Their new joint exhibition 'The Kinks: Brothers' opens in London tomorrow
The Kinks’ Ray and Dave Davies have said they are “getting on great” and have refused to rule out a future reunion.
The brothers have spoken to The Times ahead of the opening of their new exhibition, The Kinks: Brothers, at the Gibson Garage in London tomorrow (July 24). It will run until September 6, and you can find out more here.
The exhibition sees Ray and Dave collaborate with British portrait painter Christian Furr, who has reimagined a 1968 passport photobooth picture of the brothers taken in East Finchley, North London, in a series of mixed-media works on paper and canvas.
Dave cried when he first saw Furr’s paintings, with the images prompting him to consider his fractured relationship with his brother. “It made me think, ‘What the hell are we doing?’” he said.
“There were times where I couldn’t stand him. I was storming out of the studio,” he added, explaining that their relationship had always been “built on trust, although we hated each other”.
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The guitarist said the animosity had now subsided, however, adding: “It’s miraculous, really, how we’ve become so bonded.”
“We enjoy each other’s company. We were getting on great. We have fluctuated between getting on really well and not getting on at all over the years but there’s always been telepathy, since childhood.”
Asked whether they could perform together again, Dave replied: “I don’t know, but never say never.”
Ray and Dave last shared a stage in 2015, when Ray joined his brother in London for a performance of ‘You Really Got Me’, and they later worked together on new Kinks material in 2019.
The brothers discussed the prospect of a reunion in a 2023 interview with NME, when Ray revealed that they had enough partially completed material for “about 20” new Kinks songs.
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Speaking about the demos, some of which date back to the ’90s and feature contributions from Dave and longtime drummer Mick Avory, Ray said: “We’ve got loads of songs there in pieces.”
He added: “There are about two or three songs I want to finish, and when they’re finished, I’ll put the whole thing together.”
At the time, Ray said a full reunion remained “in the lap of the gods” and would depend on “getting a show that gives us the credit we deserve”. He added that he would have to “persuade [Dave] to come on”, while warning: “You’ve gotta be careful because he’ll run off in one direction and I’ll [run] in mine.”
Dave told NME that their disagreements ultimately stemmed from their contrasting personalities. “We’re just different animals,” he said. “We found ourselves at a very young age being in each other’s faces. And we had to work with it somehow.”
He had also sounded hopeful about a comeback in 2022, saying he was “optimistic” about their future. “I hope so!” he said when asked about a reunion. “Ray and I have spoken about it – it’s possible!”
to @thelittleidiot Moby’s criticism of our song LOLA these are the words sent to me and Ray from our dear friend trans icon @jaynecounty27 #JayneCounty. I am highly insulted that MOBY would accuse my brother of being ‘unevolved’ or transphobic in any way. https://t.co/hBFmLPdMKH pic.twitter.com/qYcxoMc03d
— Dave Davies (@davedavieskinks) March 22, 2026
More recently, the brothers presented a united front in March when Moby described the lyrics to the Kinks’ 1970 single ‘Lola’ as “gross and transphobic”.
“‘Lola’ by the Kinks came up on a Spotify playlist, and I thought the lyrics were gross and transphobic,” the electronic musician said. “I like their early music, but I was really taken aback at how unevolved the lyrics are.”
Dave responded that he was “highly insulted” by Moby’s description of his brother, adding: “Why is Moby being so rude about this simple song? We’re not transphobic. Why does he have to have a go at us?”
Dave later revealed that Ray had responded by asking: “Who the fuck is Moby?”.
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