Lola - The Kinks

Let's start with a classic. :-)

Lola, Ray Davies' 1970 hit by The Kinks, really is one of my favourites. Its raunchy rock style describes an ultimately sleazy scene that a fresh-faced, wide-eyed boy encounters just a week after leaving home. His naïve introduction to the seedy side of the city and one particular drag queen is way more than he bargained for. Slow and measured, the music plunges you further into the tangled mess that unfolds.

The sheer terror the boy feels once he realises that Lola is not the woman he expected is perfectly captured in these desperate lines, after which he completely succumbs to Lola's charms:

I pushed her away.
I walked to the door.
I fell to the floor.
I got down on my knees.

You need to listen to this song nice and loud.