When I said by-by to you last time, I promised to tell you exactly what it’s like to spend an evening with Davy Jones—so hop on cloud nine and come along with me, and I’ll tell you what it’s really like!
Boxing & songwriting Permalink
After a home-cooked dinner, for some reason—which will remain one of life’s great unsolved mysteries—Davy Jones suddenly gets a “bug” in him. Baby, that’s when you’d better watch out! Davy’s favorite after-dinner pastime is a boxing—or in your case, since you are a girl, wrestling—match. An “attack” by Davy Jones is always preceded by a word such as pow! zap! bam!—so when you hear Davy shout those words, you’d better duck or run. Actually, the lad is as gentle as a lamb, but his “come on” is “terrifying”. The fact of the matter is, Davy is an excellent boxer. When he was in Oliver!, Danny Sewell, who played the role of Bill Sykes, taught Davy how to box. Danny is a former light-heavyweight boxing champion of England, so Davy had a good teacher.
When Davy finishes his wrestling match, his mood suddenly changes. He becomes very tender and gentle, and it’s usually about this time that he wants to start writing a song. Though he can’t play the piano well (he has started taking lessons), Davy loves to sit down and pick out a little tune, and then have the two of you write words to it. When Davy lived at my house, in 1964, we wrote several songs together. It’s realy [sic] fabulous to sit next to him on the piano bench and watch him work. Whatever he does, Davy puts his whole heart into it, and because of that you can be sure that nothing he does is ever, ever dull.
Davy and I have written five or six tunes. Most of them are unfinished, but they’re all really good. Maybe one day we’ll get them all finished, and there will come a time when you will be able to buy the LP of exclusive tunes by Davy Jones and Jeff Neal. (Gosh, I sure hope so.)
“Big brother” in action Permalink
Now it’s time for Davy’s next mood change. Suddenly, he wants action—and before you know it, the two of you are out on the street, inside a cab and on your way to see a Broadway show!
One of my most treasured memories is the night Davy took me to see Half A Sixpence on Broadway. Tommy Steele was on vacation and we saw Joel Grey in it. He was sensational. Halfway through the show, I whispered to Davy, “I’ll be right back. I’m going to get something to drink. I’m dying of thirst.”
Davy whispered back, “I’ll go with you. You’re not going anywhere by yourself.”
At the time, I was eleven years old and Davy was nineteen, and he was like a big brother to me. He walked all the way up the aisle with me and watched while I drank my orange drink, and then he escorted me back down the aisle again. Davy is just as protective towards the girls he takes out as he is toward his “little brother”. So, if you are ever on a date with Davy, you can always feel sure that you will be well taken care of.
After the show, Davy took me backstage and we introduced ourselves to the entire cast—and then Davy congratulated each one on their marvelous performance. Later, we went to Downey’s Steak House and I was absolutely dazzled. Downey’s is where the young acting crowd hangs out. Its walls are covered with groovy photos of people such as Bruce Scott, Ben Gazarra, Charles Nelson Riley, Bobby Morse, Paul O’Keefe, Patty Duke and Barbra Streisand. While we were sitting there, a couple of these people walked in, and Davy introduced me to them. Everyone was so warm and friendly that it made for a perfect evening. But all good evenings have to come to an end, so before I knew it we were back in a cab and headed for home again.
Next month I’ll tell you more about my wild adventures with Davy Jones. If you think spending an evening with Davy is a lot of fun, wait ’til you find out what it’s like to spend an entire weekend with him! That, me luvs, is what we are going to do in the September issue of 16 Magazine—so don’t miss it! It goes on sale July 20. Meet you right here then!
