Ray Davies
Singer-songwriter, The Kinks
Ray Davies is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and principal songwriter of The Kinks, one of the most influential British bands of the 1960s, known for hits such as 'Waterloo Sunset', 'You Really Got Me' and 'Lola'. He formed the band with his younger brother Dave and remains one of British rock's most celebrated songwriters, later knighted for services to music.
Davies was born in Muswell Hill, north London, and grew up an Englishman through and through, but his family tree has Welsh roots. His paternal grandfather, Harry Davies, came from the Rhondda Valley in South Wales, before the family moved to London, where Ray's father Frederick was born and raised. The Rhondda connection is documented in Dave Davies' 1996 autobiography "Kink", making it a genealogical link rather than a lived one - Ray himself was raised entirely in London.
Despite the distance of a generation or two, the Rhondda ancestry is a genuine thread in the Davies family story, and one Ray has occasionally touched on when discussing his roots. It's worth noting clearly: this is not a claim that Ray Davies was raised in or has deep personal ties to Wales, but that his family line traces back to the Rhondda through his grandfather.