Davy Jones Exposes 3 Behind-The-Scenes Relationship Secrets of The Monkees
As one-fourth of The Monkees, Davy Jones learned to play the role of the happy pal to Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork, and Micky Dolenz. However, there was a darker side to the happy scripted series than fans realized. Jones exposed The Monkees‘ relationship secrets with three claims about their personal history.
Davy Jones admits The Monkees didn’t have a lot in common personally
In a 1987 interview with Creem Magazine, as reprinted by The Monkees Live Almanac, Davy Jones admitted that as band members, The Monkees didn’t have much in common. However, their relationships changed as time marched on.
Jones made the following statements about his bandmates to the publication. “We didn’t really know each other when we were originally working together,” he claimed. “We hadn’t experienced a lot of things in common.”
“For instance, we’ve all been through marriages and divorces now. We’ve all got children now. We can all identify with each other on a different level about different things, which we never could before. We never had anything we could talk about before and just worked together,” he explained.
One thing kept The Monkees from growing together
The Monkees were kept busy throughout the two years their comedy series aired on NBC. They filmed their series all day, recorded songs at night, and toured on the weekends.
There really wasn’t enough time for Jones, Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz, and Mike Nesmith to cultivate personal relationships outside of work. That, and one other element, caused their personal downfall said, Jones.
“We could have grown together,” he stated. “It’s just that there was a studio in our way. That’s why we all went our separate ways.”
He continued, “Now we talk to each other. It used to be like, ‘hey man, we’re perfect. Don’t talk to me.”
Davy Jones claims Mike Nesmith ‘was never really a part’ of The Monkees live appearances
Davy Jones claimed that Mike Nesmith was the last animated of all four members of The Monkees. He says he “was never really a part” of the band’s live appearances.
“Mike used to stand there like John Lennon used to, move his legs up and down and strum his guitar,” Jones assessed. “That’s all about what he used to do.” Jones claimed he, Dolenz, and Tork were more interactive with the audience members in the past.
He also said that Nesmith wouldn’t have fit in with the Monkees reunion tour of the late 1980s because he had become a “businessman.” Jones claimed Nesmith “couldn’t go one night after another.”
“I mean, when he gets a Mercedes instead of a Rolls Royce picking him up, he won’t get in it,” Jones assessed. “We’re not those kinds of guys,” he said of himself, Tork, and Dolenz.
Jones and Nesmith appeared to have a contentious relationship. According to the book Total Control: The Monkees/Michael Nesmith Story, Jones said Nesmith was “rude, arrogant, belligerent, and aggressive, and that was on a good day.”
However, Nesmith recalled Jones fondly, calling him The Monkees’ “unofficial leader.” In a 2012 interview with Rolling Stone, Nesmith said, “For me, David was The Monkees. They were his band. We were his sidemen.”
“He was the focal point of the romance, the lovely boy, innocent and approachable. Micky was his Bob Hope. In those two – like Hope and Crosby – was the show’s heartbeat,” Nesmith concluded.
