Their fans may have thought reunions were only true in fairytales, meant for someone else, but not for them. But those who have kept the faith will be delighted to hear that 1960s pop group the Monkees, spawned from the television programme of the same name, are back.
The band, originally created for the hit show the Monkees, which charted the experiences of four young men in their quest to become rock'n'roll stars, are reforming to celebrate their 45th anniversary.
For the first time in 12 years the TV band – whose hits include Daydream Believer, I'm a Believer and Last Train to Clarksville – will perform 10 gigs in Britain, kicking off on 12 May at the Liverpool Echo Arena and including a performance at the Royal Albert Hall, in London.
Three of the original Monkees, Americans Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork and Briton Davy Jones, will brave aching knees and dodgy backs for the performances, but Michael Nesmith – who went on to create his own business and became a producer and novelist – will not take part in the tour.
After originally being created in 1966 by writer and producer Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the television series, which aired from 1966 to 1968 before re-running extensively in the 1980s, the Monkees gained credibility by taking supervisory control over all their collective musical work.
The show won two Emmy awards in 1967 and propelled its four stars to pop stardom. John Lennon called them "the Marx brothers of rock", but in 1967, The Monkees outsold both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones combined, and went on to sell 50m records.
After the TV show came to an end in 1968 the band went on tour, and made a psychedelic film, Head, the same year.
