In 1970, homosexual acts were still outlawed in parts of the United Kingdom and would remain so for more than a decade. Yet two years before the nation even had its first official Gay Pride rally, Ray Davies of the Kinks wrote “Lola,” a song that embraced a full spectrum of gender nonconformity.
The song shot to No. 2 on the British singles chart, hit the Top 10 in the United States and went all the way to No. 1 in five other countries. The response even took its author by surprise. “I didn’t think the song would be so ahead of its time,” Davies said. “But time has proven it so.”
The song was included on the Kinks 1970 album Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One.
The creation of “Lola Versus Powerman” came at an especially fraught time in Kinks history. They hadn’t had a major hit in four years, a situation exacerbated by the band being banned from touring America. Davies cites their refusal to sign papers to satisfy the unions as one reason.
Another had to do with an incident on the TV show “Hullabaloo.” After the camera cut away to a few other guests, it arrived on the Kinks, revealing the drummer Mick Avory and Davies dancing cheek-to-cheek. “Everything we could do to annoy people, we did at the time,” Davies said with a laugh. “Nowadays that would be acceptable. Not then.”
As for the song’s bold subject matter, many stories have been told over the years about its inspiration. Davies said it came from an encounter at a nightspot in Paris the group frequented called the Castille Club: “One of our crew at the time met this beautiful blonde and he took her back to the hotel. In the morning, he saw the stubble growing on her chin. So, he got a surprise!”
Davies said his empathy for Lola stems from growing up with six older sisters. “We used to dress up and have parties at home,” he said. “Men dressed as women. My dad, who is the most macho man you could imagine, used to put on a wig occasionally and dance around and make a fool of himself, which I encouraged. It’s part of the musical hall culture we have over here. It’s more accepted in London.”
He believes the lyrics to the song “passed” among less open listeners because “people only hear a third of the lyrics when they’re playing a song before they make up their mind, they like it. They’ll just listen to the catchy parts.” The subject matter also sailed over the heads of the BBC censors, who only balked at the lyrical mention of Coca-Cola, which violated its rule about commercial insertions. In reaction, Davies subbed in “cherry cola” on an alternate version.
While gay references had cropped up in pop songs before, “‘Lola’ was the first big hit with an L.G.B.T. theme,” said JD Doyle, a music historian who ran the authoritative radio show “Queer Music Heritage.” “‘Lola’ made history.”
According to Davies, “Lola” encouraged other songwriters to explore related territory. “Before he passed away, Lou Reed told me that ‘Lola’ was a big influence on him,” he said. “It was reassuring to him when he did ‘Walk on the Wild Side.’”
Source: Jim Farber, NY Times, December 2, 2020