ABSTRACT
Beginning in 1980, the Kinks reverted to touring as a five-piece unit, something they had not done since early 1971.1 With their signing to Arista and with their movement away from the rock musicals, the touring Kinks gradually diminished in number, eliminating the back-up singers for the Misfits tours of 1978 and reducing the horn section to just one on the Low Budget tour of 1979-Nick Newall, who played not only saxophone, but also second keyboard and congas. One result of the decrease was that the ongoing tension between band members escalated, especially that between Avory and Dave. The rock musical years had, as Avory said, “diluted any sort of rifts that we might be having . . . because we had so many different people . . . [the supporting troupe] screened the band off.”2
However, in January 1984, during a brief American tour, the friction between Avory and Dave reached the point that after one gig the drummer attempted to attack the guitarist. Nothing much happened as others intervened to prevent a full-scale battle, but Dave made a decision: Avory would have to go.3
