Denmark Street by The Kinks

Album: Lola vs. Powerman And The Moneygoround, Part 1 (1970)

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Written by Kinks frontman Ray Davies, this song is a musical tribute to Denmark Street in London, where British music publishers were headquartered. The song has a cynical edge, as Davies sings about how you can play your song to a publisher who will hate it but buy it anyway because the buying public might dig it. It's then off to the record label, where the same conversation repeats.

Later on the album, the Kinks take another look at the music industry machine on the track "Top Of The Pops," which is about promoting the single up the charts.
Running just two minutes, this song has no discernable chorus as Ray Davies runs the narrative from start to finish. It was released on the Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One album, which got the band back on track with the hit "Lola."
The Kinks, known at the time as The Ravens, signed a management deal with a company called Denmark Productions in 1963, which peddled their demo around Denmark Street, eventually landing them a deal with Pye Records. The group reeled off a string of hits, starting with their first single, "You Really Got Me," but suffered from vicious infighting and ended up in a legal tangle that cost them dearly. "Denmark Street," and much of the Lola album, was an attack on Denmark Productions.

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