The Long Distance Piano Player

Here's something just posted to YouTube -- a segment of a play televised live in England in 1 starring a young and handsome Ray Davies as a marathon piano player. (Full credits here.) The play is about a young fellow trying to make something out of an event in which he commits to playing non-stop for 4 days. There's a sleazy manager and a wife with some issues.

I saw a video of the black and white broadcast at a Kinks Fan Club meeting in the UK in the mid 90s and was quite taken by Davies' performance. The stage missed out on a major talent when he chose to stick to rock and roll as his major art form.

For a recent CNN interview with Ray, go here. In this one, he reveals that the shooting incident that left him recovering at Charity Ward Hospital in New Orleans made him think about ending his performing career. Thank dog he didn't and I get to see him next week at the Beacon in New York.