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The Monkees conducted a tour of Australia in September 1968. Arriving in Sydney on September 16 to a frenzied crowd of fans waiting at the airport, the group undertook a series of television interviews and held a press conference in Sydney, and later that day, in Melbourne. Footage of The Monkees in Sydney has been available on YouTube for a while now, but there's a lot of new scenes in this video below: Michael Nesmith reveals heart surgery operation and says he is on the road to recovery (UPDATED X3)7/26/2018
When I received the news about Michael Nesmith's quadruple bypass surgery a couple of weeks ago, I was taken aback and concerned about his well-being. I'm relieved and happy to hear, as everyone will be, that Nez is on the mend! Check out Andy Greene's new Rolling Stone interview with Michael by following the link below:
UPDATE @ 3pm EST: Christian Nesmith has clarified the Rolling Stone piece linked above in a post on Facebook:
UPDATE #2 on 7/27/2018: The mainstream press is covering the news of Michael's surgery:
People: The Monkees' Mike Nesmith Reveals Quadruple Bypass Heart Surgery Following Tour Cancellation
UPDATE #3 on 7/28/2019: Michael shared a description of his current workout routine on Facebook:
Ticket holders receive email regarding rescheduled "Mike & Micky Show" concert in New Jersey7/25/2018 Thanks to Ed Reilly for sharing an email he received earlier this afternoon from Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey: Originally scheduled for June 25th, THE MONKEES PRESENT THE MIKE & MICKY SHOW is now rescheduled for March 5, 2019 at 8PM. Tickets for the original date will be honored on March 5th. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and look forward to seeing you at the Basie! If you have any questions please call the Box Office at 732-842-9000. Please remember that there has been no official announcement regarding the rescheduling of dates for "The Mike & Micky Show" tour that were ultimately postponed, but this email indicates information is forthcoming. Stay tuned to The Monkees Live Almanac for future updates!   The latest single release from the illustrious 7a Records features two long lost tracks by Davy Jones. "Rainbows" was written and produced by Chip Douglas (who was also at the helm for The Monkees' Headquarters and Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. LPs along with singles like "The Girl I Knew Somewhere," "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "Daydream Believer," and "Goin' Down") and recorded by Davy in 1981. The song has long circulated in tape trading circles of Monkees/Davy fans, but this single marks its first official release.
"You Don't Have To Be A Country Boy To Sing A Country Song" was written by Davy and Tommy Boyce (who co-wrote some of The Monkees' biggest hits with Bobby Hart) and appeared as the B-side to "(Hey Ra Ra Ra) Happy Birthday Mickey Mouse," the official theme song for the 50th birthday celebration of Mickey Mouse. That single was released by Warner Brothers in 1978 in England only, and neither side has ever been officially issued on compact disc or been made available digitally. The limited edition 7" red vinyl single featuring "Rainbows" b/w "You Don't Have To Be A Country Boy" was released by 7a Records last month, and 7a co-founder Glenn Gretlund has confirmed with the Live Almanac that it's now officially sold out. "Only 500 were pressed and we don't have any left," Glenn told me earlier today. "Some retailers might have a very limited amount of stock left, but once it's gone, that's it." The Live Almanac has received multiple emails inquiring whether or not the single would be made available on digital or streaming platforms, and fans will be happy to know that "Rainbows" is now ready for download on iTunes and to stream on Spotify and Apple Music! "Only the 'A' side is available," Glenn told the Live Almanac. "We don't have digital rights to 'You Don't Have To Be A Country Boy To Sing A Country Song,' but we hope to be able to add the track to a future CD release."  Thanks a lot to SirQ for sharing his fantasy album artwork and track listings for the first eight original Monkees LPs with The Monkees Live Almanac. Alternate reality Monkees albums are always a lot of fun to think about, especially since there are so many gems in the group's catalog that never made it on to their albums in the 1960s. "I’ve spent an absurd amount of time cleaning up my album collections, fixing slight syncing issues, stereo imaging for the later stuff, and EQ problems that usually come with older tape-based music," SirQ told the Live Almanac. "The Monkees’ releases have definitely been a great exercise in detecting and cleaning such problems. I’m particularly happy with the custom edits of 'Carlisle Wheeling' and 'Mommy and Daddy' (uncensored) that I have now. "On the album covers side, that Pisces cover took far longer than I thought it would to clean up. I used my own LP copy as a reference to fix the highest resolution version I could find online. I was getting tired of it by the end, so I added the red to the guitar logo to make it look interesting to me again! "I don’t know entirely why I like doing this stuff, but it sure is a lot of fun to listen to and look at."  The Monkees (mono)
 More of The Monkees (mono)
 Headquarters (mono)
 Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. (mono)
 The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees (mono)
 HEAD (custom cleaned up stereo)
 Instant Replay
 The Monkees Present
 Micky Dolenz sings at "The Art And Music Of The Beatles" event at the Gibson Guitar Entertainment Relations Showroom in Beverly Hills, California in 2014. Micky is seen here with Doors guitarist Robby Krieger. Nickelodeon's "Meet The Monkees" contest winner shares her story with Monkee Business Fanzine7/21/2018 In its March 1988 issue, Monkee Business Fanzine profiled Nickelodeon contest winner Adrianne Bommer, who had the opportunity to "Meet The Monkees" in late 1987. You can also read an interview conducted years later with Adrianne in 2010 that was published on Davy's official Facebook page.     Left: Mike, Peter, and others watch Jimi Hendrix play guitar / The blonde lady in the lower right corner is Lynne Randell, who also opened for The Monkees that summer (Photos by Micky Dolenz and from the book "Micky's Secret Snaps" - click to enlarge)  At right: Peter Tork with Jimi Hendrix (Photos by Micky Dolenz - click to enlarge) Here's a picture of Nez taken during a photo session that was ultimately represented in the closing credits of The Monkees:  (Photo courtesy of eBay)  (Screenshot courtesy of Sunshine Factory) Micky, Davy, and Michael were guests on Glen Campbell's variety show on February 5, 1969. The trio performed "Last Train to Clarksville," "I'm a Believer," and "Salesman" live and lip-synced "Tear Drop City" (their brand new single at the time) after a series of comedy sketches.  Live Almanac reader Andrew Lenahan recently acquired a Headquarters LP at a thrift store, and inside was a ticket stub from The Monkees' appearance at the Hollywood Bowl! The Monkees performed in front of a sold-out audience of over 17,000 at the historic venue on June 9, 1967. Just one day after this triumph, the group recorded "Pleasant Valley Sunday" at RCA Hollywood.  The former Monkeesmixography website, which classified every Monkees track by mix/master/remaster, and more, is being converted into a book by Craig Smith and Derek Miner. Mixing Links: The Monkees on Disc doesn't have a release date, but fans can now review an excerpt that was recently revealed on their website! You can also listen to the duo's guest appearance on the SMISHSMASHCAST podcast.  Song of the Day: Micky Dolenz recalls "Last Train to Clarksville" with Rolling Stone magazine7/13/2018 In an August 2016 interview with Rolling Stone, Micky Dolenz spoke about The Monkees' first single and #1 hit, "Last Train to Clarksville": "It's about a guy going off to war. Frankly, it's an anti-war song. It's about a guy going to Clarksville, Tennessee, which is an army base if I'm not mistaken. He's obviously been drafted and he says to his girlfriend, 'I don't know if I'm ever coming home.' Considering that it was a Monkees song and the first one, I was always surprised that the record company even released it unless it just went right over their head. "I don't recall recording it because there was just so much going on at that time. I was recording two or three songs a night after filming the TV show all day. [Co-writer] Bobby Hart tells me I went in to sing one night. He says that I'd learned the song and routined it. We'd done the keys and all that stuff. There was a bridge part of that song. You know the bit where I go 'di da di di da di da?' Well, there were words to that. I said, 'Bobby, I just can't sing that.' I just couldn't learn it in time. He said okay. 'Well, we need to get it done so just go, 'di da di di da di da.' "I have a very fond memory of hearing it on the radio for the first time on KHJ, a big station out here at the time. Davy [Jones] and I were renting a house up in the Hollywood Hills. We were pulling up to this big, beautiful rented house in Beverly Hills when they went, 'Here they are, the Monkees' 'Last Train to Clarksville.' We pulled over and just had the biggest grins on our faces."   (From the program for Micky's 1982 tour of Japan) |
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