Song · The Kinks
“Sunny Afternoon” by The Kinks
From the album Face to Face (1966)
“Sunny Afternoon” by The Kinks appears on 11 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 2005 and 2025. It was first released in 1966 on the album Face to Face. Its best result is #95 on the Virgin Radio Top 100 Brit Songs of All-Time (May 2005). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #6,829 alternative song of all time.
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Ray Davies' "Sunny Afternoon" hit the shops as a Kinks single in June 1966 and turned up on Face to Face that October, and it's a long way from the power-chord bruisers that made the band's name in 1964 and 1965. This is music hall with a sneer, sung from the deckchair of a stuck-up aristocrat moaning that the taxman has made off with a fortune he never earned. The villain is the steep taxation of Harold Wilson's Labour government, the same target the Beatles took aim at in "Taxman".
Shel Talmy produced, Nicky Hopkins colours it with harpsichord, and Mick Avory and Pete Quaife hold down drums and bass. Ray and Dave Davies handle the guitars and vocals, with Quaife and Rasa Didzpetris-Davies chiming in behind them.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 95 | Virgin Radio | Virgin Radio Top 100 Brit Songs of All-Time (May 2005) | 100 |
| 2006 | 429 | Virgin Radio | Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006) | 500 |
| 2011 | 741 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) | 1100 |
| 2012 | 765 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) | 1200 |
| 2012 | 844 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) | 885 |
| 2020 | 1071 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2021 | 256 | 97 Rock | 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2021) | 500 |
| 2023 | 881 | 101.5 WPDH | WPDH Top 1015 (2023) | 1015 |
| 2024 | 900 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) | 1043 |
| 2024 | 368 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2024) | 500 |
| 2025 | 464 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2025) | 500 |
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