for the upcoming sessions of Arthur. Bassist John Dalton, who had briefly replaced Quaife when the latter had quit three years prior, was asked by drummer Mick Avory to rejoin the band. Ray Davies travelled to United Recording Studios in Los Angeles on 11 April 1969, to produce American band the Turtles’ LP Turtle Soup with engineer Chuck Britz. While in Los Angeles, Davies helped negotiate an end to the concert ban placed on the Kinks by the American Federation of Musicians in 1965. Although neither the Kinks nor the union gave a specific reason for the ban, at the time it was widely attributed to their rowdy on-stage behaviour. After negotiations with Davies, the Federation allowed the group to return to touring in America. Once the main sessions for the Turtles LP were completed, Davies returned to England. While Davies was abroad, the other members of the band had been rehearsing and practising for the upcoming album, as well as lead guitarist Dave Davies' solo album, nicknamed A Hole in the Sock of. When Ray returned, the Kinks regrouped at his house in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, to rehearse Arthur. Recording The group turned to the recording proper on 1 May 1969. The first tracks worked on were "Drivin, intended as their next single release, and "Mindless Child of Motherhood", written by Dave Davies (the latter would eventually be used as the B-side to "Drivin, and was not included on the LP). The Kinks began a two-week series of focused sessions on 5 May, laying down an early version of the entire Arthur album. Recording was interrupted when the Kinks travelled to Beirut, Lebanon on 17 May to play three dates at the Melkart Hotel; sessions for Arthur resumed the day after their return, and most of the recording for the album was finished by the end of the month. Mixing and dubbing began in early June, with arranger Lew Warburton handling string overdubs. The Kinks played a few small gigs in England throughout the remainder of the month, but devoted most of their time to finishing Dave Davies' solo album. Writing for the TV play progressed through May and June, and on 15 June mixing for Dave Davies’ solo LP was completed (tapes for this record were eventually delivered to Pye and Reprise Records, although it never saw official release). A press release announced that the Arthur LP was scheduled