Why were The Kinks banned from touring the US at the height of their fame?

The Kinks were banned from touring and performing in the US for four years. But why?

2 December 2025, 10:00 | Updated: 2 December 2025, 10:03

Many believe they're on par with The Beatles.

At least in terms of influence, given the sheer amount of artists that The Kinks have inspired through the ages.

Where The Kinks and The Beatles wholly differ however, was their commercial success, especially the United States of America.

Not that you would've thought that'd be the case, after the Brit Invasion during the 1960s altered the airwaves indefinitely.

Whereas bands like The Beatles (of course), The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Animals, The Zombies, The Yardbirds and The Hollies made considerable impact, The Kinks flagged behind.

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Now, this wasn't due to the fact that their music wasn't up to the same standard as their peers, no no.

Ray Davies is one of the most incredible, coveted and influential songwriters that Britain has ever produced.

It was because The Kinks were banned from touring and performing in the US for four years. But why?

It's strange to ever think that The Kinks didn't ever connect with American audiences as much as fellow British bands plying their trade across the Atlantic.

In fact, their music is certainly more Brit-centric than any of their contemporaries, singing of London's most unique qualities and quirks when it was the hippest place in the universe.

At that time, Americans were gobbling up anything and everything to do with England. The Kinks were quintessentially what was in vogue.

But the band were working-class boys with working-class habits, which often led to the odd ruckus here and there.

It made for a compelling spectacle on stage, but off stage the fighting became a genuine problem when the band were touring.

The Kinks' Legendary Onstage Bust-Up (1965)

Like most rock 'n roll bands The Kinks drank heavily, so it's no surprise that the fast living lifestyle spilled over on to the stage.

It first came to a head in 1965 during their first tour of the US when Dave Davies and drummer Mick Avory had a scuffle on stage which left the former in hospital and the latter in jail.

The fight was one of many incidents which left promoter Betty Kaye exasperated. When you add on top poor ticket sales which meant she couldn't pay the band in cash as agreed, tempers frayed quickly.

In retaliation, The Kinks became obtuse and played a short set during a show in Reno, putting the lowly attended audience through an extended version of 'You Really Got Me' for the most part.

Then in San Francisco, after knowing they wouldn't get paid in advance, the band decided to cancel their gig altogether. It was the final straw for Kaye.

She filed a formal complaint to the American Federation of Musicians who had the power to withhold work permits for British musicians if they misbehaved or refuse to meet agreements with promoters and perform.

It wasn't long before the band met one of the aforementioned criteria, by scuffling with television executives on The Dick Cavett Show.

Recalling the incident in his autobiography, X-Ray, Ray Davies wrote: “Some guy who said he worked for the TV company walked up and accused us of being late. Then he started making anti-British comments.

"Things like ‘Just because The Beatles did it, every mop-topped, spotty-faced limey juvenile thinks he can come over here and make a career for himself. You’re just a bunch of Commie wimps’.”

Any association with Communism in America at the time certainly wouldn't have helped, but nor did the Davies brother's temper.

Davies went on to write what the exec said as his rage bubbled over: "When the Russians take over Britain, don’t expect us to come over and save you this time. The Kinks, huh?

"Well, once I file my report on you guys, you’ll never work in the USA again. You’re gonna find out just how powerful America is, you limey bastard!’"

Davies added" "The rest is a blur. However, I do recall being pushed and swinging a punch and being punched back.”

Safe to say, The Kinks were virtually banned from the US from that point, failing to secure visas for future tours that were planned.

The ban lasted for four years in total, denying the band their golden years performing to American audiences, including missing out on the Monterey International Pop Festival which became the thing of legend.

In 1966, Ray Davies was bristly about the situation, saying that he wasn't all that keen on touring the States anyway.

He told NME: "The last tour we did in America was terrible. We played some dreadful places. If we go again I would want 100 per cent better organisation and facilities. I couldn't bear another tour really."

In four years however, the music scene changed completely, with the 'Summer Of Love' and the countercultural movement ushering in a new age of rock.

The Kinks were left behind.

The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset (Official Audio)

In retrospect, Davies' stance softened, telling NewsTalk journalist Tom Dunne in 2014: “In many respects, that ridiculous ban took away the best years of the Kinks’ career when the original band was performing at its peak.

"By the time the group was allowed to return in 1969, the Woodstock generation had arrived and the Kinks were almost forgotten.”

He admitted that the debacle may very well have denied them the kind of legacy that some of their contemporaries enjoyed.

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“It was a big pot of honey… an opportunity to take our careers further and we had that denied to us,” which Davies blamed on ”bad luck, bad management, bad behaviour”.

“It made me root myself more in Europe, the folk tradition in Britain," he admitted.

There was a positive slant to The Kinks being banned from America however – they might not have written 'Waterloo Sunset' if they hadn't had to hunker down in their hometown.

One of the most beautiful songs ever writtn about England's capital city, Ray Davies might not have had the time to gaze upon the banks of Waterloo if The Kinks had been touring across the States. Just a thought.