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Ray Davies, Lead Singer of the Kinks, Just Added to the Lineup for WTTW11/98.7WFMT's May 9 Benefit

Actor Jeremy Irons to host "The British Are Coming" benefit performance featuring Davies, stage and screen actor Simon Callow and other talented performers.

For immediate release
- April 19, 2012

WTTW11, Chicago's premier public television station, and 98.7WFMT, Chicago's Classical Experience, are pleased to announce that Ray Davies, legendary songwriter and lead singer of the British Invasion rock band The Kinks, will perform at the two organizations' annual Benefit at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, May 9 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in downtown Chicago.

As previously announced, Oscar, Tony, Golden Globe, and Emmy-winning actor Jeremy Irons will serve as Master of Ceremonies for the program. Fittingly, this year's theme is The British Are Coming, highlighting the significant influence of British arts and culture on WTTW11 and 98.7WFMT programming and marking the year of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 London Olympics. The evening will include a special 60-minute onstage celebration at the Harris Theater, hosted by Irons and featuring Davies and award-winning British actor Simon Callow, currently in town through April 29 performing his one-man stage show, Being Shakespeare, at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater at the Broadway Playhouse. Also appearing will be members of The Joffrey Ballet, Fulcrum Point New Music Project Brass, Under the Streetlamp, and The Chicago Children's Choir, plus other surprises.


About Ray Davies

Ray Davies is best known as the lead singer, chief songwriter, and rhythm guitarist of The Kinks, one of the most long-lived of the British Invasion rock groups of the 1960s, which he formed with his brother Dave, who played lead guitar. Davies wrote and sang nearly all of their memorable hits, which include "Lola," "You Really Got Me," "All Day and All of the Night," "Sunny Afternoon," "Waterloo Sunset," and many more. He also composed the score for the 1985 film Return to Waterloo (which he wrote and directed). After The Kinks disbanded in 1996 after a 30-plus year reign as one of the most influential bands in rock history, Davies went on to a successful solo career. Most recently, Davies released choral orchestral arrangements of some of his hit songs for The Kinks Choral Collection and then devoted himself to See My Friends, an album project in which he revisited his catalog with the assistance of such admirers as Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, Alex Chilton, Black Francis, Jackson Browne, and Spoon.

To learn more about The British Are Coming and reserve your seat, please call (773) 509-5525 or visit wttw.com/celebration2012. Higher levels of support, including the Celebration 2012 Benefit dinner and other benefits, are available. For more information, please call (773) 509-5434.

The Lead Sponsor of The British Are Coming is BMO Harris Bank.


About WTTW11 and 98.7WFMT

For more than 55 years, Chicago's premier public television station WTTW11 and classical radio station 98.7WFMT have provided high-quality programming for audiences over a four-state area. WTTW presents the very best in cultural, public affairs and children's programming across its four distinct television channels: WTTW11, WTTW Prime, its Spanish-language channel V-me, and WTTW Create, and through its web site, www.wttw.com. Classical radio station 98.7WFMT, now in its 60th year on the air, provides the best and broadest selection of classical music and fine arts programming heard in the country, and is accessible across America and globally via enhanced web streaming at www.wfmt.com.