RAY DAVIES, the lead singer of the Kinks, was said to be “very lucky” to be alive yesterday after being shot while chasing an armed mugger through the streets of New Orleans.

The British rock icon, 58, was shot in the leg after chasing a man who had held a gun to his girlfriend and demanded her bag. Davies remained “cool as a cucumber” during the attack, Paul Charles, the singer’s agent, said.

The wiry Davies, who wrote Waterloo Sunset among other classic 1960s hits, was on holiday with his girlfriend in New Orleans, famous for its jazz clubs and bars, when they were attacked after leaving a restaurant at about 8pm.

Davies initially refused to hand over cash, but gave the mugger money when he produced a gun. As the assailant and an accomplice ran off, Davies gave chase. When the mugger heard Davies’s footsteps he turned and fired, hitting the singer. The mugger then got into a car and fled.

“Ray was very lucky,” said Mr Charles. “He is OK and his spirits are good. The bullet went right through his leg and he got to hospital quickly enough. I have just spoken to him and he was very clinical, and there was no fear as he recalled what happened to him. If you think what could have been, it is a great start to the year — that’s the way he is looking at it. He is saying, ‘I am here and alive’.”

Davies’s girlfriend, who has not been named, took down the registration number of the mugger’s car. Jerome Barra, 25, was later arrested and charged with armed robbery and aggravated battery.

The attack comes days after Davies was appointed CBE for services to music. A key figure of 1960s British pop music, he later influenced Oasis and Blur, becoming known as the Godfather of Britpop.

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