Ray Davies

From Waz From Oz Uncirculated Master Cassettes

1995 Australian Tour
Everest Theatre, Seymour Centre
Sydney, New South Wales
Australia
4th December 1995

01. Introduction
02. Dedicated Follower Of Fashion
03. Sunny Afternoon
04. Apeman
05. Autumn Almanac
06. Victoria
07. Ray Talks
08. 20th Century Man
09. London Song
10. Ray Talks
11. That Ole Black Magic
12. Tired Of Waiting
13. Ray Talks
14. Set Me Free
15. Ray Talks
16. See My Friends
17. Ray Talks
18. X Ray
19. Stop Your Sobbing
20. Ray Talks
21. Art School Babe
22. Ray Talks & You Really Got Me #1
23. You Really Got Me #2
24. Ray Talks
25. Animal
26. Cadillac Snippet > Ray Talks
27. You Really Got Me #3
28. Well Respected Man
29. Americana (Big Fat Cowboy)
30. Ray Talks
31. I Go To Sleep
32. Two Sisters (Cut at the very end)
33. Ray Talks (Very start cut)
34. The Money Goround
35. Ray Talks
36. Lola
37. Ray Talks
38. To The Bone
39. Village Green
40. Days
41. Waterloo Sunset

Encores
42. Ray Talks
43. You Really Got Me #4

Bonus Tracks
44. Ch 7 Sydney “Today Show” ? December 1995 Ray Davies Interview By Stan Grant
45. Ch 9 Melbourne” Hey Hey It’s Saturday“ 2nd December 1995 You Really Got Me (With The Hey Hey Band) & Ray Davies Interview

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The Band
Ray Davies - Vocals, Guitar & Storytelling
Pete Mathison - Guitar

2022 Remaster By audiowhore Recording By Waz From Oz

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Ray Davies 1995 Australian Tour

Regal Theatre, Perth 29th November
Her Majesty's, Adelaide. 1st December
Labour Club, Canberra 3rd December
Everest Theatre, Sydney 4th December - Taped
Everest Theatre, Sydney 5th December - Taped
Mission Theatre, Newcastle 6th December
Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne 8th December
Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne 9th December

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In early October 1995 I was tipped off by a record industry mate that one of my musical heroes, Ray Davies, had been booked for a solo tour of Australia & to keep an eye out for an announcement.
Once I knew a tour was imminent I perused local newspapers and music press looking for tour details, finally spotting an ad for Ray’s Sydney gigs, to be held at the Everest Theatre a 500- seater venue one of the halls
at the Seymour Centre on the 4th & 5th December. The ad stated tickets would go on sale on the 30th October at the Seymour Centre.
Accompanied by my now sadly departed long-time friend Recy, we were up at sparrows fart,
trekked into the inner city to line up at the doors of the Seymour Centre (which incidentally for the last 16 years has been a mere 5 minutes away from my current abode), we were amongst the first to arrive.
When the doors were opened we bolted like blue arsed flies to the ticket office scoring two seats nearly dead set in the middle of the front row.
For the 2nd gig I was going alone, this time I landed a seat in the 2nd row.

If you downloaded my Kinks 1982 Sydney Torrent #725151 - The KINKS 1982-02-19 Sydney, Australia (Upgrade from the Waz from Oz archive - 2022 remaster) - you will have read that while the Kinks were in Sydney I was
fortunate enough to spend some considerable alone time with Ray, a Kinks fan’s dream that in my case became a reality.

And now 13 years later he was coming back.
If I was lucky enough to be in a position to meet him again, would Ray even remember me, let alone recognize me as I no longer looked anything like the 1982 version of me.
Back then I had dropped out (& yes turned on) living an alternate life-style.
I’d quit my job, grew my hair past my shoulders, abandoned my first name Waz, using my middle name Stacey instead, moved up the coast
living on savings & the dole, basically doing something that wasn’t far from nothing.
A lot of that nothing involved the beach so I was terminally suntanned at the time, now in 1995 I’d been back in the work force
for a number of years, sporting short, back & sides, was nowhere as tanned & back to answering to Waz again.

Late in 1994 Ray released his first novel X-Ray.
I’d brought a paperback copy (remember that readers) and when reading it discovered that a number of the stories he’d told me that pre-sunrise morning while both of us
sat on a small bridge over a pond in a harbourside park were featured in the book, but not all!

I’d previously been to events at the Everest theatre, it has a very low stage with only a short distance between it & the front row.
Would I be able to record the show without being spotted by Ray, marauding theatre ushers & maybe nosey fellow concert goers on my right?
(Recy protected me on the left.)
The photo of the Everest in the comment section, albeit a newly renovated one, shows the lowness of the stage & the closeness of the first row to it.

Pre-show, once my arse was in the front row it struck me just close I was to where Ray would be doing his thing, thinking how the fuck could I record from here without being observed?
So, I committed IMHO a dead set hideous fashion crime, one I’d never be caught doing in any other situation & that was to take off the light jumper I was wearing, drape it over the back of my shoulders with the sleeves
folded forward tied over my upper chest with one of the sleeves covering my shirt's left top pocket in which the cassette recorder with plug in mic was secreted.
The mic just slightly poking out over the top of the jumper sleeve.
To my relief I managed to record the 2 hour plus show with tape flips, ejecting one cassette & inserting a new one without being sprung.

I’d read reviews of earlier concerts in America so I was aware that the show would be a mixture of 60’s Kinks songs, new unreleased Davies songs & in-between them Ray telling stories about his life as well as the Kinks history.
I could be wrong but I think Ray might have been the pioneer of these story-telling accompanied by songs performances.
I recall other acts doing the same later but am I right thinking they came after Ray had kicked it off?
I’m sure someone out there will correct me if I’m mistaken.

Lights off, an introduction then Ray walks on to warm applause accompanied by Pete Mathison on acoustic & electric guitar.
From the opening song 'Dedicated Follower Of Fashion' when the audience sang loudly on the chorus I knew I was amongst a Kinks loving audience who throughout the night would prompted & unprompted sing & clap along.
Luckily for me while taping the show, those around me in the front row maybe felt self-conscious / embarrassed being close to Ray as unlike those behind us that they didn’t engage in singing or clapping along except for the odd lone clapper.

Touring Australia I thought Ray might include some Davies family Australiana such as that his elder sister Rosie along with her husband Arthur (who the 1969 Kinks LP Arthur is named after) migrated to Australia in the 1960’s.
Or perhaps maybe throw in the Kinks song 'Australia' or even a snippet of it from the Arthur LP, it would have added a touch of local flavour for this section of his X-Ray world tour, but sadly none of that eventuated.
However, he did say that he was happy to be back in Sydney, voicing that day he’d been out on the harbour & when singing Victoria raised his eye-brows before singing the word Australia.
I was surprised at the omission of All Day & All Of The Night, as Ray had told me himself plus he’s on record stating that he preferred it as I do over You Really Got Me.
Yet we were treated to 4 versions of You Really Got Me that night.

The spoken segments were well received especially when Ray added humorous anecdotes.
The unknown to the audience new songs went over well, IMHO his song writing skills hadn’t diminished so what-ever.
My personal favourite of these new songs which also seemed to be the audiences as well was 'To The Bone', not far behind were 'London Song', 'Art School Babe' & 'Animal'.
Of course, there were plenty of Kinks classics to be heard but nothing older than 1971’s 20th Century Man.
To sum up it was highly enjoyable gig in an intimate venue by a loved performer, with a appreciative audience.

After the encore but before departing the stage, Ray took a few steps forward to the lip of the stage, staying there for a short while to acknowledge the crowd, this encouraged some audience members to rush up & shake hands with him.
I thought here’s my chance to reintroduce myself to him, so I scurried over, held my arm/hand up & when he bent down to shake my hand I said “Ray, it’s Stacey from 1982”, he gave me a look of surprise, then smiling replied
“Give me 20 minutes or so & come around the back”. I assumed he was referring to the stage door at the back of the Seymour.

Collecting Recy, we hot footed it around to the back of the Seymour, on our arrival a few fans were already waiting by the open doors.
We stood outside looking in hoping to see Ray, one of these fans unknown to me at the time was Phil who would be my seat neighbour at the next night's gig.
The crowd grew to around 20 or so people all armed with assorted Kinks paraphernalia to be signed.
I’d hadn’t brought anything to sign, but then I remembered before the show I’d given Recy my copy of X-Ray to read so I asked her to fetch it out of her handbag.

A short time later we up the front heard a commotion behind us.
Turns out it was Australia’s well-known music business celebrity albeit a non-musician (& Recy’s boss for a period of time, oh the stories she could & would tell!) thrusting through the crowd with a few mates in tow.
They went straight through the doors disappearing out of sight.
Lo & behold to our surprise a few short minutes later he & his pals came back out looking none too happy.
As he briskly passed us he grumpily informed us that Ray has a headache so he won’t be coming out.
Hearing him say that left us fans somewhat disappointed, then give or take a few minutes later, Ray poked his head around a corridor corner called out “Stacey” then gave me the c’mon hand signal to come on in.

I did as requested of me venturing inside alone.
Once inside his dressing room with a sweep of his arm in front of me saying “And when did this happen?” alluding to how different I looked now compared to how I presented when we met 13 years ago.
I replied 'a few years ago'. He asked 'Why?'.
I told him that the lifestyle that had once appealed to me back then wasn’t so appealing once my savings dried up, that the dole wasn’t enough to exist on,
the things I wanted, needed didn’t grow on trees at the beach nor wash up on it so for me it was back to the workforce to earn a crust.
He smiled & laughed at that.
I mentioned to him I now used my christian name not Stacey anymore, it either didn’t register with him or he preferred the latter name as he addressed me as Stacey during our meeting plus every autograph he graciously signed for me over the two nights where also in that name.

He asked my opinion of his book.
I said it was a good read & I enjoyed it, liking the fact that it was a different approach to the usual books written by rock stars.
He also asked my thoughts about his new songs in the show.
My response was favourable & that they had resonated with the audience, he said tonight’s audience was a good one.
Knowing that the Kinks had toured the US a few months earlier I asked if the Kinks would tour Australia again?
The response was 'who knows, anything could happen'.
Back in 1982, I hadn’t asked Ray for any autographs (all I have is my backstage pass) so this time I was hoping to get something signed.
I presented him with my paperback edition of X-Ray.
On seeing it he said with a mischievous smile “What, you didn’t buy the hardback version?”.
I mumbled I never saw a hardback edition, which is true but I never looked for one either. He then handed me the book back.
I didn’t look at Ray’s autograph until I was back outside the Seymour, but more about that later.

He asked if I was coming the next night, I replied yes, and he said after the show to bring anything else I’d like signed.
Ray said he had to leave the venue soon but before he did he had to go to greet the fans waiting at the stage door.
All up we probably spent about 20 minutes having our private yarn. We said our goodbyes, I went back outside to tell the those waiting that Ray would be out shortly to sign things. As promised he came out signing all that was
presented to him, I stood off to the side out of the way while waiting for Recy to have something signed.

After Ray had left, Recy along with some of the folks we had befriended earlier at the stage door came over to me, showing each other their autographs.
The bulk were simply signed Ray Davies, very few had been signed to so & so.
While they were discussing their autographs, for the first time I opened X-Ray to look at mine, being surprised (but deep down chuffed) to see Ray had written “To Stacey, Luv Ray Davies x”.
I didn’t expect that, I thought he’d just sign his name.
His X-Ray autograph & also the one he signed on the front of my The Kinks Versus Lola & The Powerman are included in the torrent’s artwork.

This wasn’t to be my last meeting with Ray, the next time would be in London July 1999 at a Patti Smith gig at the Forum in Kentish Town.
I was sitting up in the balcony when as the lights dimmed I spied under the cover of darkness Ray sneaking in with one of his daughters & her friends.
They sat directly in front of me, and after the show I went over to him & we had a short conversation.
In Sydney I’d taped him while he was in front of me, this time I taped Patti Smith behind his back ha ha ha.
I’ll tell more of this encounter when the time comes to DIME my uncirculated Patti Smith London 1st & 2nd July 1999 recordings.

The Sydney recording is rather good seeing the circumstances it was recorded under.
It’s the complete show except for missing the end of 'Two Sisters' when the cassette ran out plus I missed the very start of his next piece of dialogue while inserting the second cassette.
This was in my pre-DAT days & as the sound level at this show wasn’t at a rock concert volume tape hiss can be heard especially in quieter songs & Rays chats,
as can the odd rustle of me pulling up the jumper sleeve when it occasionally slipped down, a few times the creak of my old Everest Theatre seat makes an appearance.

As always thanks to audiowhore
Enjoy,
Waz From Oz







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