Ray Davies plays a rock star so insufferable he body-swaps with a nobody—cameras break, walls crumble, your brain melts.
In Granada TV’s 1974’s Starmaker, head Kink Ray Davies proved once again that he’s not like everybody else, producing a rock opera for television that tells the story of an insufferable, vain, egotistical rock star (played by Davies, naturally) who switches places with an “ordinary person” named Norman, working in Norman’s crappy job and living Norman’s crappy life to find inspiration for his next album. (Well, it’s a little more complicated than that…) Davies’ play reveled in breaking the fourth wall: cameras and microphones are visible throughout and the play’s author/star himself even ends up a member of the audience. Starmaker was a dry run for the themes of the Kinks’ 1975 album, The Kinks Present a Soap Opera.
Direction
Plummer lets Davies demolish the fourth wall with glee.
Writing
Davies' script bites harder than his guitar tone.
Acting
Davies plays insufferable so well you wonder how much is acting.
Director
Peter Plummer
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Dave Davies appears as 'Himself,' blurring reality further—brother watching brother perform ego death.
Made for Granada TV in 1974, this predates MTV by seven years and basically invents the anti-rock-star music video.
US
