I have walked over Waterloo Bridge thousands of times and I can tell you that watching the sun set in London across the river is one of the most beautiful sights on the planet. Ray Davies has said that the song wasn't originally going to be about London but when you walk out of the Underground satstion and head for the bridge you cannot help hearing the song.

The studio version from '67 is one of the prettiest recordings. Rays wife is on background harmony on that one. Unfortunately the Kinks had been banned from touring the States the year earlier which killed their sales here for the 4 years they were banned. Their fist single, "You Really Got Me" is one of the first ass-kickers of the British Invasion.

One of the most gorgeous songs ever written, from one of the greatest bands in rock history. Massively underrated are The Kinks.

Victoria is an underrated gem also Last of the steam powered trains..

The Kinks were every bit a part of '60s rock as anybody. One of the bands that defined the '60s!

Possibly the greatest pop tune ever written.

Some other great Kinks songs: Days, Lola, All Day and All of the Night, You Really Got Me, Well Respected Man, Dedicated Follower of Fashion, Apeman, Death of a Clown, Dead-end Street

Hi again, these guys are up there with the Beatles and the Stones. The Kinks are the only band that I would literally travel anywhere to see if the should ever reform. This is in my top 5 all time favourite. Thank you for reacting to this fab song.😊😊😊😊 keep up the great work.

Ray Davies is my all time favorite songwriter. So consistently intriguing !! 🚬😎👍

The studio version is a perfect pop song--right up there with Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields. Live recordings have come a long way since their time. Cheers.

I must have passed through Waterloo station ten thousand times during 40 years of commuting into central London and I always think of this tune

Seconding 'Victoria'; also 'Dead-End Street', 'A Rock'n'Roll Fantasy', 'Come Dancing', anything you could even throw a dart at. All good, great, even. 😉👍🏼

An absolutely beautiful song-- Sir Raymond Davies is unreservedly brilliant. Period. 😊

You're right. The British Invasion bands, and the American bands which reacted to them, created an explosion in rock'n'roll that was nothing short of astounding. Like others said below, check out more Kinks, e.g. You Really Got Me (birth of hard rock??) and Lola. Also worth investigating - the Hollies, the Dave Clark Five, the Pretty Things, the Searchers ...

Hearing the Kinks play Waterloo Sunset on the roof of Buckingham Palace as 2 million people sang along in the streets was mind blowing.

Love this song, love the Kinks!

My favourite song since I heard it when it first came out

Worked in Waterloo for many years and also walked over Waterloo to and from work, love this song.

The best Kinks song ever. back in those days , bands had limited resources to record songs as they wanted and were incredibly inventive. Since the generalised use of synths and samplers, many artists have got lazy and have given up trying to find something new.

The Kinks had many game changers! You are very right about that those early British bands broke new ground with every album. The drugs got in the way . Most of these bands would have been even better or still alive if they did none or a bit less than what they did do!

another great song by the Kinks is Sunny Afternoon.

Please listen to "You Really Got Me" or "All Day and All of the Night" to get their early upbeat rockers. The beginnings of heavy metal, thanks to Dave Davies slashing his amp.

My first ever concert was Eric Clapton But 3 weeks later I saw the Kinks , that concert i remember like it was yesterday Waterloo Sunset is greatest single of All Time

Reading the comments I'm reminded of how many great songs they made. Saw the Kinks once and remembered them as a very likeable group of guys... kinda strange that their demise was because the brothers didn't seem to like each other.

Nice reaction to Classic Kinks, 'Waterloo Sunset'. Kink were groundbreaking w early hit All Day and All of the Night delivering arguably rock's first Heavy guitar solo in '64(?). The hit 'Victoria' is up tempo historic revelry. But I recommend some '70s Kinks. I love the album Muswell Hillbillies from '71 title track and the opener '20th Century Man's are both bangers, in different ways. Also 'Juke Box Music's from Sleepwalker is raw, high energy R&R. Kinks are a deep, multi-tiered Rabbit Hole, enjoy it.

Such a beautiful song. They were aboard the flower-power train when this was recorded and first released. 1967: the summer of love.

Absolute must: "Celluloid Heroes"... but you HAVE to listen to the words!

Those girlie backing vocals .....eeeuuuurgh!

The studio version is a classic of its time (the studio version ends with a fade of the repeating vocals, and not the big brass climax here), but it's also good for you to see what they looked like. Ray and Dave were from working class upbringing and were more akin to the Stones or The Who in that they weren't polished or pretty, which actually endeared them to later generations of punks. A cool thing about the Kinks was they were basically banned from touring the U.S.A. because they had an early reputation for being a bad influence because of their first proto-metal hit "You Really Got Me" (this should be their next song to cover, Lee). This hobbled them commercially throughout the 60's, but they nonetheless managed to limp along from hit single to hit single, which actually sustained them all the way into the 1980's! I remember as a kid they were a staple on the radio because at any given time you might hear "Where Have All the Good Times Gone", "Dedicated Follower of Fashion", "Waterloo Sunset", "Lola", "Sleepwalker", or "Come Dancing". They were very similar to The Who in that regard, even though The Who edges them out in terms of overall success and album sales.

It's pretty much the national anthem of England barely made a dent in the US. The Kinks were banned from the US an couldn't tour behind the song so it didn't do well in the Us.. It is ranked number 14 in Rolling Stones 500 Greatest songs of all time so eventually American's found out about it lol

This live version reminds me of Joe Cocker at Woodstock singing With A Little Help from My Friends without the studio females backup singers. The boys onstage did the best they could with the fallsettos. Give the studio version a spin! Celluloid Heroes next? Studio version. Enjoy the ride. I know I am. 😉

This song is still ahead of its time.

Great song. Good performance. Saw them in 82.

Future Kinks songs to try would be Apeman, Celluloid Heroes, Lola, Dedicated Follower of Fashion, All Day and All of the Night and You Really Got Me. Also check out an under-rated British band of the late 60s called The Move and Electric Light Orchestra.

Another great 60s song 👍 Love the harmonies on this.

This one just gives be the best of feelings. When you are ready for something more rocking, try their hit "Superman". One of my Kinks favs by far.

Great video-Kinks are my favorite band. I'd recommend "20th Century Man" (1971) for yet another different style.

Good to see you discovering the great bands from the 60s, where prog music was incubated.

Yep, good stuff in those days. It was actually hard to keep abreast of all new music in those times. In those days the music was the tie that bound us together. Transistor radios allowed us to carry our music anywhere with us. Funny that was our high tech of the time, and it actually brought us together. Your right today's technology has killed that aspect, except for those that are curious like you.

One thing I love about The Kinks is that their music is unpredictable if you are not familiar with them. You can't know what they do next. Another thing is that they still suond fresh to me.

Life On The Road and Do It Again are two other great songs by The Kinks

Get more rockin' Kinks songs with "Dead End Street" "Till the End of the Day"

Cheers for this one. Another great Kinks tune to react to would be "Dedicated Follower of Fashion", A real 1960's look at Carnaby Street & other Fashion centres & those who frequented them.

Love your take on this. A wise young man you are.

Peace

Hey Lee! Try a live version of Lola. The album One For The Road is where you want to go. Many great hits from an incredible show!👍🔈🔉🔊😎

Shangri-la is an amazing song similar to the 2 you've heard but a little harder edged. Good thoughtful reaction.

Two other real gems are Dead-end Street and Autumn Almanac.

He was a kinda very English Bob Dylan with words... Their first two hits are the dawn of heavy rock methods really,,You Really Got Me you can try,, From about 63-64 Very early- No such music heard before it , Exciting ..

The kinks Lola

I'd recommend the live version of 20th Century Man. It's only audio but holy shit does it rip.

Sound was a bit 'thin' on this live version. They were a great band and Ray Davies was really innovative in his songwriting. Usually a quirky commentary on Britain.

As a drummer, check out the cool drum beats of "Tired of Waiting for You". I transcribed it to sheet music for my students.

Terry and julie are film stars terrance stamp and julie christie.

I really love The Kinks ‘Sunny Afternoon’, which sounds nice, but ISN’T. It’s about a rock star type’s dysfunctional life. Also, they made ‘Lola’, based I believe on the Kinks going to a club and mistaking a trans Hostess for a girl 😂😳. Love your style. Regards from the UK

I'd like you to visit the Misfits album if it's not my favorite King's album It's certainly ranks in the top 10

LOLA LOLA LOLA LOLA LOLA 😂

Ray and Dave Davies were the Noel and Liam Gallagher of their generation

The Godfathers of Blur.

The Kinks are unique. You can't pigeonhole them because they'll just prove you wrong. Ray Davies easily one of the best UK songwriters of the past 60 years. Often has humor in his lyrics along with every other type of emotion. He's probably the most "British" writers of all who came out of the British Invasion of the mid-sixties. In the 1970s - 1980s The Kinks became arena rockers, too. Great hard rocking on albums like MISFITS and SLEEPWALKER, among others. Brother Dave is a tremendously talented guitarist. Kinks helped "invent" punk long before anyone even referred to music that way. Listen to "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night" and "Till the End of the Day" to hear the beginning of really hard rock.

Terry & Julie are Terence Stamp & Julie Christie.

I think that you are messaging too many Brits, didn't think that chaps!!! figured in the vocabulary across the pond 😂😂😂😂. You could start a new trend from one chap to another keep it up.

Love the songs by the Kinks, but hate to burst the adoration bubble, the concert I saw of them in Brisbane in May 1971 is still the worst I have ever seen. They were infamous for their band infighting and I think it was full on that night. From memory it was the last concert before they head home to England & touring is exhausting, but man did it show that night. I think they only played for about 35 or 40 mins. It was like they could not give a crap, played what they had to, then left, and was it awful. I have since read comments from others who were there and all said the same. Shame though, as these moments really stick with you.

Great song and great comments...so is it a happy or sad song ? That repeated descending scale in the vocals makes it sad/poignant but the lyrics are optimistic. Check out the version of this song that appears at the beggining of the play 'Waterloo Sunset' sung (belted out) by the brilliant Queenie Watts. (she was a great singer and actress and genuine Eastender who ran a pub.) Search Queenie Watts Waterloo sunset on YT. That's funny and poignant.

Doesn’t quite catch the original vibe or production. Check out the original studio recording, that’s the one people are talking about, when most rock recordings were done live in the studio for the most part anyway 👌