Here We Come, The Monkees at 50!

Back in 1966, the worlds of TV and pop were shaken by the arrival of The Monkees – a post-Beatles, pre-boy band sensation who took the charts by storm, selling millions of records off the back of their hugely successful TV series.

The songs, such as I’m A Believer, Last Train To Clarksville, Daydream Believer and more, were instant pop classics and the group – Mike Nesmith, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Davy Jones – were instant pop stars. Except they weren’t. They were actors playing a part, pretending to be a band, miming on-screen and singing over other people’s music. But like Pinocchio, they wanted to be real and the puppets turned, wrestling control of their records from the hands of the TV moguls and striking out on their own – a path that led them to the Sgt. Pepper recording sessions, to Jimi Hendrix, to avant-garde film-making and to a completely unique type of stardom.

Now, 50 years later, The Monkees are back with a new album full of songs written for them by the likes of Paul Weller, Noel Gallagher, Andy Partridge of XTC, Neil Diamond and Harry Nilsson. In this two part series, the group tell their own story with new exclusive interviews with the three surviving band members, alongside their friends, family and associates.

Producer/Mark Hagen for the BBC

Publicity contact: BBC Radio 2 Publicity