Julien Temple completes Ray Davies film

Juilen Temple has hailed The Kinks and their frontman Ray Davies.

The director confirmed to The Guardian that he has finally completed his film about Davies for the BBC.

Temple said: "The Kinks are the ultimate underdog band. Songs like 'Waterloo Sunset' exist in the atmosphere, surrounding us, defining who we are. And Davies, the principal songwriter, remains ludicrously undervalued.

"As a Kinks obsessive, I thought I knew all there was to know about him. Yet as we did the interviews, I began to realise how conflicted his relationship with both himself and his own success remains; how fragile the line between him having a good or a bad day has always been.

"His documentary approach to lyrics might seem to be a distancing device, exploring other people's lives rather than his own - but it became clear that it's therapy. The songs' characters function almost as friends, providing ways of analysing aspects of himself."

He added: "I used to bunk off school to watch the band drink on a bench outside the Flask pub in Highgate. One day I saw Davies walking along Hampstead High Street with tears streaming down his face. I knew then that this was a pop star unlike any other."