Recorded on May 9, 1970, at Morgan Studio 1 in Willesden, north-west London, Lola remains one of The Kinks best-loved and most iconic songs.
The Ray Davies-penned track supposedly tells of a romance between a young man and a transgender person whom he meets in a club in Soho. Considered daring and provocative upon its release in June 1970, the song actually began life as a soothing lullaby for Davies’s daughter Victoria, to amuse her while he was away from home, on tour. According to Davies, it was based on real events, specifically a dance he was asked to share with a beautiful “woman” when The Kinks played an all-nighter at Bridlington’s Spa Royal Hall on May 8, 1965.
“I was asked to dance by somebody who was a fabulous looking woman,” he recalled. I said, ‘No thank you.’ And she went in a cab with my manager straight afterwards. It’s based on personal experience. But not every word.”
The single originally peaked at number 2 in the UK, and number 9 in the US.
This new remaster will emerge on the multi-format, 50th anniversary, Lola Versus Powerman album to be released via BMG, on December 11.
