- Pete Quaife
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Pete Quaife 
Quaife (standing, at centre) with The Kinks in Sweden, 1965Background information Born 31 December 1943 Origin Tavistock, Devon, England Died 23 June 2010 (aged 66) Genres Rock Occupations Musician Instruments Bass Years active 1962–1971 Labels Pye Associated acts The Kinks, Mapleoak Peter Alexander Greenlaw "Pete" Quaife (31 December 1943 – 23 June 2010)[1][2] was an English musician, artist and author. He was a founding member and the original bass guitarist for The Kinks, from 1963 until 1969.
Quaife founded a group known as The Ravens in 1963 with brothers Ray and Dave Davies. Around late 1963/early 1964, they changed their name to The Kinks, and hired Mick Avory as a drummer. The group scored several major international hits throughout the 1960s. Their early singles, including "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night", have been cited as an early influence on the hard rock and heavy metal genres.[3] In the band's early days, Quaife, who was generally regarded as the best-looking member, was often their spokesman.[4] Following a ban from touring the United States in 1965, The Kinks focused their efforts on the UK market. Singles such as "Sunny Afternoon" (1966) and "Waterloo Sunset" (1967) showcased lead singer Ray Davies' observational writing style and became Top Ten hits throughout Europe and the UK. Quaife played an important role on the group's influential album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, which featured a strong theme of nostalgia. He departed from The Kinks in 1969 and formed the band Mapleoak, which he left in April 1970.
After retiring from the music business, Quaife resided in Denmark throughout the 1970s. He relocated to Belleville, Ontario in 1980, where he worked as a cartoonist and artist. He was diagnosed with renal failure in 1998 and moved back to Denmark in 2005. Quaife died in June 2010 of kidney failure.[1]
Contents
The Kinks
Main article: The KinksHe was born Peter Alexander Greenlaw Quaife in Tavistock, Devon, and after a brief period studying commercial art, Quaife formed The Kinks in 1962 along with school friend Dave Davies and subsequently asked Dave's brother Ray Davies to join.[5] The band was originally called The Ravens and performed rhythm and blues at local venues such as the Hornsey Recreation Club at Crouch End Secondary School. The 'Kinks' name came about only upon the signing of a recording contract in late 1963.
The Kinks became a top chart act throughout the world beginning with their third single, 1964's "You Really Got Me". Quaife was commonly the voice of the band in early press interviews. He was temporarily replaced in the Kinks in mid 1966 by John Dalton, after a serious car crash left him unable to perform. He resigned from the band shortly thereafter, but reconsidered and returned in November 1966.
For the next two years Quaife played on albums such as Something Else By The Kinks and The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, and helped rehearse some songs on the album Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire). Quaife left The Kinks permanently in April 1969. He was again replaced on bass, this time permanently, by Dalton.
Mapleoak
After leaving The Kinks, Quaife founded a new band, the country/rock outfit, Mapleoak. The group's name derived from the heritage of its members: The 'Maple' represented the two Canadian members of the group. Singer-songwriters Stan Endersby (born 17 July 1947, in Lachine, Quebec, Canada) and Marty Fisher (born 24 December 1945, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), while the 'Oak' represented British members Quaife and drummer Mick Cook.
Quaife had contacts in Denmark, so the group gigged heavily there and in the UK during most of 1969 and early 1970. Cook left the band in June 1969, and was replaced by another Canadian: Gordon MacBain (born 5 August 1947, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada), who would write most of the group's original material.
Mapleoak released their first single, "Son of a Gun", in April 1970 but it failed to chart. Quaife then left both the band and the music industry. He subsequently moved to Denmark, and did not appear on Mapleoak's only album, which was released in 1971.
1980s and 1990s
Quaife never fully returned to the music world as a professional performer. In 1980, he relocated to Belleville, Ontario, Canada to work as a graphic artist. In 1981, he made his only post 1960s concert appearance with The Kinks, playing bass in an encore number at a show in Toronto. Along with the original Kinks, Quaife was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. At the ceremony in New York, Quaife jammed on stage with the other musicians being honoured that year.
Quaife was diagnosed with renal failure in 1998. During dialysis sessions, he drew a series of cartoons based on his experiences. Following their enthusiastic reception by other patients, they have subsequently been published in book form as The Lighter Side of Dialysis (Jazz Communications, Toronto, 2004). Though he was invariably known as 'Pete' during his time with the Kinks, Quaife's books are published under the name 'Peter Quaife'.
In 1996, in an interview for Goldmine Magazine, The Who´s John Entwistle was asked who his favourite bassist was, he responded: "I'd say one of my favourite bass players was Pete Quaife because he literally drove the Kinks along".
21st century
At the time of his death Quaife had no formal association with the Kinks, but still enthusiastically talked of his time in the band, and made appearances at fan gatherings. During a Kinks Meeting in Utrecht, Netherlands, in September 2004, he read excerpts from Veritas, his fictional account of a 1960s rock group. He also joined in with The Kast Off Kinks on a few songs.
Quaife lived in Canada for more than two decades, but he moved back to Denmark in 2005 after his marriage ended in divorce, to live with his girlfriend Elisabeth Bilbo, who he had known since she was a 19-year old Kinks fan. At the time of his death, they had become engaged to marry.
In 2005, Quaife was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame with Kinks, marking the final reunion of the four original band members. In December 2007, Record Collector published an interview with Ray Davies, in which he was quoted as saying, "I spoke to Quaife about a month ago and he dearly wants to make another record with me". The tabloid press picked up on this quote, and turned it into a story saying that the Kinks were reforming for a tour in 2008. However, in an interview aired on the Biography Channel in December 2008, Quaife flatly said he would never participate in any type of Kinks reunion. In March 2009, Quaife released a statement that he was permanently retiring from the public eye.
Death
Quaife, who had been receiving kidney dialysis for more than ten years, died on 23 June 2010, aged 66.[1] Two days after Quaife's death, Dave Davies posted a statement on his message board expressing his deep sorrow over the passing of his former band mate and lauding him for his friendship, personality, talent, and contributions to The Kinks' sound. He stated that Quaife "was never really given the credit he deserved for his contribution and involvement [sic] [with The Kinks]".[6] Ray Davies dedicated his 27 June performance at the Glastonbury Festival to Quaife and performed several Quaife-era Kinks songs in tribute to him. Davies told the crowd, "I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for him."[7][8]
Veritas
Quaife's book, Veritas, Volume 1, which he had been trying to get published for years, was finally published posthumously in February 2011. The book tells the story of a fictitious 1960's band based largely on Quaife's experiences with The Kinks. Veritas, Volume II is expected to be published in the near future.[9]
References
- ^ a b c Laing, Dave (25 June 2010). "Pete Quaife obituary". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/jun/25/pete-quaife-obituary. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
- ^ Register Obituaries: Pete Quaife. The Times, page 96, 26 June 2010.
- ^ Sullivan, Denise. "You Really Got Me". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/song/t630847. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
- ^ The Times obituary, 26 June 2010
- ^ "www.KindaKinks.net". www.KindaKinks.net. http://www.kindakinks.net/misc/quaife/. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
- ^ Dave Davies (25 June 2010). "Dave Davies Message Board/Peter Quaife-Dave Davies". http://www.davedavies.com/messageboard/viewtopic.php?id=1678. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
- ^ "Ray Davies pay tribute to late Kinks bassist Pete Quaife at Glastonbury". NME. 27 June 2010. http://www.nme.com/news/nme/51724. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
- ^ Note: this paragraph is copied from the "Solo work and potential reunion (1997–present)" section on the Wikipedia article for The Kinks
- ^ "Message Board - Pete Quaife's book Veritas now available". Kinksfanclub.proboards.com. http://kinksfanclub.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=articles&action=display&thread=2045. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
External links
- Publisher's page for "The Lighter Side of Dialysis" giving the background to the book
- Cartoons from "The Lighter Side of Dialysis"
- 1998 interview with Quaife
- 2005 interview with Quaife
- Article on Mapleoak
Categories:- 1943 births
- 2010 deaths
- English rock bass guitarists
- The Kinks members
- People from Tavistock, Devon
- Deaths from renal failure
- British rhythm and blues boom musicians
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