This Day In Rock History: May 19th
1965: During a concert in Wales, Kinks guitarist Dave Davies was knocked unconscious when he was struck in the back of the neck with a hi-hat cymbal by drummer Mick Avory. According to band leader and Dave’s brother Ray Davies, Avory had been looking to exact revenge on Dave, who had kicked over Avory’s drum kit in retaliation to an alcohol-fueled fight the two had had night before. Convinced he had killed his bandmate, Avory immediately fled Cardiff’s Capital Theatre and went into hiding. When the police caught up with him, Avory denied the whole thing happened, though the police pointed out that the show’s entire audience were witnesses. Dave Davies, who received sixteen stitches, dropped all charges against the band’s drummer and relations in the group were smoothed over, though the remaining dates on the band’s tour were canceled. The American Federation of Musicians refused to allow the band to tour in the US for four years due to their “violent” reputation at a time when British music was taking America by storm, and the band’s popularity in the US suffered as a result. Ray Davies later said that the ban took away the Kinks’ best years when they were performing at their peak.
1983: Stevie Nicks released “Stand Back,” the lead single from her second solo studio album, The Wild Heart. It became one of her biggest solo hits, reaching #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, and became a staple of Nicks’ live shows both solo and with Fleetwood Mac.
source: wwcfradio
