The Monkees Story: The 1980s

In late-1985, concert promoter, David Fishof, invited Peter Tork to a concert featuring a number of different 1960s acts. Tork showed interest in and soon after agreed to a 20th Anniversary Monkees Tour, which Micky, Davy & Mike also agreed to. In early 1986, Monkee Mania exploded all over again after MTV aired marathons of "The Monkees" TV show. In February & March 1986, Jones & Tork participated in a successful Australian tour called "The Sounds of The Monkees." Just before the big US tour was to begin, Nesmith had to withdraw from the tour due to its growing length and prior committments. But, the other three went on without him and from May - December, extensively toured North America. Sometime before the tour started, Peter and Micky went into the studio to record three new songs ("That Was Then, This Is Now," "Kicks," & "Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere") for an upcoming greatest hits compilation called "Then & Now...The Best of The Monkees." Davy refused to be a part of these recordings due to him not liking the idea of just adding vocals to pre-recorded music and a prior lawsuit with Arista Records. The album was released in June 1986 and hit #21 on the US charts and a new single, "That Was Then, This Is Now" was released with "(Theme From) The Monkees" as the B-Side. The new single reached #20 on the US charts. By the time the 1986 tour was completed, The Monkees were one of the biggest things in the country and the tour was the #1 grossing tour of that year. During the ending stages of the tour, a new live album, "20th Anniversary Tour 1986," was recorded. The album was released the next year at concerts and through mail order. Perhaps the highlight of the tour was when Mike Nesmith made a guest appearance at the September 7 concert at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, CA for an encore of two songs. This was the first time all four of them had played together in public since 1968. Maybe even more interesting was that Mike had attended a concert in disguise on June 22 at Arlington Stadium in Texas, which led to plans for his appearance. In late-1986, a single containing "Daydream Believer" & "Randy Scouse Git" was released.

The 80s reunion wasn't all laughs though. In January of 1987, David Fishof arranged for Dolenz, Jones, & Tork to appear at MTV's Super Bowl Party, but didn't ask them before planning. Due to other plans, the guys couldn't make the appearance and MTV took it the wrong way and wouldn't support The Monkees all throughout the 80s. Once again, Tork & Jones traveled Australia in early 1987 as "The Sounds of the Monkees." Before the Monkees' follow-up North American Tour in 1987, they planned an all-new album of new material. Recording sessions went on through early-mid year. Just after recording finished, the guys were back on the road from July-October. In July, a new single containing "Heart & Soul" & a live version of "MGBGT" was released and reached #87 on the charts. The album, called "Pool It!" was released on August 1 and reached #72. Although not as successful as their previous album & single the year before, it was very respectable for a 20 year old group. By November of 1987 a second single from the album with "Every Step of the Way" and "(I'll) Love You Forever" (Live) was released, but didn't reach the charts. In late-1987/early-1988, concert promoter/manager, David Fishof was fired and, in return, ended up suing The Monkees. The case was soon dropped. On February 14, 1988, the "Heart & Soul" video featuring clips from the TV show, 80s concerts, and music videos was released. Later in the year, from September - October Micky, Davy, Peter toured Australia and took 1988 as a resting period before starting their 1989 European Tour in March & April. Sometime during the year, plans were negotiated for the Monkees reunion to continue into the 25th Anniversary in 1991 complete with albums, tours, etc. Soon after the European tour, from July-September they went back on the roads of North America. The highlights of the 1989 North American tour were, by far, Mike Nesmith's guest appearance at the July 9, 1989 concert at the Universal Ampitheatre in Los Angeles, CA and July 10, 1989, when The Monkees were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. By the end of 1989, their popularity dwindled and wasn't nearly as high as it was in previous years. At that time, Micky decided he no longer wanted to continue with The Monkees, for personal & professional reasons. All members went their seperate ways and continued with their solo careers only to come back to The Monkees just a few years later.