Mick Avory

Mick Avory
Mick Avory playing with The Swinging Blue Jeans in 2013
Background information
Birth name	Michael Charles Avory
Born	(1944-02-15) 15 February 1944 (age 72)
Origin	East Molesey, Surrey, England
Genres	Rock, pop
Occupation(s)	Drummer, percussionist
Instruments	Drums, percussion
Years active	1962–present
Labels	Pye, RCA, Arista
Associated acts	Rolling Stones; The Kinks; The Kast Off Kinks; The Class of 64; Legends of the Sixties

Michael Charles "Mick" Avory (born 15 February 1944) is an English musician, best known as the longtime drummer and percussionist for the English rock band the Kinks. He joined them shortly after their formation in 1964 and remained with them until 1984, when he left amid creative friction with guitarist Dave Davies. He is the longest-serving member of the band, apart from the Davies brothers. It is notable to point out that Mick Avory is one of few drummers to have played for twenty years on twenty studio albums for a single band, also featuring in all of the compilations and making many live-performances with the Kinks.

Before he joined The Kinks, Avory was asked twice to rehearse on drums at the Bricklayers Arms pub in London during late May/early June 1962 for a group of musicians who were later to become the Rolling Stones. It has been said that he also went on to play at their first show at The Marquee Club on 12 July 1962, yet Avory himself says "I think Tony Chapman did the gig at the Marquee. I didn't. I just rehearsed twice in the Bricklayers Arms in Soho."

Avory joined the Kinks in January 1964, after their previous drummer Micky Willet left the band. Avory was hired to replace him after their management saw an advertisement Avory had placed in the trade magazine Melody Maker. Despite his ability, early Kinks recordings (including hits such as "You Really Got Me") commonly did not feature Avory on drums; producer Shel Talmy hired more seasoned session drummers (most notably Clem Cattini and Bobby Graham) for studio work well into 1965, but with Avory often providing supporting percussion. The first single A-side Avory played on was Everybody's Gonna Be Happy, and went on to play on the vast majority of Kinks material.

Avory was always considered the quietest and most easy-going member of the Kinks lineup and was Ray Davies's best friend. However, his turbulent working relationship with guitarist Dave Davies resulted in many legendary onstage fights. In the most notorious (and widely mis-reported) incident, at the Capitol Theatre, Cardiff, South Wales, in 1965, Avory hit Davies with his drum pedal (not the cymbal stand, which, according to later interviews with Avory "would have decapitated him"), in reprisal for Davies kicking over his drum kit as revenge for a drunken fight the previous night in Taunton, apparently won by Mick. He then fled into hiding for days to avoid arrest for grievous bodily harm. On other occasions, fuming, he would hurl his drumsticks at Dave.