portrait of this blog's author - by Stephen Blackman 2008

Sunday, March 20, 2022

BUDGIE THEME TUNE - The KINKS!?

  • Track Name

    Nobody's Fool

  • Artist

    Cold Turkey

Cold Turkey - Nobody’s Fool (1972)

Here’s a fun one for Kinks fans.  Ray Davies wrote it and recorded a demo, but the Kinks never recorded it.  Or did they? Is this the Kinks recording under another name?  It was used as the theme song to a 1971-72 British TV series Budgie starring Adam Faith with the delightful Georgina Hale on whom I had the maddest young boy crush and a favourite actor Ian Cuthbertson who was one of the only people I felt like mimicking perhaps only second to Peter Lorre (you had to be there!). It also regularly featured Brit film legends Margaret 'Carry On' Goldfinger' Nolan, Jack Shepherd and the soon to go stellar James Bolam and many other guest stars of the staple stars of British acting of the period . While opinions are divided, I think it sounds like someone imitating Ray’s vocals. 

A demo version by the Kinks recently emerged on the expanded “Muswell Hillbillies” release although some mystery appears to surround who actually played on this track, but I personally s I say don't think it’s Ray himself on lead vocal and almost certainly the Kinks could be on backing, it could very easily be Dave on slide guitar all for some inexplicable reason hiding behind pseudonyms although the single was released on the group’s label.

with thanks to Guess I'm Dumb


2 comments:

Scottish Folkie said...

It is certainly very "Kinky"!!
right down to the vocals.....

Andy Swapp said...

Ha ha ha well said Scottish Folkie! Isn't it? It does sound very LIKE Ray but somehow upon repeated listening and knowing his work from the period it still sounds like an imitation to me!