<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> "Victoria" "Victoria", the most successful single released from the record . The lyrics discuss an old, specifically Victorian, Britain . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Problems playing this file? See media help . </Td> </Tr> <P> While the sessions for Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) were nearing completion in June 1969, the track "Drivin"' was released as a single in the UK, backed with "Mindless Child of Motherhood". For the first time since their breakthrough in 1964, a Kinks single failed to make an impression on the UK charts--Johnny Rogan notes that "This was the first of two pilot singles for...Arthur and its failure did not augur well ." The group followed with another single in September, "Shangri - La", which again failed to chart in the UK . As with Village Green, the album itself failed to chart when released in October . </P> <P> In the US, "Victoria" was chosen as the lead single, backed with the album track "Brainwashed", and was released the same week as the LP . The single proved to be relatively successful, and reached number 62 on the Billboard Hot 100--their highest position since their Top 20 hit "Sunny Afternoon" in 1966 . The success of the single led to its release in the UK; backed with "Mr. Churchill Says", it reached a peak of number 30 . Arthur itself was a moderate commercial success in the US, where it peaked at number 105 (the highest for a Kinks album since 1965) and remained on the charts for 20 weeks . </P>

Arthur the rise and fall of the british empire