"Big Black Smoke" is the B-side to

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...

' single "

Dead End Street A dead end, also known as a ''cul-de-sac'' (; , ), a no-through road or a no-exit road, is a street with only one combined inlet and outlet. Dead ends are added to roads in urban planning designs to limit traffic in residential areas. Some d ...

", written by

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter for the Rock music, rock band the Kinks, which he led, with his younger brother Dave Davies, Dave pro ...

. The song was not originally included on any album, but has since appeared as a track on the popular 1972 '' Kink Kronikles'' compilation and as a bonus track on the CD reissue of '' Face to Face''. The Big Smoke is a euphemism for London, the setting of the story told in the lyric. The song makes reference to the recreational use of the drug Drinamyl with the lyric "And every penny she had was spent on ''purple hearts'' and cigarettes."

Personnel

According to band researcher Doug Hinman: The Kinks *

lead vocals, acoustic guitar *

Dave Davies David Russell Gordon Davies ( '; born 3 February 1947) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the English rock band the Kinks, led by his older brother (and principal writer and singer) ...

backing vocals, electric guitar *

John Dalton John Dalton (; 5 or 6 September 1766 – 27 July 1844) was an English chemist, physicist and meteorologist. He introduced the atomic theory into chemistry. He also researched Color blindness, colour blindness; as a result, the umbrella term ...

backing vocals, bass *

Mick Avory Michael Charles 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 ...

drums

Notes

References

Sources

* The Kinks songs 1966 songs Song recordings produced by Shel Talmy Songs written by Ray Davies {{1960s-song-stub