Dave Davies Rules Out Kinks Reunion, Blasts Brother Ray

In his most emphatic language to date, Dave Davies has essentially ruled out any possibility of a Kinks reunion. 'I think the music is so beautiful it shouldn"t be tainted," he the guitarist told the Daily Mirror . 'It would be a shame. You don"t need to see silly old men in wheelchairs singing ‘You Really Got Me."" But Davies pointed to his long-standing rivalry with his brother Ray as the main reason the band won"t be getting back together. 'Ray"s an asshole," he said. 'You"ve heard of vampires, well, Ray sucks me dry of ideas, emotions and creativity. It"s toxic for me to be with him. He"s a control freak."

The Kinks: A History in Photos

In an interview with Rolling Stone just four months ago, Dave was far more optimistic about a Kinks reunion. 'It"s possible," he said. 'There's nothing in the pipeline yet, but we'll see ... It"s all water under the bridge now, but there was talk in the early 2000"s about doing weekends in New York and other big cities." In 2004, Davies suffered a stroke that left him barely able to walk or talk, let alone play guitar. He"s since made significant progress with physical therapy, but numerous planned solo tours have been cancelled under doctor"s orders, and hasn"t performed publicly since the stroke. The Kinks, meanwhile, haven"t performed together since their break-up in 1996. Founding bassist Pete Quaife died in June.

Related: Original Kinks Bassist Pete Quaife Dead at 66

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Song Stories

“Is It True”

Brenda Lee | 1964

As the British Invasion reached its peak in 1964, Brenda Lee went from Nashville to London to record one of her hardest-rocking hits, her perky vocal backed by a stuttering, squalling guitar. That guitar was played by session musician Jimmy Page, yet to skyrocket to fame with first the Yardbirds and then Led Zeppelin. "She said to me, 'I've come here to make a record with the British sound,'" remembered producer Mickie Most. "She felt she wouldn't get the same sound in Nashville because they're only just catching up on the British beat group sound of about six months ago."

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