Sir Ray Davies? Really?

I’ve always been a huge fan of The Kinks and Ray Davies. I treasure all those pink Pye singles that I’ve collected over the years. I nod whenever I see him (quite a lot) around Highgate or Muswell Hill. I went to see Sunny Afternoon long before it transferred to the West End but even I find it odd that he’s suddenly been knighted. Ray himself said he was “surprised and a bit embarrassed” by the honour. This – his last big hit – was 46 years ago so why the knighthood? And why now? Maybe because the committee responsible was chaired by Rupert Gavin, theatre impresario and one of the chief financial backers of Sunny Afternoon. Could it be that, having made an enormous amount of money from the show, he wanted to reward the man whose songs made it possible?