he was supposed to be interviewing. The question about his brother was particularly lame, especially as he Dave Davies was sitting right along there. The two Davies brothers should have been interviewed together.

[@oughtssought1198]

or he did it to see that the other brother got a mention, but yes, w/o knowing their history

[@AnthropoidOne]

I was too musically ignorant to be into the Kinks in 1977. All I listened to was Billboard Top 40

[@veribull]

Pretty dumb and uninformed comments on this one geeze.. :/

[@FishAdvisor]

After watching "Johnny Rotten" interviews Ray seems like a fine English man. Love his style!

[@AnimalsMatterMorally]

Back when talk show interviews weren't just advertorials for famous people to push their latest project

[@Rascarrr]

yeah Ray was totally not there to promote the Sleepwalker lp. Oh wait....

[@ACNC1]

Glad that Granada got a shout.out.

[@777RockNRollin]

Ray is the all time KING OF ROCK !!

[@lucasoheyze4597]

Don't be daft

[@SaschaLorch]

He is unique as the Kinks​@@lucasoheyze4597

[@kmac3215]

Ray is such a Ray.

[@michaeldubin3638]

Read Daves book. He wrote a lot, but didn't get credit. Dave was /is fun , Ray is all ego...

[@swirlingfudge]

I dunno man, I think it's there's a genuine awkwardness and shyness at play

[@robbieclark7828]

Michael Dubin Ray is ego and Dave is personality

[@iadorenewyork1]

The book is called X-Ray and it was written about 20 years ago. It has some great recollections.

[@dixgun]

Interesting interview. Great look, too. Mike Douglas, as has been pointed out, really kept things calm in his conversations. Is that Tony Bennett next to Ray?

[@kinksboss1]

Amazing that 35 years later Ray Davies and Tony Bennett would be performing on the stage again, at Clive Davis pre-Grammy party on the night Whitney Houston died

[@oughtssought1198]

cool

[@charold3]

Ray Davies and Tony Bennett!

[@friendlier]

It's 1977 and Mike thinks that teenyboppers are still screaming at the Kinks? I agree with ksmontanaro below that Tony Bennett would have been a better choice for interviewer.

[@mustlovepretzels]

In 1994 Moog Konttinen recorded a Finnish version of The Kinks album "Soap Opera" that translates to "Saippuaoopera".

[@raw12377]

That was 4 days before I was born😳 I absolutely love The Kinks. So underrated when you consider how big The Beatles,The Rolling Stones & The Who all became…& The Kinks, imo, are at the very very least on par with all their peer’s. For me The Kinks had more variety in their locker than any of the others. You can listen to 5 Kinks songs & if you didn’t know,you’d swear that they were all from different bands. For me I can hear The Beatles, I can hear The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Doors & even Bob Dylan all in one Kinks album. I love the fact that Ray, largely shunned the limelight, it adds mystique to them that the others didn’t have. A wonderfully talented band, with some incredible stories, lots of controversies, but also such a fun band. Absolute legends

[@PAULLONDEN]

Love Mike's toupée.......first thought he hired it from Terry Wogan...

[@richardfox223]

Toe-curling interview, not helped by sitting side-by-side, having to crane their necks. Interviewer badly prepared and condescending. Ray did well to keep it going.

[@scottyslack7999]

a brilliant songsmith. love the Mick Jagger impression he sneaks in at 2:04

[@andrewmoonbeam321]

Well caught!

[@DrTomoculus]

Yeah, Strawberry milkshakes Ray. You Sherbet playboy you. 4:40 says someone's very into you.

[@david_4739]

Smart man Ray, like a lot of extremely talented artists, not everything they create is a winner, but a few are absolute gold.

[@AnwarTheBoss]

aaah quiet with british accent

[@dsim6703]

That was awkward. Ray is more lively on stage. Bennett seemed like he wanted nothing to do with it

[@Issaaay260]

❤️ Ray Davies....

[@mahajohn]

What a scintillating, well-informed interviewer. Jeezopeezy!

[@ricenglish4556]

How the interviewer is not aware of the Kinks is beyond me.

[@NewEnglanderfrvr]

Wow, so young.

[@JoanOkoye]

he's amazing.

[@LEObondTraveller]

Whose the cutey on the left?

[@comic4relief]

Who was the gal to the other side of Mike? She likes Ray.

[@MrMike2008a]

There was a comedic actress, Julie McWhirter, who did impressions. She did a lot of commercials, and starred in a kids show "Whacko" along with Charles "Roger Rabbit" Fleischer and Bo Kaprell. She resembles her strongly.

[@jolinkarlsson8569]

Ray is the cutest introvert 💖🥺❣️

[@tilesetter1953]

The girl is actress Julie McWhirter.

[@oughtssought1198]

thank you

[@dboulos7]

I found him to be extremely awkward. Reasonable at times, but otherwise disconnected?

[@choptop81]

That's just how he is. Probably has a little bit of the 'tism

[@lucasoheyze4597]

Washed up by then, what a waster.

[@thenowchurch6419]

Interesting choice of example of current music at the time. The Bay City Rollers? Nobody remembers them. Pure cheese.

[@nicholaskovacs207]

Aaahhh yes i think his taking the piss out of mick jagger🤔🤔🤔lol i think its fair to say mick got hit with the ugly stick😣😣

[@oughtssought1198]

a lot of comments here bring to mind that great Allman Brothers line from One Way Out "talking 'bout stuff that they don't know' ironically nailing Mike Douglas for that very thing, but stating reasons for it that are definitely NOT what Mike Douglas was about, as some folk have pointed out.

[@gjmaztr7]

I hope one day Chrissie Hynde and Ray Davies daughter will resurrect a music career and create memorable music like her folks,,,since talent is in the Blood, at The same time Chrissie daughter with Simple Minds exFrontman might also write and sings songs too.

[@niguel4438]

Awkward?!

[@Betoven81]

Please...pleeease I want to go on a YT clip where I don't have to see those people's names.

[@what5927]

Whose names?

[@jimmypage2138]

Who's the girl on the left?

[@fazlurbaksh5969]

I guess he made Mick Jagger's day by saying Mick is better looking than him.

[@Issaaay260]

Oh how I love that man. And I'm not talking about Merv Griffin.

[@bettyweiss3712]

❤❤❤

[@ashleyburns6752]

The interviewer blatently asked who his favorite non rock composer was to embarrass him, backfired.

[@swirlingfudge]

Disagree. I think it was just a question.

[@JoeGarchar1960]

To the contrary. If it wasn't for people like Mike Douglas, Dick Cavett and Dinah Shore, you would have seen very little of the rock talent on daytime or prime time television throughout the late 60's and 70's. I was 17 when this aired and remember waiting to see it. You had Rock Concert and Midnight Special, but other than magazines, albums and radio, you never saw your favorite rock acts other than in concert once a year, if you were lucky. Nothing like it is now. Mike had been doing this for many years and he wasn't trying to embarrass him, he brought many rock acts to his show for exposure when they had new releases..

[@kimberlyhardin8034]

You dont get it. They didnt have your way of thinking like you are doing back then. He wasnt tryin to embarrass him far from it. He was asking legit questions

[@kristinadospoy7347]

@@JoeGarchar1960 I was about a month and a half when that episode aired in '77.

[@oughtssought1198]

@@JoeGarchar1960 amen. well said and needed saying.

[@blakehavard]

This is awesome. Where is the band performance?

[@dramamine6199]

you can hear dave around 3:33 respond to the question 😭poor guy, left out

[@johnjarou2357]

is that tony bennett on the right?

[@donnamariedavidson5065]

John Jarou yes! That is Tony Bennett 😉

[@87758]

Mike has no clue what he is saying

[@artnardone]

Wow Tony Bennet 41 tears ago ! he was 50.

[@ndines6237]

“Are you people much aware of people like Rogers and Hammerstein?” Well that was insulting.

[@ericdailey8587]

Ray wrote a song called Oklahoma U.S.A. (on the Muswell Hillbillies album) which references the Oklahoma! musical (the movie version) which Rogers & Hammerstein wrote. So, of course he was aware of that songwriting duo.

[@mightyhudson1193]

but she just opened her mouth and is American - not Haley

[@kristinadospoy7347]

Happy birthday, Dave!

[@LeonTrotsky6782]

Does anyone know the name of the delightful woman on the show? Lovely interview. Always loved Ray & Dave.

[@danhermon4922]

Julie McWhirter

[@DrTomoculus]

4:40 says Julie liked a bit of Ray.

[@TheGodParticle]

whos the blonde on the left?

[@mightyhudson1193]

looks like a young Haley Mills

[@derkhippensteel1393]

Julie McWhirter?

[@TheGodParticle]

Cheers bro..

[@davidjones998]

gasp.