Pete Quaife, age 66, the original bassist for the Kinks who played on such early hits as "You Really Got Me," "All Day and All of the Night" and "Tired of Waiting for You" before leaving the British band in 1969, died June 23 of kidney failure in Herlev, Denmark. He was born Dec. 31, 1943, in Tavistock, England, Peter Alexander Greenlaw Quaife studied commercial art before the Kinks became a success and returned to art after leaving music. He worked as a graphic artist and a few years ago published a book of cartoons titled "The Lighter Side of Dialysis."
Growing up in north London, Quaife was a schoolmate of Ray and Dave Davies and began playing rock-and-roll with the brothers in 1961. "We drew lots to see who would play bass guitar, and Pete lost," Dave Davies wrote in his 1996 memoir, "Kink."
With Ray Davies as guitarist, lead singer and songwriter, his younger brother Dave on guitar, Mr. Quaife on bass and Mick Avory on drums, the Kinks officially formed in 1963. Their third single, "You Really Got Me," quickly rose to No. 1 on the U.K. pop charts in 1964 and set the standard for the band's driving hard-rock sound.
While helping to power the British invasion of pop music, the band had a string of hits, including "All Day and All of the Night," "Tired of Waiting for You," "Dedicated Follower of Fashion," "Sunny Afternoon" and "Waterloo Sunset." But it was a contentious group whose troubles could be traced to the Davies' intense sibling rivalry.
Quaife had taken a break from the band in 1966 after he broke his leg in a car accident and, weary of playing peacemaker in disputes between Ray Davies and Dave Davies, left for good in 1969. John Dalton replaced him on bass.