The Monkees in The UK - 2002

Review and all photos on this page by Davy Devotees member, Susan Kingshott

Well the concerts are over , David and Micky have been and gone and it all seems like a bit of a dream now but it was great while it lasted. You wait all those months for the concerts to arrive and they seem to be over so quickly, but they were brilliant.

We, (hubby and me), drove to Birmingham on Wed 27th March, a lovely sunny spring morning. When we arrived we found the venue and checked which car park we had to use before finding our hotel. We couldn't book in until 3pm, so we went for a drink in the nice little pub next door. We booked into our hotel and before we knew it, it was time to leave for the arena. We had a walk around and met up with our friends who'd arranged to come as well. When we were allowed in we headed for the merchandise stand. They were selling 2001 summer tour books and CDs which I already had. They also had Monkeemania CDs, keychains, baseball caps and 3 different T shirts, a skinny black one with the red Monkee logo, a red one with a 60's pic one front and tour dates on the back and a black one with a 60's pic on the front and the tour dates on the back. I ended up buying the CD, a keychain (I bought a second one at Wembley, one to keep, one to use), a baseball cap, and one each of the black T shirts. I'd been saving up since the tour was announced last year, so I didn't spend the housekeeping!!

After a little light refreshment we found our seats which were front row but to one side. The stage was very high, over 5ft. In fact during the show David and Micky peered over the edge and David said, "High up init, I can't fall off that." The front row was at least 4ft back, if it had been nearer we wouldn't have seen anything. We had a good view though. We sat through the support act Murmers of Irma. They were different, probably more suited to the younger people in the audience. But they were good and I have to admit that when I saw them for the second time at Wembley, I found myself tapping my foot to the music. They do grow on you. Actually when we were back home a couple of days later, we were shopping in Southsea (where they last appeared before The Monkees tour), and one of their songs suddenly popped into my head, spooky or what!

At last after the interval of course, Micky and David were announced and they came bounding onto the stage and straight into "Last Train to Clarksville". Afterwards, David said "We've had lots of requests, but we're gonna sing anyway!" Then they sang "Look Out Here Comes Tomorrow", "The Girl I Knew Somewhere" and "A Little Bit Me". Micky walked over to the kettle drum and told us how they came over in 1968 and met The Beatles, who threw a party for them. "I don't remember much about the party, but I'm told I had a good time. After the party I wrote a song and I do remember that, I hope." They played "Randy Scouse Git". Micky of course carried on playing and singing after the song was over. David teold him to calm down, it's over, don't worry, your family is here, your friends and me your best friend. Micky looks at him and said, "Who the hell are you and what are you wearing?" (David was wearing a 3/4 length jacket over white shirt and dark shiny pants). "I'll have a table for 4 please." David led him away and asked if he could get him anything, to which Micky replied, "A gin and valium milkshake." Micky sat at the drums and wiped his face with a towel and said, "I've got something in my eye, oh it's my finger." He picked up his drumsticks and raised his arms in the air and everyone cheered. David said, "what's that, he raises his arms in the air and everyone cheers, whats that all about?" They then sang "Mary, Mary". Afterwards, David removed his jacket, saying, "It's hot in here," there were screams of course and David turned round saying, "Who came on Robbie Williams?" He then said he wanted to take us back to the 60's, (Micky- "when dinosaurs ruled the earth,"), to a beach house, he fell in love at least twice an episode and got to sing all the pretty little songs, "Here's one", and he sang "It's Nice To Be With You". That was followed by "Going Down", "She Hangs Out", "Papa Genes Blues", "No Time", "Circle Sky" and "I Wanna Be Free". During PGB David said, "I wanna do a solo", and produced a small pair of maracas which he played!

David said he wouldn't be true to himself if he didn't sing at least one of his songs. "I've written at least 200 and that was just today." He then tapped the mike and said, "Is this thing working?" He dedicated "I'll Love You Forever", to his friend Dudley Moore who had died that day. That was followed by "That Was Then, This Is Now" and "Valleri". David jumped in the air at the end to land on the last note and said, "I used to be taller when I sang that song." Then came "For Pete's Sake".

Someone brought a mike stand forward for Micky who said, "Thanks George. He's dressed in black because you're not supposed to see him." He said he wanted to take us back to California where people are said to be fruits, nuts or flaky. "I'm nuts." He then told us about his Mum and Dad and sang like his Dad, saying, "My Dad would sing that walking through the lounge naked, oh dad that's so gross. I had a career before The Monkess. I had a band, Micky and The One Nighters, just the one night but oh what a night. I used to sing blues tunes, I call it my pre Monkee singing, my PMS !!" He sang "Since I Fell for You", saying he remembered hearing his mother sing it while he was still in the womb, but it sounded different then, (mumbled into the mike), and he still remembered it. He dedicated the song to his 3 daughters Charlotte, Emily and Georgia who he said were probably backstage chatting up the roadies, to their beautiful mother Trina and all the people from Cambridge who had come to the show. After the song he wiped his face with a towel and went to throw it into the audience, but changed his mind saying, "No way this is going on e-bay." He did throw it into the audience later though.

They then sang "Porpoise Song" and "Listen To The Band". As soon as "Daydream Believer" started, everyone in the front stood up and moved up to the stage. We all sang along of course. They left the stage and came back to do "Pleasant Valley Sunday", "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone" and "I'm a Believer". They ended with the Monkee walk across stage and David picked up a green Mike type hat and put it on. Then they were gone and it was all over.

There were other things that happened and were said during the concert, but I can't remember whereabouts they came. I did start off writing them down in order but after a while I found myself scribbling notes down quickly in any available space before I forgot them and also so I could get back to watching them. So some of the other bits are as follows:- David said they'd been in town buying new socks and undies and someone asked if he knew who he was to which he replied, "Yeah, David Cassidy." Micky looked at David and said, "Look at that little face. In Greek myth there was Helen of Troy, her face was said to have launched a thousand ships," looks at David, "This face shipped a thousand lunchboxes, t-shirts......" David said, "Did you all adorn your bedroom walls with Monkee pictures and then turn them round when you put your pajamas on?" David and Micky were standing center stage and David said, "What's happening, what's next?" (slight pause) "I'm not taking my clothes off tonight, not first anyway!" David was talking about the TV show saying it had gone out to 40 or so countries and Micky said, "Yeah I had to record the theme tune in all those languages." David, "I don't remember that, you're making that up." Micky, "No, I did honest. Go on pick a country and I'll show you ." Davy asked, "Any country?" "Yeah, any country." Micky replied. David, "Ok let's have German." Micky sings a couple of lines in German, in a German style. Everyone cheered. David looked at him, "I don't remember any of this. Ok Italian." Micky sings in Italian, Italian style. David, "You must be joking, ok French." Micky sings in French, French style. David, "You little storyteller. Another one how about Spanish." Again Micky sings in Spanish, Spanish style. We were all in fits of laughter. David, "Ok that's enough."

They introduced the band members, called Dave Alexander out. David said, "Look at the size of that," he pointed to Dave and said "Look kids, ate veg(etables)," pointed to himself, "Didn't eat veg(etables)." Pointed back to Dave and said, "I think he ate my bloody veg." Looked up and said he could see right up his nose. Asked him how tall he was 6'8, 6'9. No 6'2. "You can't be 6'2, I'm 5'11 & 1/2." David said, "We use him at hotels with no gym to run round." David then ran round Dave and said, "I can only do one tonight." There was another band member in the corner at the back who was out of my eyesight. But David said, "He's been going round saying he's my son." He walked over to him and said, "You can't be my son, you're too tall." Micky said his kids seeing the show would say, what a way to earn a living and what's he doing he's not my dad. David said he'd been watching TV with Annabel and she asked him why he was dancing like Robbie Williams. (Names have changed, lines the same).

Anyway, we traveled down to Wembley the next day, took longer than it should have done, as Thursday morning was foggy and there was a very serious accident on one of the roads we should have taken (took 12 hours to clear it), so we had to make a detour. We only had a few hours to kill before the concert. At the arena we found that one or two items at the merchandise stand had risen in price, so I'm glad I bought mine the night before. The songs were the same and in the same order of course. Most of the jokes and banter were the same, some a little different, some they left out which was a little annoying as I'd written a couple of things down, but couldn't read my writing afterwards and I was hoping to catch them next time round, doesn't that always happen! One or two changes were as follows:- Micky said, "I was out walking round today, I was looking for Naomi Campbell, I didn't find her." David said he couldn't see a thing, "It all goes over my head, everything goes over my head." David said, "I went shopping in Oxford Street with my daughter Annabel. Someone asked if I knew who I was. No I don't think I do." Greg Lake (I think that was his name), from Emerson, Lake and Palmer was in the audience and David said he was looking forward to seeing him, as he was one of his favourites. David told Micky he had 4 daughters, to which Micky replied, "All girls?" David said it was nice being home, showing the guys the country. Said his sister Lynda had taken him back to his old school, taken him out shopping and done his laundry. He dedicated "I'll Love You Forever" to all those Monkee fans who had the pictures on their walls while they were growing up, to his sister Lynda, who was there with his nephews Liam and Ryan and niece Beverley (who had been a big help on the tour), to friend Angela and to Julie Carpenter, "This is for you and each and every one of you." Before David sang, "It's Nice To Be With You", he said, "Only don't sing 'cos it puts me off, only joking." He said they had a big tour coming up in America this year, but thought they'd like to kick it off at home. He also asked if we used to kiss the TV screen back in Monkee TV show days. He said it was dangerous because of the carpets, you got thrown back 15ft - he got 3rd degree burns kissing the screen while watching "I Dream of Jeannie". He turned to band and said, "I never did get to see her belly button." When Dave Alexander came forward to do his impression of Meatloaf, he said, "Do that impression you did on the bus last night. I fell asleep myself, but they told me it was good." At one stage people were shouting out to David and he said, "What?" They called out again, (all at once) and he laughed and said, "I wish I could understand what you're saying but I can't." Micky and David were talking at one point and David said, "Hang on let me get my mike stand. This things getting heavy."

I'm sure you've already heard some (if not all) of these jokes and banter before in previous shows. But, I thought I'd write it all down just to let you know what they did over here. I'd heard some of it before by watching David's videos and listening to the live CD from last year, but it was still good. I suppose being there makes all the difference.

Unfortunately at Wembley there was a barrier erected between the front row and the stage, so we couldn't get near the stage. What did they think we were going to do? We'd have needed ropes to climb up to the stage! The shows were absolutely great and the sound at Wembley was even better than at Birmingham. At Wembley I had a second row seat, slap bang in the middle and luckily a short person like myself sat in front of me, so I had a great view. The only disappointment came afterwards when some of us waited out back in the hope of an autograph or a glimpse of them leaving, even a wave would have done. But although our numbers dwindled and we waited for over an hour and a half in the freezing cold, they didn't come out to see us. It was a pity really as most of us will probably never get to see them again. We waited until their bus left and with the help of the moonlight and streetlamps we were just able to make them out through the dark windows. Then it was back to the car and drive home to Hampshire, roads were pretty quiet by then as it was gone midnight, so it didn't take long. I took a couple of rolls of photos and they have both come out. I almost had one disaster though. I designed myself a couple of T shirts to wear for the concerts and almost forgot to take them with me!

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page