Set Me Free (The Kinks song)

"Set Me Free"
"Set Me Free"
Single by the Kinks
from the album Kinda Kinks (US)
B-side	"I Need You"
Released	21 May 1965 (UK); 26 May 1965 (US)
Recorded	13–14 April 1965 at Pye Studios (No. 1), London
Genre	Rock, beat
Length	2:12
Label	Pye 7N 15854 (UK); Reprise 0379 (US)
Songwriter(s)	Ray Davies
Producer(s)	Shel Talmy
The Kinks UK singles chronology
The Kinks US singles chronology

"Set Me Free" is a song by Ray Davies, released first by the Kinks in 1965. Along with "Tired of Waiting for You", it is one of band's first attempts at a softer, more introspective sound. The song's B-side, "I Need You", makes prominent use of powerchords in the style of the Kinks' early, "raunchy" sound. "Set Me Free" was heard in the Ken Loach-directed Up the Junction, a BBC Wednesday Play which aired in November 1965; this marked the first appearance of a Kinks song on a film or TV soundtrack.

Billboard said of the single that "hot on the heels of [the Kinks'] 'Tired of Waiting for You' smash comes this down home blues rhythm material with a good teen lyric."^[1]

"I Need You"[]

"I Need You" was released as a B-side to "Set Me Free". The song, along with "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night", has been cited as one of the influences which shifted the focus from rock 'n' roll to hard-hitting rock music. Never a part of the Kinks live act, it has since been revived live by both Davies brothers solo in the 21st Century.

Charts[]

Chart (1965)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[2]	54
Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[3]	2
Canada (CHUM)^[4]	30
France (IFOP)^[5]	29
Germany (Official German Charts)^[6]	32
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[7]	12
UK Singles (OCC)^[8]	9
US Billboard Hot 100^[9]	23
US Cash Box Top 100^[10]	24

References[]

^ "Singles Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. 5 June 1965. p. 35. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
^ "Every AMR Top 100 Single in 1965". www.top100singles.net.
^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5601." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
^ "CHUM Hit Parade, week of July 12, 1965". 12 July 1968. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
^ "InfoDisc : Les Tubes de chaque Artiste commençant par K" (in French). InfoDisc. Select "Kinks" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Kinks – Set Me Free" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Kinks" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
^ "Kinks: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
^ "The Kinks Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
^ "Cash Box Top 100 7/17/65". cashboxmagazine.com. Retrieved 15 January 2021.

This 1960s single-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

[bb-1] "Singles Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. 5 June 1965. p. 35. Retrieved 12 March 2021.

[2] "Every AMR Top 100 Single in 1965". www.top100singles.net.

[sc_Canadatopsingles_-3] "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5601." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.

[4] "CHUM Hit Parade, week of July 12, 1965". 12 July 1968. Retrieved 15 January 2021.

[5] "InfoDisc : Les Tubes de chaque Artiste commençant par K" (in French). InfoDisc. Select "Kinks" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved 15 January 2021.

[sc_Germany_The_Kinks-6] "Offiziellecharts.de – The Kinks – Set Me Free" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.

[sc_Dutch40_The_Kinks-7] "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Kinks" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.

[sc_UKsinglesbyname_Kinks-8] "Kinks: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.

[sc_Billboardhot100_The_Kinks-9] "The Kinks Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.

[10] "Cash Box Top 100 7/17/65". cashboxmagazine.com. Retrieved 15 January 2021.

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show v t The Kinks singles discography
1960s singles (UK & US)	1964 "Long Tall Sally" "You Still Want Me" "You Really Got Me" "All Day and All of the Night" 1965 "Tired of Waiting for You" "Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy" "Set Me Free" "See My Friends" "Who'll Be the Next in Line" "A Well Respected Man" "Till the End of the Day" 1966 "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" "Sunny Afternoon" "Dead End Street" 1967 "Mister Pleasant" "Waterloo Sunset" "Death of a Clown" (Dave Davies solo) "Autumn Almanac" "Susannah's Still Alive" (Dave Davies solo) 1968 "Wonderboy" "Days" "Lincoln County" (Dave Davies solo) 1969 "Starstruck" "Hold My Hand" (Dave Davies solo) "Plastic Man" "Drivin'" "The Village Green Preservation Society" "Shangri-La" "Victoria" 1970 "Lola" "Apeman"
1970s singles (UK & US)	1971 "God's Children" "20th Century Man" 1972 "Supersonic Rocket Ship" "Celluloid Heroes" 1973 "One of the Survivors" "Sitting in the Midday Sun" "Sweet Lady Genevieve" "Where Have All the Good Times Gone" 1974 "Money Talks" "Mirror of Love" "Mirror of Love" (band version) "Holiday Romance" "Preservation" 1975 "Everybody's a Star (Starmaker)" "Ducks on the Wall" "You Can't Stop the Music" 1976 "I'm in Disgrace" "No More Looking Back" 1977 "Sleepwalker" "Juke Box Music" "Father Christmas" 1978 "A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" "Live Life" "Black Messiah" 1979 "(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman" "A Gallon of Gas" "Catch Me Now I'm Falling" "Moving Pictures" "Pressure"
1980s singles (UK & US)	1980 "Lola" (live) "You Really Got Me" (live) 1981 "Better Things" "Destroyer" "Predictable" 1982 "Come Dancing" 1983 "Don't Forget to Dance" 1984 "Good Day" "Do It Again" 1985 "Living on a Thin Line" (radio promo only) "Summer's Gone" 1986 "Rock 'n' Roll Cities" "How Are You" 1987 "Lost and Found" 1988 "The Road" 1989 "Down All the Days (Till 1992)" 1990 "How Do I Get Close"
1990s singles (UK & US)	1993 "Only a Dream" "Scattered"
Other singles (non-UK/US)	1966 "Dandy" (Europe) 1969 "Picture Book" (Australia) "Australia" (Australia) 1983 "State of Confusion" (Germany) 1991 "Did Ya" (Europe)
Other songs	"So Mystifying" "Bald Headed Woman" "Stop Your Sobbing" "Dancing in the Street" "I Need You" "I Go to Sleep" "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" "Big Black Smoke" "Party Line" "Rosy Won't You Please Come Home" "Love Me Till the Sun Shines" "David Watts" "Two Sisters" "Polly" "She's Got Everything" "Do You Remember Walter?" "Johnny Thunder" "Last of the Steam-Powered Trains" "Big Sky" "Sitting by the Riverside" "Animal Farm" "Village Green" "Phenomenal Cat" "All of My Friends Were There" "Wicked Annabella" "Monica" "People Take Pictures of Each Other" "Berkeley Mews" "Mr. Churchill Says" "Strangers" "This Time Tomorrow" "Rats" "Got to Be Free" "Have a Cuppa Tea" "Oklahoma U.S.A." "Muswell Hillbilly" "Sitting in My Hotel" "The Hard Way" "Life Goes On" "Misfits" "Attitude" "Low Budget" "Give the People What They Want" "Heart of Gold"