Jones and Tork Winter 1986 Australian Tour
February 25 - March 19, 1986
Partial Set List:
"Your Auntie Grizelda"
"Gonna Buy Me A Dog"
"Cripple Creek"
Late in 1985, Peter Tork attended a concert including several 1960s groups, by invitation from its promoter, David Fishof. Peter met Fishof and agreed in an interest in reuniting The Monkees. Fishof went ahead and contacted Micky and Davy and also licensed the Monkees name and logo from Columbia Pictures. Plans were being made for a small 20th anniversary tour of the U.S. for the four Monkees. In the meantime, Davy and Peter toured Australia.
Recording Sessions for Then & Now... The Best Of The Monkees
May 30, 1986
Heaven Studios, Beverly Hills
"That Was Then, This Is Now", "Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere", "Kicks"
P: Michael Lloyd
Though Michael had initially agreed to take part in a small tour, interest in The Monkees ballooned due to MTV airing a marathon of their TV series (reportedly arranged by Bert Schneider). As a result, the tour grew a lot larger, forcing Nesmith to withdraw due to prior commitments. Arista Records (formerly Bell, formerly Colgems), who owned The Monkees' released recordings, was planning a compilation album. Knowing that the group was reuniting for a tour, they asked the group to record some new songs with producer Michael Lloyd, who had worked with Micky during the early '70s as Starship. Davy was not interested in simply adding vocals to prewritten and recorded tracks, so Micky and Peter were the only two to take part. "That Was Then, This Is Now", written by Vance Brescia and previously recorded by The Mosquitos, became a hit single. "Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere" was cowritten by Bobby Hart and Dick Eastman. "Kicks" was an old Mann/Weil song originally recorded by Paul Revere and The Raiders. These three songs were released on Then & Now... The Best Of The Monkees.
1986 US Tour (Dolenz, Jones, Tork)
May - December 1986
Set List:
"Last Train To Clarksville"
"A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You"
"(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone"
"Cuddly Toy"
"Goin' Down"
"Pleasant Valley Sunday"
"I Wanna Be Free"
"Your Auntie Grizelda"
"She"
"For Pete's Sake"
"That Was Then, This Is Now"
"Shades Of Gray"
"Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)"
"No Time"
"Daydream Believer"
"Listen To The Band"
"Zilch"
"Randy Scouse Git"
"(I'll) Love You Forever"
"MGBGT"
"Valleri"
"I'm A Believer"
"(Theme From) The Monkees"
"Cripple Creek"
The Monkees became the hottest group of 1986 due to mass exposure on television. This resulted in a massive tour lasting the entire second half of the year. All of the old hits were performed, plus the new single and some newer songs from Peter and Davy. Peter's song "MGBGT" was issued as a live B-side in 1987 as was the live "(I'll) Love You Forever" by Davy. Peter later recorded "MGBGT" for his solo album. Davy had released "(I'll) Love You Forever" as a single in 1984 and recut the song for Pool It! He also released a version on his 1989 cassette Incredible! A live album was released from this tour. Though Mike did not take part, he did join the guys for an encore at one concert. On this tour, Micky played the drums at times, Peter and Davy the guitar. They were supplemented with an eight-piece backing band.
June 1986
Album release - Then & Now... The Best Of The Monkees.
June 22, 1986
Concert - Arlington Stadium in Texas. Michael attended this concert in disguise (the only time a Monkee attended a Monkees concert!) and met the guys backstage to plan for a full reunion. Wynona Ryder (who was starring in a film Nesmith was producing at the time) had asked Nesmith to take her to the concert.
June 27, 1986
Single release - "That Was Then, This Is Now"/"(Theme From) The Monkees".
September 7, 1986
Concert - The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. Michael joined the group for the encore.
1986
Single release - "Daydream Believer" (remix)/"Randy Scouse Git". The A-side was remixed with a modern drum track.
December 1986
Performance - MTV. The three Monkees performed a medley of Christmas songs on MTV, with the finale revealing Santa Claus to be none other than Mike Nesmith.
January 1987
The Monkees' manager, David Fishof, booked The Monkees to appear at MTV's Super Bowl Tail Gate Party. Unfortunately, he did not ask The Monkees for authorization first, and the group was unable to attend. MTV took this as a slight on themselves and decided to boycott any Monkees activity from then on.
Jones and Tork Winter/Spring 1987 Australian Tour
February - April 1987
Set List:
"That Was Then, This Is Now"
"A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You"
"(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone"
"Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)"
"Your Auntie Grizelda"
"No Time"
"Tolane (The Further Adventures Of Mr. J.B. Goode)"
"Since You Went Away"
"MGBGT"
"After Your Heart"
"Hippy Hippy Shake"
"Valleri"
"For Pete's Sake"
"Pleasant Valley Sunday"
"Incredible"
"Higher And Higher"
"I'm A Believer"
Davy and Peter once again toured Australia during its summer season. For this tour, they added several new songs, some from Davy's then-forthcoming solo cassette Incredible!, and one that would be recorded for The Monkees' new album, "Since You Went Away".
March 30, 1987
Davy Jones single release - "After Your Heart"/"Hippy Hippy Shake".
Recording Sessions for Pool It!
May-July 1987
Cherokee Studios, Hollywood
"Heart And Soul", "(I'd Go The) Whole Wide World", "Long Way Home", "Secret Heart", "Gettin' In", "(I'll) Love You Forever", "Every Step Of The Way", "Don't Bring Me Down", "Midnight", "She's Movin' In With Rico", "Since You Went Away", "Counting On You"
P: Roger Bechirian
As the group was about to start a new tour, they decided they needed a new album, and fast. This resulted in Pool It!, the first new album to carry The Monkees name since 1970's Changes. Sadly, this album is even worse than the previous effort. The album was produced by Roger Bechirian, producer for Squeeze. Micky sang Howell/Byrne's "Heart And Soul" which became the first single. He also sang Goulden's "(I'd Go The) Whole Wide World" (a cover), Page/Fairweather's "Secret Heart", Tommy James' "Don't Bring Me Down", and David (not Jones)'s "Midnight". Davy sang Hart (Bobby)/Eastman's "Long Way Home", his own "(I'll) Love You Forever", Hunter (Ian, of Mott The Hoople)/Clarke's "Every Step Of The Way" (which became the second single, in a remix), Howell's "She's Movin' In With Rico", and Green's "Counting On You". Peter sang his own "Gettin' In" and Levine's "Since You Went Away". "Gettin' In" would be recut for Tork's solo album in 1994. As mentioned previously, "(I'll) Love You Forever" had been recorded by Jones and released as a single and would be recorded a third time for his solo tape. A live version made the second B-side from this period. Except for Peter playing guitar on "Gettin' In", The Monkees did not do instrumental work on this album. Hart/Eastman proffered a song to Peter for this album, but it was not chosen. A backing track of a song for Micky was produced, but Micky never recorded the vocal.
1987 US Tour (Dolenz, Jones, Tork)
July - October 1987
Partial Set List:
"Last Train to Clarksville"
"A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You"
"(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone"
"You Just May Be the One"
"Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)"
"No Time"
"Cuddly Toy"
"Zilch"
"Randy Scouse Git"
"Can You Dig It?"
"I'll Be True To You"
"She"
"Long Title: Do I Have To Do This All Over Again?"
"Sometime In The Morning"
"Valleri"
"You ntie Grizelda"
"That Was Then, This Is Now"
"Cripple Creek"
"(I'll) Love You Forever"
"I Wanna Be Free"
"Goin' Down"
"It's Nice To Be With You"
"For Pete's Sake"
"Zor and Zam"
"Daddy's Song"
"Solfeggietto"
"Ditty Diego-War Chant"
"Daydream Believer"
"Shades of Gray"
"Listen to the Band"
"When Love Comes Knockin'(At Your Door)"
"Through the Looking Glass"
"Hold On Girl"
"Pleasant Valley Sunday"
"I'll Be Back Upon My Feet"
"Heart and Soul"
"I'm a Believer
"Circle Sky"
"As We Go Along"
"Through The Looking Glass"
This second tour by the trio featured far more obscure songs plus some songs from the forthcoming album. Also, a live album from the '86 Summer Tour was sold at stands during this tour.
July 1987
Album release - 20th Anniversary Tour 1986.
Single release - "Heart And Soul"/"MGBGT". A video was produced for this single.
August 1987
Album release - Pool It!
November 1987
Single release - "Every Step Of The Way"/"(I'll) Love You Forever" (live). A video was produced for this single.
1988
Davy Jones album release - Davy Sings The Monkees And More.
February 14, 1988
Videotape release - Heart & Soul: The Official Monkee Videography. This Rhino production featured new interviews with the trio, plus archival footage, recent live footage, and the two new videos.
August 20, 1988
Peter Tork concert at the Vic Theatre in Chicago. Peter performed as a part of the 1988 Chicago Monkees Convention. Toward the end, Bill Chadwick, Chip Douglas, Henry Diltz, and Coco Dolenz joined him for "Higher And Higher". Then, Micky and Davy came out to sing their respective "Believer" songs.
Fall 1988 Australian Tour (Dolenz, Jones, Tork)
September - October 1988
Set List:
"Last Train To Clarksville"
"A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You"
"Pleasant Valley Sunday"
"Cuddly Toy"
"No Time"
"Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)"
"Heart And Soul"
"Shades Of Gray"
"Goin' Down"
"I Wanna Be Free"
"Gettin' In"
"Cripple Creek"
"Zilch"
"Randy Scouse Git"
"That Was Then, This Is Now"
"Valleri"
"MGBGT"
"For Pete's Sake"
"(I'll) Love You Forever"
"She"
"Daydream Believer"
"(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone"
"I'm A Believer"
The Monkees had broken off relations with manager David Fishof. As a result, 1988 was quiet until the fall when they embarked on a brief Australian tour. A concert video was released by Davy of this tour.
November/December 1988
Peter embarked on a short solo tour at this time.
February 1989
Davy Jones album release - Incredible!
Spring 1989 UK Tour (Dolenz, Jones, Tork)
March - April 1989
Set List:
"Last Train To Clarksville"
"A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You"
"Pleasant Valley Sunday"
"Cuddly Toy"
"No Time"
"Your Auntie Grizelda"
"I'll Be True To You"
"Goin' Down"
"Shades Of Gray"
"Zilch"
"Randy Scouse Git"
"I Wanna Be Free"
"That Was Then, This Is Now"
"Solfeggietto"
"Through The Looking Glass"
"MGBGT"
"Cripple Creek"
"When Love Comes Knockin' (At Your Door)"
"Sometime In The Morning"
"Take A Giant Step"
"Good Clean Fun"
"Papa Gene's Blues"
"What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?"
"She"
"It's Nice To Be With You"
"For Pete's Sake"
"(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone"
"Daydream Believer"
"Listen To The Band"
"I'm A Believer"
This tour marked The Monkees' first appearances in the UK since 1967's Wembley dates. The concerts included a well-received acoustic set
June 1989
Video release - Live In Australia. This was a concert video of a Fall 1988 performance.
Summer 1989 North American Tour (Dolenz, Jones, Tork)
July - September 1989
Set List:
"Hello, Hello, I'm Back Again"
"Pleasant Valley Sunday"
"A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You"
"D.W. Washburn"
"Long Title: Do I Have To Do This All Over Again"
"She Hangs Out"
"Circle Sky"
"Goin' Down"
"Baby, You'll Soon Be Sixteen"
"Your Auntie Grizelda"
"Hangin' By A Thread"
"Zilch"
"Mary, Mary"
"I Wanna Be Free"
"That Was Then, This Is Now"
"Valleri"
"As We Go Along"
"Sea Change"
"She"
"Cripple Creek"
"When Love Comes Knockin' (At Your Door)"
"Sometime In The Morning"
"Take A Giant Step"
"What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?"
"Papa Gene's Blues"
"Last Train To Clarksville"
"No Time"
"(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone"
"Daydream Believer"
"Ditty Diego"
"Listen To The Band"
"I'm A Believer"
Though Davy was reluctant to tour without any new material to draw from, Micky and his manager Kevin Allyn persuaded him to, with a three-year plan culminating in a 1991 25th Anniversary Tour in mind. On this tour, the acoustic set remained, and some variations from the UK set were included as well. Michael even joined the group for a segment of an LA concert.
July 9, 1989
Concert at Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. Michael joined the group for the final segment of this concert, performing Monkees songs plus his own "Cruisin'" and "Joanne".
July 10, 1989
On this day, The Monkees were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. All four members attended the event and took part in a press conference.
September 1989
Davy Jones single release - "Don't Go"/"Hangin' By A Thread".
September 3, 1989
Concert in Eureka, MO. This marked the end of the 1989 tour and also the end of The Monkees' 1980s existence. Though Micky had pushed a three-year plan to culminate in 1991 (the 25th anniversary), he withdrew from The Monkees after evaluating his personal and professional situation.