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Peter Tork live at The Speakeasy in New York City

3/23/2019

(Courtesy of Heather Sciacca)

After reuniting in 1986 and undertaking worldwide tours through 1987, The Monkees were relatively out of the limelight in 1988. Peter Tork reemerged late that year with a short solo tour that included multiple shows at The Speakeasy in New York City. I vividly recall these concerts being advertised in fan club newsletters like The Monkees/Boyce & Hart Photo Fan Club and Monkee Business Fanzine, and later seeing Michael G. Bush's photos from the Speakeasy.

Beginning in the late 1970s and right up to The Monkees' phenomenal 1986 comeback, Peter had played numerous club dates in and around New York City as a solo artist and with his bands The New Monks and The Peter Tork Project, as documented in an essay on this blog by Fred Velez in 2017. Looking back, it's interesting to see how Peter seamlessly transitioned from playing stadiums, arenas, and amphitheaters in 1986 and 1987 while returning to the more intimate setting of New York City clubs in 1988. During these shows, he was backed by Jerry Renino (who was a member of The Peter Tork Project as well as The Monkees' backing band from 1989-2002), Michael Levine (electric fiddle), and Mal Stein (drums).

The March 1989 issue of Monkee Business Fanzine covered Peter's late 1988 concerts, which also included stops at The Town Crier in Pawling, New York and The Iron Horse in Northampton, Massachusetts:

(Click each image to enlarge)

As mentioned in the above article from Monkee Business Fanzine, Peter's shows at the Speakeasy were recorded for a live album that ultimately was never released. However, thanks to Scott Erickson, select samples of those live recordings were heard for the very first time in a recent post on the Live Almanac's blog.

Heather Sciacca recently uploaded her photos from one of Peter's shows at The Speakeasy in New York City on the Torkees Discussion Group on Facebook. Thanks, Heather!

Finally, here is video footage of Peter's appearance at The Speakeasy in New York City (which is now a comedy club) on November 26, 1988, courtesy of Jennifer Winkle:

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Nickelodeon's "Meet The Monkees" contest winner shares her story with Monkee Business Fanzine

7/21/2018

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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.

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"Peter Tork Sings National Anthem" by Chris Coyle

5/18/2018

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This is a really nice article from the June 1995 issue of Monkee Business Fanzine that discusses Peter Tork singing the "Star Spangled Banner" in Portland, Maine for the (Double-A baseball team) Portland Sea Dogs on their opening night.

A little note on Chris: I connected with him online in 2000 or so. In 2001 I began a small project, writing brief summaries for each Monkees tour and embellishing the information with set lists and reviews. Brad Waddell at Monkees.net was kind enough to publish my work on his website that year, and Chris was a big help in collecting variations of set lists from different tours, reviewing the summaries I had written, etc. It ultimately took a decade for this website to be created, but the genesis of it all started during that time with assistance from Chris.

Thanks, Chris!

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March 1988 issue of Monkee Business Fanzine

4/27/2018

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Monkee Business Fanzine covers the release of "Heart and Soul" single and video in 1987

2/2/2018

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The Monkees vs. MTV in 1987

(From the September 1987 issue of Monkee Business Fanzine)

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Examining Monkees song sheets

1/26/2018

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"Star Collector" was a longtime feature in Monkee Business Fanzine. Monkees collector and author Ed Reilly would break down a wide range of Monkees memorabilia, including everything from toys, trading cards, records, and much more. In this column from the September 1991 issue of MBF, Ed examines Monkees song sheets from the 1960s through the 1980s.

(Click the image above to enlarge)

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Monkee Business Fanzine previews the "Listen to the Band" box set

1/19/2018

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I still have a soft spot for the very first Monkees box set ever issued by Rhino Records on September 24, 1991. Listen to the Band was a 4-CD collection that included a memorabilia poster and a detailed booklet written and compiled by Andrew Sandoval, and it featured many songs that had not been previously released on compact disc. The September 1991 issue of Monkee Business Fanzine, which celebrated The Monkees' 25th Anniversary, previewed the box with comments by Sandoval and more. Note the discussion about live tapes from the 1969 tour. You can read a more current take of those tapes on the '69 tour page here on the site.

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Remembering the final show of the 1987 "Here We Come Again" tour

12/16/2017

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In the December 1987 issue of Monkee Business Fanzine, Monkees photographer Michael G. Bush wrote about the fun-filled finale of the 1987 tour at Harrah's in Lake Tahoe, Nevada:

(Handbill for the shows at Harrah's in Lake Tahoe)

The Monkees would, however, go on to play one more show in 1987 in front of a massive crowd at Zoofest, held at Lowry Park in Tampa, Florida:

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Monkee Business Fanzine covers the 1997 U.S. tour

11/4/2017

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After all four Monkees visited the United Kingdom in early 1997, the group embarked on a tour of the United States throughout the summer and fall of '97, but this time without Michael Nesmith. The September 1997 issue of Monkee Business Fanzine highlighted summer dates on the tour, which featured songs from The Monkees' 1996 album, Justus, and some rarely performed songs like "Oh My My":

(Click images to enlarge)

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Monkee Business Fanzine reports on Davy & Peter in Australia in 1987

10/14/2017

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Before The Monkees' explosive 20th Anniversary Reunion Tour throughout North America in 1986, Davy Jones and Peter Tork performed concerts in Australia earlier that year, playing to full houses and enthusiastic audiences. I have a couple of audience recordings from this tour, and it reminds me that I should attempt to digitize them for the Live Almanac's YouTube channel. Davy and Peter returned to Australia as a duo a year later. Monkee Business Fanzine documented these shows in its June 1987 issue with this overview by Anne O'Reilly: