The Monkees
20th Anniversary World Tour
with guest stars: Herman's Hermits, Gary Puckett (Union Gap) & Rob Grill (Grass Roots)
Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, California
September 5, 1986

In 1985 music promoter David Fishof had been promoting the "Happy Together" shows, a series of sixties-revival package tours.
He eventually approached Peter Tork in Manhattan about the idea of a Monkees reunion to celebrate the group's upcoming 20th anniversary.
Tork initially turned him down, but agreed to attend one of the Happy Together concerts from backstage before making a final decision.
Peter came away impressed and agreed to travel to England with Fishof to broach the idea with both Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones.
Having encountered success as a TV and video director in England, Dolenz was very reluctant and unsure if there would be any interest in seeing The Monkees in concert again.
Fishof and Tork found Jones tending his horses and starring in a production of Godspell in London at the time.
But Fishof persisted.
After multiple transatlantic trips, Micky and Davy agreed to join the reunion.

The final piece of the reunion puzzle was Michael Nesmith.
By the 1980s, he was the owner of the Pacific Arts Corporation, which developed various media projects and produced motion pictures.
Despite his bustling workload, Nesmith was, in fact, originally going to participate in the tour.
"When the whole thing [the Monkees reunion] first started off, there were 10 or 12 dates and I was on them and looking forward to it," Michael told Goldmine magazine in 1991.
"Well, because it was the 20th Anniversary and nobody knew it was going to get as big as it did, it went from 20 dates to 200 in just a matter of weeks."
Because Nesmith was producing the film Square Dance at the time, he was ultimately forced to withdraw from the reunion.
"I'd planned on being able to tuck and roll the movie in between the [Monkees] dates but the next thing I know it had gone from going out for a few weekends to going out for four months solid.
So, the time constraints just conspired against me."
Nesmith instead voiced his support for the rest of the group as well as his desire to play with The Monkees when the moment allowed.
"Then, for some reason," he said, "the perception got out that, well, he never did like this whole thing, and the fact of the matter is that Nesmith does just fine with it.
I like it a lot, it's perfectly fine," Michael told Goldmine.
Before the tour got underway, Micky took a moment to reassure fans about Michael's support for the trio's new activities, telling the Philadelphia Daily News that "He's behind us all the way."

With the reunion now finalized, David Fishof was at first unsure how to promote a Monkees reunion tour and even less certain of how it would be received.
But an event in early 1986 changed everything. On February 23, 1986 MTV aired a weekend marathon of The Monkees television series.
The reaction was overwhelming and birthed what would become a major resurgence for The Monkees just as the band was set to reunite.
"We've never received such a volume of mail," MTV's general manager Tom Freston told Rolling Stone magazine in September 1986 about the initial response to the marathon airing of episodes.
"We were dumbfounded by the whole thing."
The perfect storm that was brewing around the reunion was completed just as the music of The Monkees was being made available again.
In 1985, Rhino Records licensed the rights to the band's original nine albums and immediately began a reissue program, even before MTV started to air the series.

The Monkees� 20th Anniversary Reunion Tour of 1986 became one of the biggest grossing tours of that year and the hottest ticket of the summer, having sold out nearly every date on the itinerary.
The tour was originally booked in small amphitheaters for a period of six weeks.
But after the heavy promotion by MTV, a new generation of Monkees fans was born and the demand for tickets increased dramatically.
As a result, the tour quickly stormed into larger capacity arenas and stadiums, keeping the trio on the road for an incredible six months.
A press conference was held on May 28, 1986 at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City to officially announce that The Monkees would embark on a 100-plus city tour.
(Nesmith originally planned to be at this press conference with Dolenz, Jones and Tork to explain his absence from the tour, but scheduling conflicts prevented his attendance.)
Two weeks of rehearsals were undertaken at a Catskill Mountains resort in New York before the tour officially kicked off on May 30, 1986 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

***************************

The Monkees minus Peter, Micky and Davy backed up The Union Gap and The Grass Roots, with different personnel only for the Hermits.
The Monkees tour advertises opening acts Herman's Hermits, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap and the Grass Roots.
But that's not what we really got.
We got Gary Puckett and we got original Grass Roots vocalist Rob Grill.
But the Union Gap, the rest of the Grass Roots and the Monkees' backup band all were the same guys.
They would leave the stage as one band and return announced as another and they didn't even bother to wear disguises.

Herman's Hermits, which only includes original guitarist Lek Leckenby, at least had different personnel.
The lead singer, however, probably was in first grade when the band scored its first hit in 1964.

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The Monkees 1986 tour players:
Davy Jones � vocals, percussion
Micky Dolenz � vocals, electric drums, guitar
Peter Tork � vocals, guitar, banjo
Dusty Hanvey � guitar
Larry Nelson � keyboards
Mark Clarke � bass
Eddie Zyne � drums
Kevin Osborne � trombone
John Leslie � saxophone
Lon Seaman � trumpet
Jim O'Connor � trumpet

-Disc 1- (53:19)

01. Introduction

Herman's Hermits

Barry Whitwam: drums
Derek Leckenby: lead guitar
Geoff Foot: bass, lead vocals
Rod Gerrard: rhythm guitar, backing vocals

02. She's A Must To Avoid
03. Can't You Hear My Heartbeat
04. I'm Into Something Good
05. Silhouettes
06. Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter
07. The End of the World
08. I'm Henry the 8th
09. Listen People > There's a Kind of Hush
[22:17]

Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
10. Young Girl (instrumental)
11. Lady Willpower
12. Over You
13. Woman, Woman (Have You Got Cheating On Your Mind)
14. Woman, Woman
15. Young Girl
[18:15]

Rob Grill & The Grass Roots
16. Sooner Or Later
17. Let's Live For Today
18. Temptation Eyes
19. Midnight Confessions
[12:06]


-Disc 2- (55:04)

The Monkees
01. Rodney Bingenheimer Introduction
02. Hey Hey We're The Monkees (intro)
03. Last Train to Clarksville
04. A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You
05. (I�m Not Your) Steppin� Stone
06. Cuddly Toy
07. No Time
08. Daydream Believer
09. Shades Of Gray
10. Goin� Down
11. Your Auntie Grizelda
12. She
13. I Want To Be Free
14. That Was Then & This Is Now
15. Valerie
16. I'm A Believer
17. Hey Hey We're The Monkees (instrumental)
encore:
18. Listen To The Band
19. Pleasant Valley Sunday
20. Hey Hey We're The Monkees (outro)


Recorded by "Flex" Hamilton

Sennheisser MKE2002 (binaural microphone pair) > Sony D5 w/ Dolby using 2 Maxell MX C90 cassettes
Nakamichi CR7A (with azimuth aligned, Bias at 70usec & Dolby B) > Korg MR2000-S @ 1 Bit 5.6 MHz DSDIFF
AudioGate (24-96) > iZotope RX6 advanced (prep) > Korg Aqua (16-44) > TLH

These microphones are a bit boomy so some adjustments were made to reduce the bottom end.
500hz to 0 hz = -3db
125hz to 0 hz = -3db

Many thanks to Rex for recording and loaning me his masters and to ethiessen for the classic jewel box artwork

For historical reference only and not intended for resale or any commercial use

Enjoy�
-M- (July 2020)

FLYING M PRODUCTIONS


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