Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) is a rock opera by English rock band, The Kinks, released in late 1969. The album followed a rough period for the band, with the commercial failure of the critically acclaimed concept album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society and its follow up single "Plastic Man" and the departure of founding member Pete Quaife. Songwriter Ray Davies constructed the album as the soundtrack to a planned television play, which was never produced but whose storyline had been developed in collaboration with Julian Mitchell. Mitchell recently recalled: "Arthur had a most unhappy history...we got as far as casting (excellent director and actors) and finding locations and were about to go when the producer went to a production meeting without a proper budget, tried to flannel his way through it, was immediately sussed and the production pulled. I have never been able to forgive the man."

The story is based on Davies' brother-in-law Arthur, who emigrated from England to Australia with his wife Rose (Ray and Dave's older sister) in the early 1960s. The lead character, Arthur, is a carpet layer and he and his family's plight in the opportunity-poor setting of post-war England is depicted. The songs describe the England that Arthur once knew, the promise of life in Australia for one of his sons, the emptiness of his superficially comfortable life in his home, "Shangri-La", the resolve of the British people in World War II and the death of his brother in World War I, among other things. Many of the songs (such as "Victoria" and "Brainwashed") represent a strong return to Rock and Roll by the Kinks, which they had largely forgone during the 1966-1968 period.

The album was critically acclaimed at the time of release, especially in the US rock press. It was very favourably compared to Tommy by The Who, the highly successful rock opera released earlier in the year. Arthur was a moderate commercial success and was seen as something of a turnaround from The Kinks' commercial failures of 1968. It also set the stage for their return to touring the US in late 1969 (after a five year absence) and for even greater commercial success with the hit song "Lola" the following year. In their special issue commemorating the year 1969.