David Watts (song)

"David Watts" is a song written by Ray Davies that originally appeared on the Kinks' 1967 album Something Else by the Kinks.^[5] It was also the American and Continental Europe B-side to "Autumn Almanac". It has been included on several compilation albums, including The Kink Kronikles (1972) and a live version recorded at Landmark Theatre in Syracuse, New York, 4 March 1980 was included on One for the Road (The Kinks album), a double live album released June 1980.

"David Watts"
B-side label of US single
Single by the Kinks
from the album Something Else by the Kinks
A-side	"Autumn Almanac"
Released	29 November 1967 (1967-11-29)[1]
Recorded	February 1967[2]
Studio	Pye, London
Genre	Rock[3][4]
Length	2:27
Label	Reprise
Songwriter(s)	Ray Davies
Producer(s)	Ray Davies
The Kinks US singles chronology
"Waterloo Sunset" (1967) "Autumn Almanac" / "David Watts" (1967) "Wonderboy" (1968)

Background

The song is about the singer's great admiration of fellow schoolboy David Watts, who appears to have a "charmed life". There is an undercurrent of either deep envy or, as AllMusic put it, "a schoolboy crush". It is also, as Jon Savage has written, one of Ray Davies' "sharpest homoerotic songs". Despite this, Davies has commented that he sought to keep the lyric ambiguous: "When it comes to songs like 'See My Friends' or 'David Watts', I like to leave their meaning open. In [my] book, I wrote about how 'David Watts' is about a gay guy but part of the thing also is like having admiration for the head boy in school. I try not to come down on one side, or the other".^[6]

As Ray Davies confirmed in The Kinks: The Official Biography by Savage, "David Watts is a real person. He was a concert promoter in Rutland." He goes on to relate how the real Watts was gay and demonstrated an obvious romantic interest in his brother Dave Davies. In this light, lines such as "he is so gay and fancy free" and "all the girls in the neighbourhood try to go out with David Watts... but can't succeed" provide a second level of interpretation based on this ironic in-joke.^[7]

The band members were invited back to Watts' home for a drink one night after a concert. Ray Davies recalled to Q magazine in a 2016 interview: "My brother, Dave, was in a flamboyant mood and I could see that David Watts had a crush on him. So I tried to persuade Dave to marry David Watts because he was connected with Rutland brewery. See, that's how stupid my brain was." (Chuckles silently) "I thought: if I can get Dave fixed up with this Watts guy, I'll be set up for life and get all the ale I want. But the song's really about complete envy. It was based on someone else entirely – the head boy at my school. He was captain of the team, all those things, but I can't tell you his real name as I only spoke to him a few months ago."

The Jam version

"David Watts"
Picture sleeve
Single by the Jam
from the album All Mod Cons
A-side	"'A' Bomb in Wardour Street" (double A-side)
Released	11 August 1978 (1978-08-11)
Genre	Mod revival
Label	Polydor
Songwriter(s)	Ray Davies
Producer(s)	Vic Smith, Chris Parry
The Jam singles chronology
"News of the World" (1978) "David Watts" / "'A' Bomb in Wardour Street" (1978) "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight" (1978)

The song was later covered by the Jam, who released it on 11 August 1978 as a single,^[8] then included it on their third studio album, All Mod Cons (with different mixes used for the single and album versions). This version, which reached No. 25 in the UK Singles Chart, featured bassist Bruce Foxton on lead vocals rather than Paul Weller, as it was not in the right key for the Jam frontman.^[9] The track was released as a double A-side along with "'A' Bomb in Wardour Street", of which a distinct, slightly shorter version was used for the single release and which would also appear later that year on All Mod Cons.^{[clarification needed]}

Personnel

According to band researcher Doug Hinman:^[10]

The Kinks

• Ray Davies – lead vocal, acoustic guitar
• Dave Davies – backing vocal, electric guitar
• Pete Quaife – backing vocal, bass
• Mick Avory – drums

Additional musician

• Nicky Hopkins – piano

References

1. Hinman 2004, pp. 105, 107.
2. Hinman 2004, pp. 94–95, 105.
3. Segretto, Mike (2022). 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. Backbeat. p. 138-139. ISBN 9781493064601.
4. Masley, Ed (30 May 2017). "Sgt. Pepper and beyond: A look back at 20 great albums released in 1967". azcentral. Retrieved 3 November 2023. ...And "David Watts"...is one of rock's great lead-off tracks...
5. "Kinks Song List". Kindakinks.net. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
6. Jackson, Joe. "Double Exposure, Double Exposure". Hotpress. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
7. Savage, Jon The Kinks : The Official Biography London: Faber and Faber, 1984 pp.94–96
8. "Music Week" (PDF). p. 35.
9. "David Watts by The Jam Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
10. Hinman 2004, p. 105.

Sources

• Hinman, Doug (2004). The Kinks: All Day and All of the Night: Day-by-Day Concerts, Recordings and Broadcasts, 1961–1996. San Francisco, California: Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-765-3.