THE KINKS - APEMAN

Released: November 27, 1970

Charted:  UK: #5   US: #45 

“Apeman” is a 1970 single by London’s The Kinks. It was written and produced by Kinks frontman Ray Davies and lifted from their album “Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One”. The song was the follow-up to the smash hit “Lola”, and although it failed to make the American top 40, it was a hit in much of the rest of the world.

The song was written by Davies while on a family trip to Cornwall in England in 1970. In the song, Davies opines that he wants to leave the modern world behind in favour of returning to nature, living in a “distant shore and make like an apeman”. The song despairs of the troubles with modern life singing “I don’t feel safe in this world no more. I don’t want to die in a nuclear war” and wanting to “Sit in the trees and eat banana’s all day, just like an apeman”

The song also caused some controversy over its soft calypso beat, and Davies’ slightly accented delivery being frowned upon as cultural appropriation in today’s more politically correct times. There is also a rather controversial misheard lyric in the song, which had to be re-recorded to make the corrects words more audible. “The air pollution is a-fogging up my eyes” really did sound like a different word to “Fogging”.

A promotional video was filmed at Hampstead Heath, a location also used for the cover of The Kinks' album "The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society." In the video, the band's new pianist John Gosling appeared dressed as an ape. Guitarist Dave Davies commented on the video's creation, attributing the idea to manager Grenville Collins, who suggested incorporating piano and keyboards into the band's lineup. Gosling, excited about joining the band, quickly found himself in unusual roles such as Lola for the song and an ape for "Apeman."