Since becoming the last surviving member of The Monkees late last year, Micky Dolenz has been trying harder than ever to savour life and stay healthy.
The 77-year-old lead singer and drummer with the 1960s pop legends says: “If I’d known I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself.”
Dolenz is the last of the Monkees standing following the deaths of Davy Jones in 2012, Peter Tork in 2019, and Mike Nesmith last December.
He says: “Even before losing Davy, Peter and Nes, I started thinking about my mortality and taking better care of myself – much more attention to my health, exercise and eating and drinking habits. I exercise and do yoga every day.
“Also now I really savour every day. Carpe diem. Living in the moment, trying to make the most of every one. I have cut back on my work. I’m much more selective about the offers I get.”
Yet he is still working hard, promoting two albums due out this month and next, and recently touring the US with concerts celebrating The Monkees. Was that something he found emotional?
“Well, I don’t think I’ve really processed it yet, because I lost all three of my partners in a relatively short period,” he says.
“In the case of Davy, that was a huge surprise – we all thought he was in good shape, and he was the youngest of us.
“Peter we knew had serious health issues, so we saw that coming. Nes also had health issues but he seemed to be getting better. Maybe I’m still going through a denial stage. Sometimes you think, ‘Oh I gotta give that person a call’, then you realise they’re not there any more. It’s very strange.”
Dolenz became friends when they were chosen to star in sitcom The Monkees, the first put-together boy band, created for a TV series but also releasing their music.
The four auditioned separately. Nesmith was already a singer-songwriter, Tork was recommended by a friend who had been rejected for the group, Jones was already a Tony award winner and Dolenz was a former child star.
The show ran from 1966 to 1968 and led to a string of internationally successful singles such as I’m a Believer and Daydream Believer, as well as hit albums and tours.
Dolenz once claimed notorious US criminal Charles Manson was among the musicians who auditioned to be in The Monkees – though at the time of the auditions, in late 1965, Manson is believed to have been in prison.
“I said that in passing as a joke,” Dolenz says now. “But he could have actually auditioned. He was a singer/songwriter and he was around at the time, in and out of jail. The Manson murders thing happened four years after that.”
Dolenz, who was born in Los Angeles where he still lives, was based in England for 15 years during the 1970s and 80s.
Also a producer, director and writer for television and film, he will be a special guest at the London Film & Comic Con from July 8 to 10. He says he feels a huge responsibility now being the final carrier of The Monkees’ legacy.
“There’s not a lot I can do about it except just be honest about it and give credit where credit is due to Mike as a great songwriter, to Davy as a great singer and actor, and to Peter as a great musician.
“The proof is in the pudding – the fact that we went on and did so well. After so many decades, we must have done something right!”
Musing on why artists such as himself, Diana Ross, Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones are faring better than many of today’s pop stars, he says: “Music from back then was much more about melody and content.
"I don’t listen to contemporary music. In the mornings I listen to classical guitar, and in the evenings the likes of Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis and Ella Fitzgerald.”
The dad of four has been married to wife Donna Quinter for 20 years, and was previously married to Samantha Juste from 1968 to 1975, and Trina Dow from 1977 to 1991.
Asked why he chooses to continue working at an age when most folk are retired, he jokes: “Well, in my case, a moving target is harder to hit! Let’s face it, it’s pretty damn comfortable.
“I get a kick from the very enthusiastic audiences, and that’s a bit addictive. I have a great band and the shows are great fun. The one thing that’s wearing is the travelling.
“There’s a saying among artists, ‘They pay me to travel, I sing for free’. How can you not get a helluva buzz when there’s 15,000 people screaming at you? If the audiences started getting lukewarm or didn’t care, I’d certainly not be doing it.”
He has some special memories from over the years, including dancing alongside royalty. He says: “I was at a ball with my wife that Princess Diana was at. It was a fundraiser for one of her charities at an old Downton Abbey kinda house in the Midlands.
“I wanted to meet her. We were both on the dance floor at the same time. Diana looked at me and smiled demurely, and I could tell she recognised me. I just smiled back.
"I wish I could have met her, but I was told, ‘You can’t just walk up, tap her on the shoulder and ask her for a dance. There’s a protocol’. I’ve thought to this day maybe I could have.”
As for those he did meet? “The biggest thrill would have to be Paul McCartney,” he says. “He was the first Beatle I met. And then Johnny Mathis. Ringo became a very good friend and we hung out a lot.
"As far as I was concerned, there was never any rivalry between The Monkees and The Beatles. I heard that John Lennon said early on, ‘I like The Monkees, they’re like The Marx Brothers.’ The Monkees was a television show about a band that wanted to be The Beatles, and on the television show we never made it.”
Dolenz is proud that his voice is the same as ever.
He says: “I still sing all of my songs in the original keys and, touch wood, I can still hit most of the notes.
"If I couldn’t any longer, I’d pack it in. But I’ll always be doing something. By the time I’m 80, I’d like to become a more accomplished equestrian rider, learn deep sea fishing, get my bowling score up, and build more high-end woodwork furniture.”
How would he like The Monkees to be remembered? “I think the way they are…with great affection.”
Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart’s original studio and live albums are out now from 7a Records. “Lost” Dolenz solo album Demoiselle out August 12
