Remembering The Kinks Schoolboys in Disgrace

 

Schoolboys in Disgrace is an album from 1975 (or did we still call them ‘LPs’ in those days?) from The Kinks.

It is a ‘concept album’ and according to the record’s sleeve notes, “Once upon a time there was a naughty little schoolboy. He and his gang were always playing tricks on the teachers and bullying other children in the school. One day he got himself into very serious trouble with a naughty schoolgirl and he was sent to the Headmaster who decided to disgrace the naughty boy and his gang in front of the whole school. 

“After this punishment the boy turned into a hard and bitter character. Perhaps it was not the punishment that changed him but the fact that he realised people in authority would always be there to kick him down and the Establishment would always put him in his place. He knew that he could not change the past but he vowed that in the future he would always get what he wanted. The naughty little boy grew up... into Mr Flash.”

The On The Road again blogsite reports, “In 2015, [band member] Dave Davies spoke positively of the album in a Yahoo interview, saying, ‘Schoolboys in Disgrace is a great album. At the time, we were so busy doing it and getting it out and touring and playing it. Over a matter of three years it was gone and we were doing something else. But when you draw this into the present, it’s like, Oh my God, what the f— is this?!? How did we do that?’”

The front cover (pictured above) later appeared on NME’s list of the 50 worst covers of all time.

One of the songs called Headmaster includes these lyrics:

Headmaster, this is my confession,
I've been such a little fool.
I've dishonored one who trusted me,
I have broken all the rules.
I've been such a little fool.
Don't tell all my friends I bent over,
Don't tell them you made me cry.
Don't tell them I've been sacrificed,
Don't tell all my friends or I'll die.
Headmaster don't beat me I beg you,
I know that I've let you down.
Headmaster please spare me I beg you,
Don't make me take my trousers down.

Pictures credit: RCA Records and Tapes, via On The Road Again

For more posts in the ‘Remembering’ series, click here

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