Ray hinted at a full Kinks comeback in 2018 with this never coming to fruition. Ray shared, “Well, it got shelved because of… other issues. But there’s still material there. When I get time.” Speaking on his inspiration for new tracks, Ray said the songs are stemming from “home demos” that he has been recording for around thirty years.

He shared, “We’ve got loads of songs there in pieces. There are about two or three songs I want to finish, and when they’re finished, I’ll put the whole thing together.”

Ray also delved into the feud between the original band members, speaking on the artistic differences between himself, his brother Dave Davies and drummer Mick Avory. He shared, “We’re just different animals. We found ourselves at a very young age being in each other’s faces. And we had to work with it somehow.”

Speaking on his brother Dave, Ray shared that he would need to “persuade [him] to come on too” if a full reunion were to happen. He continued, “You’ve gotta be careful because he’ll run off in one direction and I’ll [run] in mine… He’s like that. He stays in control.”

Ultimately, The Kinks reuniting hinges on the band being able to put together “a show that gives us the credit we deserve,” according to Ray.

In the absence of new music, The Kinks have recently released a new anthology series to celebrate the 60th anniversary of their formation. The anthology, titled The Journey, is a two-part compilation of their favourite moments from their catalogue. In a press release for The Journey, Ray Davies said, “Ask yourself the question, is this journey really necessary? …Yes!”

Dave Davies also shared his excitement, saying “I’m delighted with what I think is an inspiring selection of timeless and magical Kinks music.”

‘The Journey – Part 2′ is OUT NOW The band have handpicked a selection of songs, celebrating 60 years of The Kinks, one of the most influential rock bands ever! Dig into these iconic tracks and take yourself on a journey https://t.co/M6XuedWlXe pic.twitter.com/ixnXuop12g

— The Kinks (@TheKinks) November 17, 2023

Has ‘The Journey – Part 2′ had you dancing around all weekend like Ray and Mick? https://t.co/M6XuedWTMM pic.twitter.com/leHczMqAeR

— The Kinks (@TheKinks) November 20, 2023

Purchase The Journey here.

The Kinks’ Dave Davies: ‘Ray and I have spoken about a reunion – it’s possible!’ | The Independent https://t.co/DrU0XytBpZ

— Dave Davies (@davedavieskinks) July 26, 2022

Dave and his brother, lead singer Ray Davies have famously had a difficult relationship. The band never formally split, last taking the stage together as The Kinks back in 1996. Talking to The Independent to promote his candid new memoir Living on a Thin Line, Davies said about the possibility of the reunion, “Ray and I have spoken about it – it’s possible! We get on okay…We talk about football! We’re born-and-bred Arsenal fans… So, yeah, I’m optimistic about the future.”

Back in 1964, Davies was a 17-year-old obsessed with science fiction and liked to “make silly things that didn’t make any sense with bits of wire”. On the creation of the seminal guitar sound that Davies used on “You Really Got Me”, he told The Independent, “I’d had an argument with my girlfriend and I was full of rage and pissed off. Rather than slash me wrists, I thought I’d attack the speaker cone. I sliced the cone down, virtually all the way around, and was quite surprised that it was still working. It had this kind of raspy sound, and I liked it.”

The brothers had just formed the band with a friend Pete Quaife playing bass, and Ray was starting to write songs on the family’s upright piano. Davies goes on to explain the origin of one of rock music’s most famous riffs telling the paper, “He wrote the ‘You Really Got Me’ riff on that piano, I tried it with my new sound and that’s how we really started.” The rest was history as that crunching F chord crashed out of speakers all over the world; the sound influencing musicians from Jimi Hendrix to Tom Petty – rock music was never the same again.

Asked about his thoughts on the song after all these years, Davies told The Independent, “I thought it was amazing, I felt more like an inventor. Some people adored the sound, and others hated it, but once we put it into the context of the song Ray was writing it started to become what it became, which was a phenomenon. It was a phenomenal time anyway. It seemed like the working class was really breaking through with art and movies and music.”

“You Really Got Me” was released in August 1964 as the band’s third single and quickly hit the number one spot the following month, searing the band’s influence onto the beating heart of the Swinging Sixties.

Band member Ray Davis spoke about the show in a press release, saying; “The Moneygoround is a one-man show documenting a character facing the challenging circumstances of making an album under extreme pressure. This play, similar to a psychodrama, follows the ups and downs of the character as he plays out events in his life. He confronts the dark forces surrounding him after falling into an emotional and financial “hole” eventually he is saved by a song after confiding in his friend, Lola”

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The play is co-written by Ray and Paul Sirett, who worked with him on Come Dancing and the BBC Radio 4 play Arthur. The 45-minute production has been filmed with actor Ben Norris as the leading character. The live stream will include the filmed play, inserts of archival footage, the Any Time 2020 lyric video, an unboxing video for the anniversary edition of Lola, and the Lola lyric video.

Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One, commonly abbreviated to Lola Versus Powerman, or just Lola, is the eighth studio album by The Kinks. The album recorded and released the album in 1970. The album was a huge success both critically and commercially for the band. The album contained the singles Lola which hit number 2 in the UK charts and Apeman, which peaked at number 5.

The special multi-format release of Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One was released in December as a part of the celebrations for the anniversary and is available to order now. The Moneygoround live stream show will be broadcasted on The Kinks’ YouTube channel on January 29th at 8 pm (GMT).

Brother of frontman Ray, Dave Davies has not had the best relationship with his fraternal bandmate and the band used their official Facebook account today to deny Mojo’s claim that the band were preparing to reunite next year with or without Dave.

The quote came from an interview with Ray Davies in which he is quoted to have said “Dave’s invited to the party, but if he doesn’t want to do it, [the reunion] will happen anyway. He’s very welcome to turn up if he wants. I’d much rather work with him than without him.” The official Kinks Facebook page claims that “There will be NO Kinks reunion without BOTH Ray and Dave Davies. Ray Davies claims to have never said this.”

What exactly was said, and indeed what is planned, will remain unknown for the time being. Whilst fans will be hoping for the band to get back together next year, it looks increasingly unlikely that they will be appearing in any form other than one including Dave Davies.