Davy jones, born in Manchester, died last Wednesday at Martin Memorial Hospital in Stuart, Florida, at the age of 66, after suffering a heart attack. After the news broke, stars like Will Smith, Eva Longoria or Neil Diamond - who wrote for The Monkees 'I'm a Believer' - expressed their regret on Twitter and Facebook.
Jones had started his acting career at age 11 on the British series 'Coronation Street'. His participation in the musical 'Oliver!' would take him to Broadway, where he would achieve a nomination for a Tony and get in touch with the Screen Gems company, which in 1966 would create the television series 'The Monkees'.
Between 1966 and 1968 the series 'The Monkees' achieved great success on television, including two Emmy Awards, but the real success was in the music sales charts. The first four albums reached number one on the US charts, all of them achieving multi-platinum certification. After the cancellation of the series and a legal battle to gain control of the music they made, The Monkees continued with the records and tours, and even participated in a film, 'Head', from 1968. However, with the passage over the years only Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones were left in charge of the project, which expired in 1970.
For years, Jones and Dolenz continued to pursue music alongside Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, until in the mid-80s the MTV resurrected the series and Nesmith and Tork reunited with their old partners for a tour that would eventually result in the recording of two new albums. The last time The Monkees could be seen on stage was last year, when they toured for the band's 45th anniversary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjRiTmjMDNw&feature=fvst
Source: Europa Press