“I never thought that song [“Dedicated Follower of
Fashion”] would lead anywhere when he [brother Ray Davies] brought it along –
it sounded overly frivolous to me, and we went through hell trying to finish a
take. Ray couldn't find a way of realising the sound he had in his head, nor
communicating what he wanted to the rest of us. We tried different combinations
of guitars, and even a version with barrelhouse piano. But none of this
satisfied Ray, and eventually we stumbled towards a solution through trial and
error. The folksy mood of those earlier attempts did not necessarily make for a
clean fit with Ray's sardonic lyric and it was decided that the guitars needed
to be clanky and mechanistic, like George Formby's cheeky ukulele sound, then –
bingo! It worked.”—Kinks lead guitarist Dave Davies,
Living on a Thin Line: The Autobiography (2022)
