2019 Blog
The Kinks “Arthur (Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire)" 50th Anniversary 7” Box Set, 12” Double LP, CD Casebound Book and Standalone 7”
The Kinks have released their 50th-anniversary box set Arthur (Or The Decline And The Fall Of The British Empire). The iconic band was formed in 1964 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies, their single You Really Got Me became an international hit reaching the top 10 charts in the US and gained them international fame and popularity from reflecting their English culture and lifestyle, along with Ray Davies’ unique writing style. They are known as one of the most influential rock bands of the sixties.
Arthur (Or The Decline And The Fall Of The British Empire) box set marks the 50th-anniversary release of the 1969 Arthur album which will be released on 25th October with many goodies including a remastered version of the album. The box set includes 88 tracks and 5 unreleased tracks along with 26 unreleased versions.
We collaborated with BMG on various formats for the Arthur (Or The Decline And The Fall Of The British Empire) release which includes:
7” Box Set
The 7” Box Set is a 2-part rigid blue and brown cardboard box (with lift-off lid) which includes four CDs housed in 12cm card wallets in different colours ranging in orange, blue, green and yellow with a matt machine varnish finish. Each CD has newly remastered stereo and mono versions of the original Arthur album along with mono and stereo mixes, demos and BBC mixes. This also includes Dave Davies solo and 2 new recordings of Ray Davies with The Doo Wop Choir. The CDs also feature 3 unreleased tracks written for Arthur along with new Ray Davies mixes of album tracks Shangri-La and Australia. There are 81 tracks and 5 unreleased tracks and 28 unreleased different versions.
The four 7” black singles are housed in discobags with different prints of the band, Dave Davies and reproduced original international artwork. The 7” singles are Drivin’, Victoria, Shanri-La and Dave Davies' solo Hold My Hand.
The 68-page perfect-bound book is printed on matt art paper with a matt machine varnished cover. The book includes essays by world-renown Kinks' experts, original cancelled Arthur play co-scriptwriter Julian Mitchell, and original album sleeve designer Bob Lawrie. Included in the box set are new interviews with Ray Davies, Dave Davies and Mick Avory, band photos along with the original release international cover artwork with memorabilia posters and photos. The final item in the box set is a soft enamel gold-plated iron pin badge with The Kinks name engraved on it.
CD Casebound Book
A 16-page CD-sized booklet housed in a casebound book pack with uncoated cover, 2 CDs inserted in a floating wallet and a glued-in wallet. The 16-page book is printed on a thread stitched matt art paper and has the same artwork as the 7” box with the Arthur mug, the band, a duck and a hand with The Kinks flag along with blue and brown print.
12” Double LP
The 12” double black LP is housed in a gatefold sleeve with an inner sleeve and outer sleeve pocket for each record, both pockets open on the left and inserted with a 12-page booklet printed on matt art paper. The gatefold has a matt machine varnish finish and has the same artwork printed on the case bound book and 7” box set.
Standalone 7”
The standalone 7” is a transparent yellow vinyl record.
The Kinks Arthur (Or The Decline And The Fall Of The British Empire) is now available on multiple formats to order here: Store.