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Song · The Kinks

“Destroyer” by The Kinks

Released 1981

“Destroyer” by The Kinks appears on 30 radio countdowns from 15 stations between 1981 and 2026. It was first released in 1981. Its best result is #22 on the KISW 25 Biggest Rock Songs from 1981. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #31 alternative song of 1981 and #7,507 alternative song of all time.

30countdowns
15stations
#22best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1981–2026years charted

Watch

The Kinks - Destroyer (Official Video)

Video from YouTube (The Kinks). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

Ray Davies wrote and produced "Destroyer", a song from the Kinks' 1981 album Give the People What They Want, and he stuffed it with the band's own history. The riff lifts straight from 1964's "All Day and All of the Night", and the words wink back at 1970's "Lola", so the whole thing plays like a sly, self-aware victory lap.

It had been left on the shelf during the Low Budget sessions before finding a home on the new record, and it fits the heavier, rock-muscled Kinks of the period. In America, Arista put it out as the album's lead single; in Britain it never got a single release at all.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1981 31 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1981 106
1981 22 KISW Seattle-Tacoma, WA KISW 25 Biggest Rock Songs from 1981 25

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1991 446 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1991) 500
1994 159 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) 1000
1995 227 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1996 120 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) 1000
1998 128 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
1999 1933 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 105 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2001 1215 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2004 283 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) 923
2011 885 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2012 927 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2013 678 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2014 748 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 577 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 683 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2016 760 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2019 407 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2020 669 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2021 623 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2021 981 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2022 452 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) 500
2022 750 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 877 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2023 439 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 852 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2024 413 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2024) 500
2025 370 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2025) 500
2026 483 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2026) 500

Charting alongside it in 1981

Best songs of 1981 →
  1. 1Start Me UpThe Rolling Stones
  2. 2Tom SawyerRush
  3. 3I Love Rock-N-RollJoan Jett
  4. 4Every Little Thing She Does Is MagicThe Police
  5. 5Jukebox HeroForeigner
  6. 6For Those About to RockAC/DC

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