The English rock group the Kinks staged their first concert tour of the United States in June and July1965. The sixteen concerts comprised the third stage of a world tour. The US tour was plagued with issues between the band, their management, local promoters and the US musicians' union. Promoters and union officials filed complaints over the Kinks' unprofessional conduct, leading the union to withhold work permits from the band for the next four years. The programme was in the package-tour format typical of the 1960s, with one show per day, several support acts on the bill, and the Kinks' set lasting around 40minutes. The concerts were often poorly attended due to a lack of advertising and promotion, leaving local promoters sometimes unable to pay the band the full amount. Disagreement over payment with a California promoter led to the band refusing to perform at the Cow Palace near San Francisco. The band were often at odds with the union; during a week of promotional work in Los Angeles midway through the tour, lead guitarist Dave Davies's refusal to sign a contract before a television appearance led to a physical fight between bandleader Ray Davies and a union official. The relationship between Ray and the Kinks' personal manager Larry Page was marked by continual friction. Bothered by Ray's behaviour, Page departed to England in the tour's final week. On their return to London, the Kinks sought to dismiss Page for what they saw as an abandonment. The dismissal took three years to litigate in English courts. Unable to promote their music via subsequent tours or television appearances, the Kinks saw a decline in their US record sales. Cut off from the American music scene, Ray shifted his songwriting approach towards more overt English influences. Ray resolved the ban in early1969, and the Kinks staged a comeback tour later that year. Background Larry Page, the Kinks' personal manager, announced the band's intention to tour the United States in April1965. Taking place for three weeks in June and July, it was the band's first tour of the US. The shows formed the third leg of a world tour, following concerts in January and February in Australasia, Singapore and Hong Kong and concerts in the United Kingdom in April and May. After witnessing the enormous commercial success the Beatles experienced in the United States in 1964, Page hoped to break the Kinks into