Mick Avory
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Mick Avory |
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Michael Charles Avory (born 15 February 1944 in East Molesey, Surrey, England) is an English musician, best known as the longtime drummer and percussionist for the British rock band The Kinks, joining them shortly after their formation in 1964 and remaining with them until 1984, when he left amid creative friction with band guitarist Dave Davies. He is the longest serving member of the band, beside the Davies brothers.
While not as fast or front-line performer as other peers like Keith Moon or John Bonham, Mick Avory is a talented and precise drummer and percussionist. Avory was mostly influenced by jazz drummers like Art Blakey, Max Roach, Joe Morello and Shelly Mann. Although he is overlooked in the context of the band, his contribution to The Kinks' sound is unquestionable. Ray Davies said of him: "Mick had an important sound. Mick wasn't a great drummer, but he was a jazz drummer -- same school, same era as Charlie Watts." He is mostly noted as an expert back-up performer, fluid jazz drumming and efficient steadiness.
Biography
Before the band (1962-1963)
In 1962, before he joined The Kinks, he briefly played drums for The Rolling Stones. He played their first show at The Marquee Club, but his tenure did not last long. He was subsequently replaced by their current drummer Charlie Watts. Mick studied at London drum school, Drumtech.
The Kinks (1964-1984)
Avory was hired by the Kinks (who had just changed their name at that time from the Ravens) in January 1964, after their management saw an advertisement he had placed in the trade magazine Melody Maker. Despite his ability, early Kinks' recordings (including hits such as You Really Got Me) commonly did not feature Avory on drums; producer Shel Talmy hired more seasoned session drummers (most notably Clem Cattini and Bobby Graham) for studio work well into 1965, with Avory commonly providing supporting percussion. After the summer of 1965, Mick played drums on virtually the majority of Kinks recordings. The first album to feature his drumming was Kinda Kinks, though his most brilliant moments would come on the albums Village Green Preservation Society and Arthur . His last recorded performance was on Word of Mouth, where he was featured on three tracks, although he had not been an official member of the band for some time. Avory is also close to being the third member behind the Davies brothers, who had played with almost all the bandmembers, who have been in the different incarnations of the band. The only members, he had not played with are Bob Henrit - his replacement - and keyboardist Mark Haley, who replaced longtime member Ian Gibbons (1979-1989) in 1989.
Avory was always considered the quietest and most easy-going member of the Kinks lineup and was Ray Davies's best friend. However, his turbulent working relationship with guitarist Dave Davies resulted in many legendary onstage fights. In the most notorious (and widely mis-reported) incident, at The Capitol Theatre, Cardiff, S.Wales in 1965, Avory hit Davies with his drum pedal (not the cymbal stand, which, according to later interviews with Avory "would have decapitated him"), in reprisal for Davies kicking over his drumkit as revenge for a drunken fight the previous night in Taunton, apparently won by Mick. He then fled into hiding for days to avoid arrest for Grievous Bodily Harm. Other times, fuming, he would hurl his drumsticks at Dave.
Ultimately, the relationship between Mick and the younger Davies brother would degrade to the point where Avory would leave the band. By agreement with Ray Davies, he left performing and recording with the band in 1984, but accepted invitation to manage the Konk Studios where the band and the Davies brothers record most of their records - a position he holds ever since.
Ray explained the situation: "The saddest day for me was when Mick left. Dave and Mick just couldn't get along. There were terrible fights, and I got to the point where I couldn't cope with it any more. Push came to shove, and to avoid an argument I couldn't face....we were doing a track called "Good Day" and I couldn't face having Mick and Dave in the studio, so I did it with a drum machine. Dave said he wanted to replace Mick, and[...]I took Mick out, and we got very, very drunk. We were in Guildford, and after about five pints of this wonderful scrumpy, Mick said if any other band offered him a tour, he wouldn't take it, because he didn't want to tour. And I remember him getting the train back - because he was banned from driving; it was a very bad year for Mick - and he walked to the station and disappeared into the mist." Avory was subsequently replaced by Bob Henrit, former drummer with Unit 4 + 2 and Argent.
Later on, it would seem that Davies and Avory settled their differences, as Avory subsequently played the drums on "Rock 'N' Roll Cities", a track on the Think Visual album written by Dave Davies. Mick was asked to rejoin by Ray, but he declined as he wanted to rest of the non-stop touring, working and performing schedule for 2 decades.
Current work (1985-present)
After the band stopped working in 1996, he started playing with The Kast Off Kinks, along with John Dalton, Dave Clarke (no relation to the Dave Clark of "The Dave Clark Five"), and John Gosling. He has performed with them ever since. He has managed to patch up his relationship with Dave Davies, and now is friends with both Davies brothers. He keeps in regular contact and continues to manage Konk studios in London. He was inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005, with original bassist Pete Quaife and the Davies brothers.
By April 2004 by request of The Animals, who were about to do their 40th anniversary tour, Chip Hawkes (formerly of The Tremeloes) was asked to form a band to tour along with them. This he did and brought together a true beat-era supergroup. The band features former original members of British 60's-era groups, including Avory, Eric Haydock (The Hollies) and Hawkes, who have now combined to perform as The Class of 64 (referring to the actual year the British Invasion took America by storm), also featuring guitarists 'Telecaster Ted' Tomlin and Graham Pollock. The band have toured around the world, and have recorded an album of their former band's hits.
In 2007 Mick left The Class of 64 and alongside other former 64 members Haydock, Pollock, Tomlin formed a new band called The Legends of the Sixties which also features Martin Lyon.
Mick Avory made a special guest appearance onstage at Ray Davies' Royal Albert Hall performance on 10 May, 2007. He played tambourine. Also guesting was Ian Gibbons, former longtime Kinks keyboard player.
