Mick Avory

Michael Charles Avory (born 15 February 1944) is an English musician, best known as the longtime drummer and percussionist for the English rock band the Kinks. He joined them shortly after their formation in 1964 and remained with them until 1984, when he left amid creative friction with guitarist Dave Davies. He is the longest-serving member of the band, apart from the Davies brothers. He is also the most prolific member, again apart from the Davies brothers, who has played on twenty studio albums or nearly all of the band's creative output.

Before he joined the Kinks, Avory was a member of the band Bobby Angelo & the Tuxedos, who had a No. 30 hit with "Baby Sittin'" in August 1961. After leaving that group, he was asked twice to rehearse on drums at the Bricklayers Arms pub in London during late May/early June 1962 for a group of musicians who were later to become the Rolling Stones. It has been said that he also went on to play at their first show at The Marquee Club on 12 July 1962, yet Avory himself says "I think Tony Chapman did the gig at the Marquee. I didn't. I just rehearsed twice in the Bricklayers Arms in Soho." Mick Jagger has said he has no recollection of playing any gigs with Avory.

Avory joined the Kinks in January 1964, after their previous drummer Micky Willet left the band. Avory was hired to replace him after their management saw an advertisement Avory had placed in the trade magazine Melody Maker. He attended a rehearsal at the Camden Head in Islington shortly before Christmas of 1963, and was then offered the job by manager Robert Wace just after New Year. 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, but with Avory often providing supporting percussion. He drummed on certain tracks on the first and third albums and all but one song on the second album, Kinda Kinks. The first single A-side Avory played on was "Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy", and he went on to play on all Kinks recordings from the 1966 album Face to Face until his departure in 1984.

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 incident, at the Capitol Theatre, Cardiff, South Wales, during the Kinks' 1965 UK tour, Avory struck Dave over the head with his hi-hat stand, in reprisal for Davies kicking over his drum kit as revenge for a drunken fight the previous night in a Taunton hotel, apparently won by Mick. He then fled into hiding for days to avoid arrest for grievous bodily harm. On other occasions, fuming, he would hurl his drumsticks at Dave. According to Ray, their problems began during the time Mick and Dave shared a flat in London for a short period in early 1965.

Ultimately, the relationship between Avory and the younger Davies brother deteriorated to the point where Avory left the band. By agreement with Ray Davies, he ceased performing and recording with the band in 1984, but accepted an invitation to manage Konk Studios, where the band and the Davies brothers record most of their records – a position he has held ever since.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.