Dandy

Album: Face To Face (1966)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Running to just 2 minutes 22 seconds, "Dandy" was written by Ray Davies, and is the third track on the band's 1966 Face To Face album. It is said to have been written about Dave Davies, in particular about his rock star lifestyle, a claim Dave confirmed in the documentary Dave Davies: Kinkdom Come, which was first broadcast by the BBC in July 2011.

    The song ends with the line, "Dandy, you're all right."

    Sadly, this sentiment was not reciprocated; in the aforementioned documentary, Dave Davies said that he loved his brother, even though he was an arsehole! >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England
  • "Dandy" was released as a single in Europe on the Pye label backed by "Party Line." The single was produced by Shel Talmy, who worked on most of the early Kinks material. The release reached #1 in Germany, #2 in Belgium and #3 in the Netherlands.
  • Herman's Hermits covered this for the North American market. Their version reached #5 on the US Hot 100 and also topped the singles chart in Canada.
  • Ray Davies told interviewer Daniel Rachel (The Art of Noise: Conversations with Great Songwriters) how he came up with the "Dandy" character: "I think it was about someone, probably me, who needed to make up his mind about relationships. Also about my brother, who was flitting from one girl to another. It's a more serious song than it seems. It's about a man who's trapped by his own indecision with relationships and lack of commitment. That's the way I'd write it now, but when I was twenty-two or twenty-three I wrote it about a jovial person who's a womanizer."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Prince

PrinceFact or Fiction

Prince is shrouded in mystery, making him an excellent candidate for Fact or Fiction. Is he really a Scientologist? Does he own an exotic animal?

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Van Dyke Parks

Van Dyke ParksSongwriter Interviews

U2, Carly Simon, Joanna Newsom, Brian Wilson and Fiona Apple have all gone to Van Dyke Parks to make their songs exceptional.

Jesus Christ Superstar: Ted Neeley Tells the Inside Story

Jesus Christ Superstar: Ted Neeley Tells the Inside StorySong Writing

The in-depth discussion about the making of Jesus Christ Superstar with Ted Neeley, who played Jesus in the 1973 film.

Amy Grant

Amy GrantSongwriter Interviews

The top Contemporary Christian artist of all time on song inspirations and what she learned from Johnny Carson.

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New York

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New YorkSong Writing

Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.