Written in early 1964 by Ray Davies at his parents’ home in north London, the song was inspired by a girl he spotted dancing in a club.

Ray originally envisaged it as a blues-inflected number, but his younger brother Dave Davies transformed it in the studio by crafting its now-famous dirty guitar riff. He slit the cone of his Elpico amplifier with a razor blade and ran it through another amp to get the aggressive, distorted tone.

Released on August 4, 1964, it became The Kinks’ breakthrough hit, reaching high in both UK and US charts, and is often cited as a foundational record for hard rock, punk and heavy metal.

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