Before The Village Green Preservation Society, the Kinks were pop hitmakers. After it? Cult heroes. Released in November 1968—the same day as the Beatles’ White Album—this oddball, orchestral album about tea, nostalgia, and flying cats didn’t chart. But oh, how it grew. With its delicate English charm and obsession with memory, Village Green is now hailed as one of the greatest British albums ever made. Ray Davies imagined a world where steam trains still puffed and people still said “cheerio,” and somehow made it sound cool.
Here are five delightful and little-known facts about this eccentric gem:
1. A radio drama about quirky villagers inspired the whole thing
Ray Davies found his muse in Dylan Thomas’s 1954 radio play Under Milk Wood, which followed the eccentric residents of a Welsh village over one day. The idea of weaving character sketches into one big portrait of a town stuck with him. Instead of villagers like Polly Garter and Captain Cat, Ray gave us Johnny Thunder and Wicked Annabella. Think of Village Green as an audio postcard from a place where nothing changes—except the memories.
2. Nicky Hopkins played nearly every keyboard—but got no credit
Pianist extraordinaire Nicky Hopkins was the secret sauce of the Kinks’ late ’60s sound, contributing everything from Mellotron flutes to harpsichord trills. On Village Green, he plays a staggering array of instruments, adding baroque elegance to songs like “Village Green” and “Phenomenal Cat.” But in true Kinks fashion, the official credits gave all the keyboard glory to Ray Davies. Hopkins later joked he played 70% of it—quietly brilliant as always.
3. “Phenomenal Cat” is a psychedelic bedtime story about a flying cat
Ever wanted to know the meaning of life… from a cat? “Phenomenal Cat” tells the tale of a feline who flies to Katmandu, finds enlightenment, and decides to chill and eat forever. Dave Davies voices the cat with a sped-up vocal, giving it a surreal, dreamy quality. Add in Mellotron flutes and nursery-rhyme whimsy, and you get one of the most quietly trippy songs of the ’60s.
4. Ray wrote “Big Sky” from a hotel balcony in Cannes
While attending the MIDEM music industry conference in France, Ray stood on a balcony at sunrise, looked down at a sea of businessmen, and looked up at the sky. Thus was born “Big Sky,” a song about a silent, towering force that watches people struggle and shrugs. It’s been interpreted as a song about God, capitalism, or just weather. Either way, it’s the most philosophical moment ever born from jet lag and a view.
5. It was released the same day as the Beatles’ White Album—and got flattened
November 22, 1968: The Village Green Preservation Society hit the shelves… just as the Beatles dropped their 30-track monster of an album. Guess which one dominated headlines? With no hit single and little promo, the Kinks’ quiet masterpiece got lost in the shuffle. But over time, it became their best-selling UK album—and earned its place as a national treasure in vinyl form.
The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society wasn’t made to storm the charts—it was made to preserve the past, one barbershop harmony at a time. And somehow, it ended up preserving the band’s legacy too.