Dave Davies, guitarist with The Kinks, has fired back at electronica star Moby after the latter criticised the band’s 1970 hit Lola.
Speaking with The Guardian for their Honest Playlist feature, Moby was asked to name a song he could no longer listen to. “Lola by the Kinks came up on a Spotify playlist, and I thought the lyrics were gross and transphobic,” Moby answered. “I like their early music, but I was really taken aback at how unevolved the lyrics are.”
In response, Dave Davies shared a letter he’d received from transgender singer, actress and artist Jayne County, once leader of proto-punk band Wayne County & the Electric Chairs, who began identifying as a woman in 1979.
Article continues below
You may like
“Regarding Moby’s criticism of our song LOLA in a recent Guardian interview, these are the words sent to me and Ray from our dear friend trans icon Jayne County”, says Davies. “I am highly insulted that Moby would accuse my brother of being ‘unevolved’ or transphobic in any way.”
“When I heard the song I was both thrilled and amazed that the Kinks would be singing a song about a trans person and wondered if anyone else had picked up on it!” County wrote in the letter. “Who was cool or hip enough to realise what The Kinks we’re singing about! Lola will always be one of those songs that for me, broke the ice, so to speak! A song that breaks down barriers and brings a used to be, hush, hush subject to the forefront and makes it sound perfectly natural to be singing a song about a ‘girl’ named Lola!”
“Lola will always be a very special song to me!” she continued. “With this song, The Kinks projected themselves into the modern world. The real world! A world full of all kinds of people! Bisexual, Gay, Trans, not just a world full of straight heterosexuals! Lola broke down the doors of narrow-mindedness and I will always be grateful and happy that The Kinks gave me this incredible song with such a great story! Being Trans myself, this will always be a very special song for me.”
Writer Ray Davies has said that Lola, which details an encounter in a Soho bar between a young man and a trans woman or cross-dresser, was based on real events.
“It was a real experience in a club,” he told Classic Rock. “I was asked to dance by somebody who was a fabulous-looking woman. I said, ‘No, thank you.’ And she went in a cab with my manager straight afterwards. It’s based on personal experience. But not every word.”
“Being called The Kinks did attract these sorts of people,” drummer Mick Avory added, talking about his relationship with fashion publicist Michael McGrath. “He used to have this place in Earls Court, and he used to invite me to all these drag queen acts, and transsexual pubs. They were like secret clubs. And that’s where Ray got the idea for Lola. When he was invited too, he wrote it while I was getting drunk.”
Moby’s Future Quiet album is out now. He plays Coachella next month and has a series of European shows lined up over the summer. Full dates below.
Moby 2026 tour dates
Apr 10: Indo Coachella, CA
Apr 17: Indo Coachella, CA
Jun 26: Odense Tinderbox Festival, Denmark
Jun 29: Istanbul Zorlu Performing Arts Center, Turkey
Jul 01: Athens Release, Greece
Jul 03: Luxembourg Neimenster, Luxembourg
Jul 05: Werchter Rock Werchter, Belgium
Jul 07: Sevilla Icónica Santalucia Sevilla Fest, Spain
Jul 08: Madrid Mad Cool Festival, Spain
Jul 10: Eisenstadt Butterfly Dance, Austria
Jul 11: Weert Bospop Festival, The Netherlands
Jul 12: Stuttgart Jazz Open Festival, Germany
Jul 14: Modena Jazz Open Festival, Italy
Jul 17: Ostrava Colors of Ostrava, Czech Republic
Jul 19: Plovdiv PhillGood Festival, Bulgaria
Jul 21: Belgrade Donji grad Kalemegdan Fortress, Serbia
Jul 23: Pula Arena, Croatia
Jul 26: Brighton On The Beach, UK
Jul 30: Tbilisi Rustavi International Motorpark, Georgia
Aug 01: Budapest Budapest Park, Hungary
Aug 04: Warsaw Progresija Summer Stage, Poland
Aug 06: Tartu Lauluväljak, Estonia
Aug 08: Vilnius Kalnų Park, Lithuania
Aug 11: Dresden Filmnächte am Elbufer, Germany
Aug 13: Gothenburg Way Out West Festival, Sweden
Aug 15: London Old Royal Naval College, UK
Aug 18: Bonn Kunst! Rasen, Germany
Aug 20: Blagnac MAD Summer (DJ gig), France
Aug 21: Dublin Irish Museum of Modern Art, Ireland
Aug 23: Chateau-Gontier V and B Fest, France
Get Moby tickets.