The Kunks

The Kunks were formed in the sleepy little UK town of Swell Mum Hill by brothers Dae and Nite Ravens and childhood friend Pat Quaint; drummer Nick Avarice joined in the middle of their first recording session when their original drummer, Henry Bobbit, was kicked out of the British Federation of Musicians for cutting off the president of organization on the M4 en route to the studio. Their career spanned four decades but they were constantly overshadowed by the legendary Rutles. While Rutlemania swept the world, The Kunks continually put out solid albums and built up a cult following that started a tradition of throwing paper cups on stage with song requests written inside them. After a string of unsuccessful singles, The Kunks finally broke through with the song "I've Got Nothing," a song written by Dae after losing his girlfriend to Stig O'Hara of The Rutles, hence the lyric, "He's in a money making band/And he's the one who holds your hand/And I've got nothing." The song is often covered to this day: Swedish rock god Hans Valen's version of the song is often mistaken for being the original. They built a reputation as consistent hit-makers. The most popular ones, "Mr. Trendy," "Beautiful Spring Day" & "The Bad Times Are Coming" are all included on this compilation CD. They were soon respected for their string of, now considered, classic albums; Kunkthing Else, The Olde Fashioned Values Committee, Archie and Swell Mum Hill Follies. In the 70's they gained a bad reputation for entering the world of concept albums a little too enthusiastically. Although the albums Scubas In Disgrace, Sleeping Fits and Fit Miss, among others, were dismissed by fans and critics alike, you could still find a Dae Ravens gem or two hidden inside those ambitious efforts. Their later records were amongst the biggest sellers of their career, but they lost some of their dedicated cult following. Later albums No Budget, Give The Pupils What They Want and State of Connecticut gave them a new fanbase that only knew them from the hits off those albums; "Aquaman," "The Next Day" and "At The Picture Show" are represented on this disc. The legendary strained relationship between brothers Dae and Nite finally led to the disbanding of The Kunks in the 90's. Diehard fans keep hoping the rumors that pop up every couple of years about a reunion tour will one day become true.