Tour by the Monkees | |
Start date | May 12, 2011 |
---|---|
End date | July 23, 2011 |
Legs | 2 |
No. of shows | 10 in Europe 36 in North America 46 Total |
the Monkees concert chronology |
An Evening with The Monkees: The 45th Anniversary Tour, [1] also called Here They Come!: 45th Anniversary Tour, was the fourth and final reunion tour by American pop rock group the Monkees, including Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, and Peter Tork. Jones died of a heart attack on February 29, 2012. [2] It was the group's first tour in a decade following Monkeemania, which ran from 2001 to 2002. The tour visited the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. Due to the success of the first North American leg, a second leg was planned for the fall of 2011; however, dates were suddenly cancelled without explanation. [3]
In October 2010, Davy Jones stated the group (minus Michael Nesmith) were reuniting in 2011, hinting at the possibility of the tour. [4] The three members of the group announced the tour on the BBC's The One Show . [5] The group stated the initial run was predominately in the UK, however, they hoped the success of the tour could be expanded to the U.S. The first ten dates of the tour were released on February 21, 2011. Shortly afterwards, dates in the U.S. and Canada were revealed as well. It was later reported that, if successful, the group will earn nearly £1 million each. Jones remarked that the tour was not about money but reconnecting with fans.
The tour came as a surprise to fans, following the backstage drama of the previous reunion tour. Group member Peter Tork stated that he had a meltdown on the last tour, causing tension between the other members of the tour. Tork further commented that he considered quitting towards the end of the tour but eventually chose to stay until the end of the trek. [6]
The tour was described as a "full multimedia experience." With visual design by Rachel Lichtman, it displayed clips from the group's popular TV series, rare and unseen adverts and footage from the cult film, Head . [7] It continues to state the group will play their greatest hits alongside rarities and album cuts from their nearly half-century career. [8] To introduce the tour, group member Micky Dolenz stated:
"We need to share this music once again as people want to hear music from times that made them happy. The records are being played all the time. And, the fans are still there. So, we're going to do it." "I'm looking forward to getting back together with my old buddies for some good ol' rock and roll." [9]
Making the tour unique from previous tours was the performers' choice to depart from simply doing their greatest hits, and choosing instead to include many rare songs. "Saturday's Child", a song from the Monkees' first album that had been featured on the TV show, had never been performed live. Other choices included "I Don't Think You Know Me" and "All of Your Toys", songs that were not released until 1987 on the rarities compilation Missing Links . "Hard to Believe", a song featured on their album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. but never used on the TV show, and "Someday Man", a 1969 single that never appeared on an album, were also included.
Venue | City | Tickets sold / available | Gross revenue |
---|---|---|---|
Ruth Eckerd Hall | Clearwater | 2,094/ 2,094 (100%) | $114,688 [22] |
Mohegan Sun Arena | Uncasville | 3,212 / 4,172 (77%) | $96,360 [23] |
Beacon Theatre | New York City | 2,745 / 2,745 (100%) | $194,275 [24] |
Hershey Theatre | Hershey | 1,944 / 1,944 (100%) | $123,960 [25] |
Lifestyle Communities Pavilion | Columbus | 1,540 / 3,500 (44%) | $66,348 [22] |
Morris Performing Arts Center | South Bend | 1,924 / 2,564 (75%) | $110,488 [22] |
Stir Concert Cove | Council Bluffs | 2,913 / 3,500 (83%) | $111,410 [26] |
Greek Theatre | Los Angeles | 5,076 / 5,826 (87%) | $228,983 [27] |
TOTAL | 21,448 / 26,345 (81%) | $1,046,492 | |
Shows on the European leg of the tour received high praise from most music critics. Jade Wright (Liverpool Echo) gave the performance at the Echo Arena Liverpool an eight out of ten. She wrote: "Showing a refreshing lack of vanity, they chose to perform against a screen showing clips from their TV show— they may be older now but the energy and enthusiasm they put into the show meant the comparison was not an unkind one". [28]
The concert at the historic Royal Albert Hall in London received four out of five stars. Caroline Sullivan (The Guardian) felt the trio indulged the crowd with a throwback to the 60s. She writes, "With the Albert Hall full to capacity with old fans (and one or two young ones, possibly lured by their anomalous 1968 psychedelic movie Head ), the Monkees are free to indulge themselves. They play 40 songs, including vaudeville numbers that involve zany voices and walks". [29]
Further praise came from Simon Price (The Independent). He thought the concert at the Royal Concert Hall was a "crowd-pleasing performance". He explains, "Almost apologetically, they run through the reassuring hits to happy-clappy acclaim. As Jones, Dolenz and Tork lap up the applause, most of the hall is relieved they finally played "Daydream Believer". Me, I'm thinking I need to buy Head immediately. Either way, everyone's happy. And yes, they do walk the walk. As, in many senses, they always did". [30]
David Thomas Jones was an English actor and singer. Best known as a member of the band The Monkees and a co-star of the TV series The Monkees (1966–1968), Jones was considered a teen idol.
Robert Michael Nesmith was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the Monkees and co-star of their TV series of the same name (1966–1968). His songwriting credits with the Monkees include "Mary, Mary", "The Girl I Knew Somewhere", "Tapioca Tundra", "Circle Sky" and "Listen to the Band". Additionally, his song "Different Drum" became a hit for Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys.
The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of the television show of the same name, the Monkees were one of the most successful bands of the late 1960s. With international hits, four chart-topping albums and three chart-topping songs, they sold more than 75 million records worldwide.
George Michael Dolenz Jr. is an American musician and actor. He was the drummer and one of two primary vocalists for the pop rock band the Monkees, and a co-star of the TV series The Monkees (1966–1968). Dolenz is the last surviving member of the band.
Peter Halsten Thorkelson, better known by his stage name Peter Tork, was an American musician and actor. He was best known as the bass guitarist and keyboardist of the Monkees and co-star of the NBC television series of the same name (1966–68).
The Best of the Monkees is a Monkees compilation released by Rhino Entertainment. It contains 25 songs from the Monkees' repertoire, listed in chronological order by release date. Also included is a bonus karaoke CD with five tracks. Unlike previous Rhino compilations, this one does not include any material from the 1980s or 1990s reunions, focusing strictly on the band's 1960s output.
Pool It! is the tenth studio album by American pop rock band the Monkees, released in August 1987 by Rhino Records. It was the first Monkees studio album of new material since Changes in 1970 and the first Monkees album to feature Peter Tork since the 1968 Head soundtrack.
"Circle Sky" is a song written by Michael Nesmith which appeared on The Monkees' sixth album, the Head soundtrack, and also in the film Head as a live concert performance.
"Daydream Believer" is a song composed by American songwriter John Stewart shortly before he left The Kingston Trio. It was originally recorded by the Monkees, with Davy Jones singing the lead. The single reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1967, remaining there for four weeks, and peaked at No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. It was the Monkees' third and last No. 1 hit in the U.S.
"Valleri" is a song written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart for the Monkees. The single peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent two weeks at #1 on the Cash Box chart in early 1968, and reached #1 in Canada and #12 in the UK.
The Monkees Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits compilation album by the American pop rock band the Monkees, released in 1969 by Colgems Records.
33+1⁄3 Revolutions per Monkee is a television special, starring the Monkees, which aired on NBC on April 14, 1969. The musical guests on the show included Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Little Richard, the Clara Ward Singers, the Buddy Miles Express, Paul Arnold and the Moon Express, and We Three in musical performances. It was produced by Jack Good.
The Monkees' discography spans over 50 years, from the release of their first single, "Last Train to Clarksville" in August 1966 to their final live album The Mike and Micky Show in April 2020. Their discography is complicated due to the large volume of unique releases in many international markets, the release of many recordings not credited to the Monkees for lack of rights to the trademark, and the existence of many bootleg, promotional, and novelty recordings that are beyond the scope of this article.
Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart was a supergroup, consisting of songwriting/performing duo Boyce and Hart and two members of the Monkees, Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones. Boyce and Hart had written many of the Monkees' biggest hits, such as "Last Train to Clarksville" and "(Theme From) The Monkees". The group existed only for a short time in 1976, recording one eponymous album.
Summer 1967: The Complete U.S. Concert Recordings is a four-CD compilation of live recordings by the American pop rock band the Monkees, released in 2001 by Rhino Handmade. Recorded during the band's summer 1967 tour, the CD was a limited edition release, with 3,500 copies being made available. 16 of these tracks had previously been compiled by Rhino and released as Live 1967 in 1987.
20th Anniversary Tour 1986 is a live album by the Monkees recorded during their 20th anniversary tour in 1986. To date, it is the only known complete concert recorded during this era. The recording was available at 1987 tour stops in double-LP and cassette formats, though a planned 1988 retail release by Rhino Records was ultimately scrapped. The record credited the artists as Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork to avoid paying royalties to Arista Records who owned the Monkees trademark at the time, though the band's logo is visible on the sleeve. A limited-edition CD was released in 1994 under the title Live! by the group's fan club in Nashville, and was sold at concerts during their 1996 tour.
2001: Live in Las Vegas is a live album by the Monkees recorded during their "Monkeemania Returns Tour" (2001–2002). A companion DVD was released as well. The concert was recorded at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, in March 2001.
Extended Versions is a 2003 live album by the Monkees recorded during their 35th Anniversary Tour in 2001. It features three of the original Monkees; Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones and Peter Tork. The CD-only album includes live versions of several of the band's hit songs including "Last Train to Clarksville", "Daydream Believer", and "I'm a Believer".
Good Times! is the twelfth studio album by American pop rock band the Monkees. Produced primarily by Adam Schlesinger, the album was recorded to commemorate the band's 50th anniversary. It is the first Monkees studio album since Justus (1996), marking the longest gap between releases to date, and the first since the death of Davy Jones. The album features surviving Monkees Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork, as well as a posthumous contribution from Jones.
The Monkees Live: The Mike and Micky Show is a 2020 live album by The Monkees, recorded in March and June 2019, during the band's successful tour. The concerts marked the first time that surviving Monkees Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith toured as a duo. The album is the first Monkees release following the death of Peter Tork in February 2019, and the final release to feature Nesmith prior to his December 2021 death.
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