Victoria (The Kinks song)
"Victoria" | ||||
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Single by the Kinks | ||||
from the album Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) | ||||
B-side |
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Released | 15 October 1969 | |||
Recorded | May–June 1969 Pye, London | |||
Genre | Rock[2] | |||
Length | 3:37 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Ray Davies | |||
Producer(s) | Ray Davies | |||
The Kinks UK singles chronology | ||||
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The Kinks US singles chronology | ||||
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"Victoria" is a song written by Ray Davies of the Kinks. It is the opening track on the band's 1969 concept album Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire).
In Ray Davies'
The production begins with a simple heavy rock
Reviewing the single, Record World called it "beautiful", stating that it "will soon be the cry of the nation."[3]
Chart performance
In the US, "Victoria" was the lead single from Arthur, backed with album track "Brainwashed", and reached No. 62
Later versions
A version by the Fall was a UK Top 40 hit in 1988. A version by the Kooks was released on the War Child charity album, Heroes, in February 2009. The album was also released as a 7" boxed set including a 7" with the Kooks version of "Victoria" on one side and the Kinks version on the other.[7][8] The song has also been recorded by Cracker, Nomeansno (who adapted the lyrics to be about Victoria, British Columbia), Roy Arad (who translated the song to Hebrew and changed Victoria to the Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin) and Sonic Youth. Mando Diao recorded a version of it with Ray Davies for MTV Unplugged in 2010.
In popular culture
The instrumental introduction of the song was prominently featured throughout the second episode of How I Met Your Mother's seventh season, "The Naked Truth", culminating when at the end of the episode, Ted Mosby spots his ex-girlfriend Victoria across a gala.[9]
Personnel
According to band researcher Doug Hinman:[1]
The Kinks
- Ray Davies – lead vocal, acoustic and electric guitars
- Dave Davies – backing vocal, electric guitar
- John Dalton – backing vocal, bass guitar
- Mick Avory – drums, tambourine
Additional musicians
- Lew Warburton – horn arrangement
- Unidentified session musicians – horn section
References
- ^ a b Hinman 2004, p. 133.
- ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ "Single Picks of the Week". Record World. 1 November 1969. p. 1.
- Allmusic
- ^ "ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – 1970". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ISBN 919727125X.
- ^ [1] Archived 26 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Humbling response delays Heroes – News – Music Week". Musicweek.com. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^ Chow, Greg (1 April 2014). "5 Essential 'How I Met Your Mother' Music Moments". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
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.