Jade Wright meets Peter Tork from The Monkees

 

 

 

Here they come, walking down the street… Jade Wright meets Peter Tork from The Monkees

THE Monkees were the original boyband. They were the template that all others were made to. Without The Monkees, there would be no Take That, no Boyzone and no JLS. Even the Sex Pistols made (I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone part of their repertoire.

They had the leader (Mike Nesmith), the joker (Micky Dolenz), the quiet one (Peter Tork) and the cute one (Davy Jones). They were based on The Beatles and the other Merseybeat groups of the time, and auditioned to fit their TV roles.

But, looking to show they could make it as a real band, The Monkees shook off their formulaic shackles, practised hard and went out on a world tour. Along the way, they released hit albums and singles, made a cult psychedelic, surreal film (1968’s Head) and inspired generations of bands.

Now, 45 years since it all began, Peter Tork says they’re looking forward to coming back to Liverpool – home city of the bands that inspired them.

“Of course I was a Beatles fan,” says Peter. “They were the greatest rock and pop group of all time, no matter what Rolling Stones fans say. There were so many wonderful Beatles songs that I couldn’t list my five favourites for the great next two dozen songs they wrote.

“We were all playing the rock and roll that the Liverpool-based sailors were bringing home from the States, right, combined with a bit of British music hall of course.

“We were thrilled to be in the same stream as Merseyside stuff, as well as the American forebears, such as Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and of course, Elvis.”

For Peter, it will be a welcome return to the city he played four years ago.

“My own band, Peter Tork and Shoe Suede Blues played the Cavern Club a few years ago,” he says. “Of course it was the reconstituted Cavern Club, not the original, but it’s true, isn’t it, that the new club actually overlaps the old location, and uses much of the same building material, bricks and so on? Anyway, that was a great moment for our band.”

I ask him what we can look forward to from the Monkees’ ECHO arena show.

“We’ve made arrangements with the Royal Air Force to fly through the arena at a particularly climactic moment during Daydream Believer,” he says. I’m not sure, but I think he might be teasing me. “Additionally, there will be elephants, and a special visit from an orca whale. As a finale, the entire town of Liverpool will be levitated four and a half feet into the air for 15 seconds, while the band plays Hey, Hey, We’re the Monkees in several keys at once, creating the greatest out-of-body experience since the advent of LSD.”

by Jade Wright, Liverpool Echo May 6 2011

via Jade Wright meets Peter Tork from The Monkees – In The Mix Today – News – Liverpool Echo.