Rebellion or Transformation: Dave Davies's Spiritual Journey from the 1960s to the Present: A Contextual Analysis

Abstract

A product of his times, Dave Davies came of age and maturity in post‐war Britain and the Age of Aquarius—and he has been in the unique position of shaping as well as being shaped by the popular vision of modern “pop” spirituality—a spirituality very much influenced by the same Eastern impressions that captivated his peers during the 1960s. This essay focuses first on the historical precedent and context from the 19th through the mid‐20th century and how they formed the foundation of Davies's generation's attitudes and personality. The second part of the essay discusses why Davies and his peers were the target for the mass media surrounding this interest in the East, and how the commercialism he and his generation sought to escape actually played a key role in making mainstream previously obscure philosophies.

Acknowledgments

This paper began life as a conference paper presented at the conference of the Midwest Popular and American Culture Associations, Cleveland, Ohio, 9 October 2004. I would like to thank David Schimpf of Marian College, Wisconsin, for inviting me to present at the conference, and both David Schimpf and Tom Kitts of St. Johns University, NY, for their encouragement and support for this project. Special thanks also go to Urs Steiger for his kind assistance with references. I also must include a great appreciation for Lee Newman who is invaluable.

Notes

1. Obviously there were American rockers who dabbled in Transcendental Meditation—the Doors and the Beach Boys most notably—but I wish to focus on Great Britain in this essay.

2. For Ray's description of the tour to India and the story behind “See My Friends,” see R. Davies (204–05, 275–76). The Kinks' record is the first rock record to incorporate Indian sound: “See My Friends” was released on 30 July 1965; “Norwegian Wood” on 3 December of the same year. While George Harrison played a Western‐tuned sitar, Ray instead played his 12‐string Framus guitar close to the mic, compressing the sound in the studio to imitate the chanting he heard that morning in India. For more technical details on the signal processing used in the recording of the song, see D. Davies (Kink 75–76).

3. Ringo compared a 1967 retreat to India with the Maharishi as little different from a Butlins' holiday; Paul McCartney dismissed the Maharishi shortly thereafter by stating, “He's a nice fellow; we're just not going out with him anymore” (Schaffner 88). And John Lennon summed up the giggling holy man famously in his scathing “Sexy Sadie.”

4. Ray notes that, while in Australia on their 1964 tour, Dave was “pursued by Satanists from Brisbane”, but that he took it all in his stride (209). Dave himself cheekily recounts tales of “hypnotizing” willing girls for naughty purposes (Davies, Kink 67) and his own interest in Hammer films, the gorier the better. And an early, gushy article from the NME (undated in my collection, but internal evidence and photo place it in early 1965) is of interest as it portrays Dave as a lager‐happy, giddy interviewee, but the subject of the piece is Dave's interest in dream interpretation and fortune telling.

5. Dave recalls in Kink that, on a tour of America in August 1972, he found himself suffering increasingly from paranoia and depression. While in his hotel room he grew frightened and confused, and, despite trying to calm himself, seriously contemplated suicide—he was headed for the window, praying for help, when suddenly there was a knock at the door. As it happened, it was a former girlfriend who just happened to be passing by, and she was able to calm him down. He describes her unexpected arrival as (metaphorically) an intervention by an angel, and a serendipitous visit that started him on a major change in his life, to clean up from drugs and drink and to begin to take seriously “certain mental, spiritual, and psychic practices… to rebuild [his] inner life” (152–55).

6. Dave writes extensively in Kink of his extraordinary experience in Richmond, Virginia, in 1982, an episode which he says changed his life completely, and started him on a path that he is still traveling today (209). He describes how he was in his hotel room going about ordinary business when he felt that he was visited telepathically by several otherworldly beings who experienced their own sensations through him; he describes a feeling of great comfort, heightened senses, and communication with these beings through pure energy. Among other things, these intelligences revealed to him the energy and means of sharing positive energy with others, the spiritual healing energy that exists on all planes and levels throughout the ether. This healing energy and the knowledge needed to follow the path to spiritual understanding are to be found within the individual. These and other revelations had a profound impact on Dave; the reader is urged to read his own detailed description in Kink (209–24). He sums up the purpose behind The Spiritual Planet, the genesis of which comes from this contact, “Tune in to the subtle energies around us all. The etheric, astral and spirit worlds. So much has been concealed from us. It is time to break the bonds of past limitation and resonate to spiritual actuality. It is a time of synthesis of all metaphysical and spiritual knowledge.”

7. The late 18th century saw an increase in popular belief in witchcraft (a catchphrase for female prophets, wise women, and “white witches,” e.g. Mother Shipton), ghosts, and evil spirits, and a rise of millenarianism that alarmed the conservative clergy. People came to church only when needs be; there is one account from the late 1790s in Britain of a minister refusing to baptize a man's second child, exasperated that the family had not attended church since the baptism of the first one. Millenarian sects flourished between 1780 and 1850. Some argued that the French Revolution was an underlying cause—since the French had overthrown the Catholic Church that must be a sign that the end times were come. But the conservative church did not satisfy the needs of the populace who felt alienated by its facelessness and who did not find comfort in the church in the new age of Reason. There grew at this time “a dense spiritual undergrowth beyond the carefully cultivated gardens of rational, institutional religion” (Royle 290–91).

8. Before the ellipsis is from ⟨http://www.davedavies.com/splanet.htm⟩; following the ellipsis ⟨http://www.davedavies.com/splanet/home.htm⟩.

9. See York for a concise study of Theosophy, Alice Bailey, and Madame Blavastsky.

10. Interestingly enough, the Great War saw yet another spike in the interest in occult and spiritualism in Great Britain (recalling the story of the Angel of Mons). The horror of the war and the lost generation left those at home shocked and stunned. With so many of the youth lost so quickly, séances and other sessions which attempted to contact the dead saw an upswing in popularity.

11. Dave literally changed his appearance: gone was the '60s look with the backcombed, sprayed hair, lipstick, and mascara. He let his hair and beard grow long. In one interview dating from 1970, he explains his new look as a way of creating a new person, perhaps to cope with the disappointment that his solo career had been stymied. When asked in that interview if he would release a solo album, his answer was a curt, “I hope not” (Webb n.p.).

12. 390,000 people gave this answer as the result of an internet campaign, but the result was not taken seriously by census officials.