Article published January 28, 2010 Davy Jones aims to please his fans By DAVID YONKE BLADE STAFF WRITER
Davy Jones knows why fans buy tickets to his concerts and he doesn't make them wait to get their money's worth.
"One of my first tunes is going to be 'Daydream Believer' or 'Last Train to Clarksville' or 'Pleasant Valley Sunday' and it's going up from there. It's a great, fun thing and we're all going to have a fun night," Jones said in a recent interview.
The former Monkees lead singer will bring his six-person band to the Tecumseh Center for the Arts on Saturday night.
"I probably sing about 22, 23 songs in the show. We're booked for an hour and 15 minutes and two hours later they're dragging us off the stage with a hook," Jones said from Miami, where he was visiting relatives.
The 64-year-old singer and actor from Manchester, England, was a child star on British television, and played the mischievous Artful Dodger in Oliver! on stage in London's West End and on Broadway, where he was nominated for a Tony.
But it was his role in the Monkees, a band created for a rock-and-comedy television series during the heyday of Beatlemania, that made Jones a household name.
The group - with Jones, Peter Tork, Michael Nes- mith, and Mickey Dolenz - recorded a series of hits penned by some of pop music's top songwriters, including Neil Diamond, Carole King, Harry Nilsson, and Neil Sedaka.
The Monkees came along in a magical era when most entertainers felt a responsibility to their fans and tried to be positive role models, Jones said.
"How many celebrities in the '40s, '50s, and '60s did you really hear about bad behavior? Today, the baby boys and baby girls are more interested in flipping off the paparazzi when they come out of the clubs at 4 a.m. How many chances does Robert Downey, Jr., want? Music used to be about mingling souls, and now you get people who have the world in their hands and they surround themselves with idiots and influence people in the most negative ways. People do look at celebrities and people in the press and in the news and they follow suit," Jones said.
He had been an aspiring jockey as well as an actor as a teenager, he said, and he still enjoys spending time with race horses. He would like to get another chance to do some serious acting, "now that I've got more lines in my face than Union Station."
But "The Monkees ruined my acting career," Jones said, because everyone wanted him to play the part of "a little guy who gets stars in his eyes and falls in love two times every episode. That's not me. There's a little more to the man than that."
A swift talker who jumped from one topic to another with barely a breath in between, Jones said some people are surprised when they see him in the supermarket shopping for groceries.
"They say, 'What are you doing here?' 'I'm getting food!' They expect a Rolls Royce with a driver to be waiting outside as I moonwalk into the cheese department," he said.
Of all his hobbies and activities, singing Monkees tunes still tops the list, he said.
"It's the most fun I have, these personal appearances. The Monkees had so many familiar records, not just one or two. … When I'm on stage it's the happiest time. I'm able to execute a bit of my expertise as a seasoned entertainer and also not be afraid of the unknown - not afraid of reaching out with humor and comedy and dialogue," he said. "Ever since I was in school plays, there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to be an entertainer. This is what I do. I've got everything I've asked for."
Davy Jones will be in concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Tecumseh Center for the Arts, 400 North Maumee, Tecumseh, Mich. Tickets are $32 for adults and $29 for youth and seniors. Information: 517-423-6617.
Contact David Yonke at:dyonke@theblade.com or 419-724-6154. Permanent LinkDavy Jones aims to please his fanshttp://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100128/ART10/1280318STORY:20101280318
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