Arguably the first 'manufactured' pop group, The Monkees rose to instant but fleeting worldwide fame in the mid 1960s.
The band was specially created - and its member hand-picked - for an American TV comedy show of the same name, ostensibly in response to the ongoing commercial success of The Beatles.
Comprising actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork, as well as singer Davy Jones who hailed from Manchester in the UK, this was the Los Angeles take on the all-conquering Liverpudlian 'Fab Four'.
READ MORE: Newcastle's real-life 1930s Peaky Blinders lookalikes
Two NBC television series became huge hits around the world between 1966 and 1968 and, for a short while, The Monkees even rivalled The Beatles and Rolling Stones in record sales.
In 1967, they found themselves in the upper reaches of the UK singles chart no less than six times, with I'm A Believer (which reached number one), Last Train To Clarksville, A Little Bit Me A Little Bit You, Alternative Title, Pleasant Valley Sunday, and Daydream Believer.
But three decades after their heyday, there were double-takes in the music business when a regrouped older version of The Monkees kicked off an 11-date UK arena tour (followed by a US tour), in support of a new album called Justus, at Newcastle Arena.
(Incidentally, the support act in Newcastle would be an upcoming Tyneside double-act called Ant and Dec ).
In the run-up to the show on March 7, 1997, 51-year-old Micky Dolenz admitted to the Chronicle : "You have to remember we were all just hired actors. We weren’t a pop group – at least not at first. We were acting a pop group.”
Meanwhile, the paper's preview piece noted: "Thirty years down the line, they’ve aged, got fatter and, maybe, they’re a bit more mature – but can they cut it in a live show?
"They’ve got back-up from other musicians, so the quality shouldn’t be too bad. But it’s a big undertaking, after being in the wilderness for nearly three decades."
In the event, the local press reviews of the show were generally positive.
The Chronicle reported: "The foursome, dubbed the boy band of the 1960s, had the audience dancing in the aisles as fans both old and young were treated to a full range of the band’s music.
"The Monkees, who were manufactured 30 years ago just like the Spice Girls today, may all perform a little less energetically now but they can still thrash out all their old favourites with the same verve as they did all those years ago."
The Journal reviewer, meanwhile, noted of the four performers: "Davy Jones, a man fit enough in his 50s to contemplate riding in the Grand National, went crackers on maracas, Micky Dolenz looked as though he meant business on drums. Mike Nesmith, whose decision finally to stop saying no to a reunion enabled the 30th Anniversary tour to happen, cut a John Entwistle-like, stoical figure on bass. He has changed most physically, looking rather grizzled now. Peter Tork looked lean but, frankly, dumbfounded - then, that was always part of his charm."
The same reviewer concluded: "The '90s tour is probably not going to alter the fact that the Monkees were very much a phenomenon of the '60s or shake the notion that they were a bright but brief flash on the music scene."
Time marches on and sadly, 25 years on from the Arena show, only one of the band members is alive today.
Davy Jones died in 2012, aged 66; Peter Tork in 2019, aged 77; and Michael Nesmith in 2021, aged 78; while 76-year-old Micky Dolenz is the sole survivor.
