Monkee Puzzle

I must have seen the many repeats on TV of The Monkees sometime in the 1970's.

The first broadcasts of the American show on UK Channels had been in 1967 to 1968 and at the tender age of 4 at that time I may not have been able to appreciate the significance of the concept of an engineered Boy Band.

That description is well worn in today's music industry accompanying spotty faced pre-puberty youngsters so at the time of the launch of The Monkees in 1966 the respective ages of the group at between 20 and 23 would have put them firmly in the category of old codgers by comparison.

The initial idea was that of TV Producers who saw an opportunity to commercially exploit somewhere towards the success of The Beatles who had stormed the USA music charts in the early to mid 1960's. The hysterical crowds of fans of The Fab Four, mainly of screaming teenage girls, had given an indication of the potential market in the emerging genre of "pop" music.

An advertisement in the music and theatrical press in September 1965 sought interest from males aged between 17 and 21 to audition for what was described as a wacky and madcap sit-com.

The back-story revolved around the antics and money making exploits and adventures of a struggling pop group hoping to succeed, and usually against all the odds.

From the screen testing of 400 applicants the final four were selected.

Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork, both aged 23, were musicians being joined by former child actors Mickey Dolenz and David Jones, both 20 years old.

The individuals had no previous connections coming together as complete strangers for the series which was first broadcast just over 12 months later on the main broadcast channel Stateside of NBC.

In the preparation period for the series there was a collaboration of the best music writers and studio musicians with The Monkees simply required to hold and mime with their instruments and only supply the singing parts. As an indication of the weight behind the idea the superstar Neil Diamond was persuaded to contribute one of his songs which became a major hit.

The image machine gave the actors Beatle-esque hairstyles and with publicity and media hype on overdrive. In spite of a good plan the whole concept was viewed with considerable scepticism and cynicism by  main TV Executives but the first episode was an immediate hit and the rest became pop history.

The success was attributed in large part to the charismatic influence of Nesmith, Tork, Dolenz and Jones but also saw the introduction of ground breaking special effects in its production including variable film speeds, multiple role play and rapidly changing sets which worked on such themes as Cowboys, Spies and in the desert. The Directors on one occasion hijacked the film set of a popular series, Iron Horse, which was a regular favourite which aired on another channel at the same time as The Monkees.

A key factor in the overwhelming success of the series was the performance in every episode of a pop song and in retrospect this has been regarded as the forerunner of the music video.

Hit after hit followed over the 58 broadcast episodes including "Last Train to Clarksville", "Daydream Believer", "I'm a Believer" and "Pleasant Valley Sunday".

The four Monkees were talented in their own right and began to demand more involvement than just being front men for a slick production process.

By 1967 The Monkees were outselling the Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined and toured extensively through the States, Europe and with a visit to England in that year.

The band stayed together until 1971 with its members pursuing solo careers and other interests in the music and film industry. Re-runs and memorabilia kept the interest alive and to date record sales have topped 75 million.

David Jones died in 2012 and Dolenz and Tork collaborate in concerts to the present day.

The whole concept could easily have been in the one hit wonder category but has endured because of undeniable talent and let's face it, some great pop songs.