I was and am not a Kinks fan, though I can’t say why. However Alan put it to me that You Really Got Me is a good number and I agreed to use it. As he said, it is proto-heavy metal, though whether that is a good or bad thing I am not sure.
It was released in August 1964 as the group’s third single, and reached number one in the UK. It was their breakthrough hit in the US, peaking at No 7.
This is the single:
I think this is a live performance:
This is definitely a live performance, from the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977:
It was recorded by the American rock band Van Halen in 1978 and reached no 36 in the States. I’m not sure that this stage performance is an improvement on Ray Davies and Co, but it is different.