We get questions, questions all the time. We get postcards, letters, telegrams, hastily scribbled notes dropped in through the letter-box; we sometimes even get stopped in the street by Monkee fans who want to know something urgent about Mike, or Pete, or Davy or Micky.
And we’re always glad to do what we can to help. Some questions are easy to cope with. Some come up hard and strong and the answers can literally change overnight, what with the speed the Monkees move around at. But let’s deal with a few of ’em here and now… kinda spread the information around as much as poss.
That tour Permalink
There’s Annemia van Mierlo, a Monkee fantatic [sic] from Holland, who wants to know, with bated breath, “Whether the boys will include HER country when the 1969 tour plans are finalised?” Well, this is one of those queries which are tricky to answer with a definite yes or no. The idea, Annemia, is that it really WILL be a full continental tour… the boys want to fit as much of Europe into the schedule as possible. But if they spent even a couple of days only in each country, they will have to take a lot of time out. A guess, and honest it’s ONLY a guess, is that they’ll do their darnedest to take in Holland because we’ve heard both Davy and Micky say how much they like what they’ve seen of the country,—via books and movies, mostly.
But I must repeat that plans often have to be changed at the very last moment… and most times it’s not the fault of the boys themselves.
Jenny Pike of Huddersfield, Yorkshire, weighs in with a query about: “Where can I get tickets for Monkee shows in this country?” Our advice here is simply to hang on until official information comes out—and believe me, we’ll get that info first and in full. The actual dates have to be arranged yet. We understand your anxiety, in case of missing out, but it is just that bit too early yet to say anything definite.
Bit of factual information required by Marilyn Marshall, of Birmingham, who asks; “Tell me about Davy’s sisters?” Well, Davy Jones has three sisters, Lynda, Hazel and Beryl, and they’re still living in the Manchester area. Three very proud Jones girls, who’ve followed and encouraged Davy at every step of his career. And they did their share of “mothering” Davy when their own mum died so tragically. And now that their dad has passed on, too, Davy and his sisters have been that much closer—he loves to visit with them and talk over the old days before he became one of the world’s most-wanted men!
Now comes Sue Bolden, of Ongar in Essex, who wants us to whisper; “Whether or not Davy has secretly married Linda Hale [sic]?” Now we often come out with stories against the rumour-mongers and we’re certainly not going to start guessing about this particular story. As far as we’re concerned there’s no truth in this rumour at all. But let’s look at it this way. Just suppose, for a moment, that Davy had got married secretly and didn’t want to tell anybody about it. Well, surely we should respect his right to do just that? When it comes to a Monkee’s private life, we believe he has the right to handle it exactly how he wants. But honest, Sue, we know nothing about any marriage between Davy and Linda… but we do know they dig each other!
Micky’s call-up Permalink
Mary Tompson, of Wolverhampton, in Staffordshire, asks urgently; “Is any question of Micky being called up into the U.S. Army?” Now it is true that Micky has had a medical and that he passed A.1 What with American overseas military commitments, any healthy, red-blooded young American is liable to call-up. We’re glad that Micky has a clean bill of health, obviously, but we’ll have to wait and see whether his services are required IN the services!
June Phipps, of Mansfield wants to know something: “About Mick’s sister, Coco.” Well, June, they’re about as close as any brother and sister ever could be. I mean like this. When Coco was going to Grant High, she had to get up real early in the mornings. Micky had left school but he still got up at the crack of dawn every day so he could drive Coco to school and so save her a long and boring ride in on the bus. He also helped her a lot with her homework, specially on maths, and always gave up a lot of time to help her with her dramatic scenes in school plays. Coco is a sweet, blue-eyed lass, with lovely hair and a wide smile—and she’s not half bad as a singer, either. In fact, you can say that Micky is very proud of her and gets a big kick out of doing his big brother bit!
Head dates Permalink
Lots of you are asking about: “Definite dates for the showing of the Monkee movie.” Jean Alderson, of Coventry, is specially anxious. Well, Jean, we phoned Columbia Pictures in London and, at the time of going to Press, no definite date has been fixed. This is because of pressure of commitments in the various cinemas, but believe us, you’ll know all about it as soon as possible. The company, is laying on a very big publicity drive for the movie—you’ll hardly be able to avoid knowing all the facts on dates and venues, honest!
Jean Prince, of Peterborough, asks: “Do the Monkees still spend much time together at social events.” And the answer most certainly is yes. On all the big occasions, like Hallowe’en, they get together in one or other of their houses. Last Hallowe’en, for instance, they went over to Mike and Phyllis Nesmith’s pad for a costume party.
Davy’s horses Permalink
Here comes friendly fan Olive Mowatt, of Leicester, who wants to know “About Davy’s horses?” Well, their names are Chicomono and Pearl Locker—and it seems a fair bet that the last-named has something to do with Davy’s long-time mate David Pearl. But Davy bought these horses and they’re stabled at Newmarket and he really does ring through every week-end just to see that they’re okay and not off their feed, or anything.
Then there is Janet Stitcher, of Newport, Isle of Wight, who asks: “What happens to Monkee hair after they’ve been to the hairdresser?” Oh, dear me, this is one of the difficult ones. Obviously a lot of fans would like a few locks of Monkee “fure” as a souvenir. But it’s difficult to organize.
Another query, but can’t quite make out the name of the girl, (I guess, a girl) from Ealing, West London. She wants to know “When did the album ‘More Of The Monkees’ come out and the names of the tracks?” It was out in March, 1967, and the titles were: “She”; “When Loves Comes Knockin’ (At Your Door)”; “Mary”; “Hold On Girl”; “Your Auntie Grizelda”; “Steppin’ Stone”; “Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)”; “I Love You Darling”; “The Kind Of Girl I Could Love”; “Sometimes [sic] In The Morning”; “Laugh”; “The Day we Fall In Love”; “I’m A Believer”.
Then there is Barbara Joyce, of Londonderry, who asks: “Is it true that Micky’s dad was an actor and can sometimes be seen in the old movies on television?” Right? Right. Micky’s dad was George Dolenz, who once starred in “The Count Of Monte Cristo”. His dad, a very nice man, was one of the most respected figures in Hollywood but was never in the really top-flight of movie actors as a box-office celebrity.
Natural talents Permalink
But there’s no doubt that Micky got a lot of his natural talents from his dad. And he once told us: “One of the saddest things in my life is that my dad never lived to see me do well in show business.”
Well, there it is… a few questions answered from the many that we get each and every week. Maybe we’ll arrange another questioning sit-in in Monkees Monthly real soon. In the meantime, don’t be shy about sending in your enquiries. Remember, it’s our job to act as link between you the fans and them, the Monkees. And it’s a right pleasure to do just that.
JACKIE RICHMOND
