MANILA, Philippines - Maintaining his allure as a sexy icon through generations of fans, Davy Jones first invaded teen hearts as the international idol of millions in the ’60s Emmy Award winning TV classic The Monkees. Since the show hit the small screen, Davy has triumphed as both a serious actor and a comedian on the theatrical stage; as a rock musician, composer and artist; and, true to his first love, as an extremely able horseman.
Davy continues to ride and train his beloved racehorses to be winners. In 1996, he won his first race in England on his prized horse, Digpast. “I’ve always thought if all the show business success hadn’t happened, I’d have been a world champion jockey. It’s in my blood. I’ve always dreamed of going back to England — riding a few winners,” he says.
Davy was born in Manchester, England on Dec. 30, 1945. He began entertaining at 11 as Ena Sharples’ grandson on the still-running ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. His performance was so memorable, theatrical agents sought him out as he was working as an apprentice jockey in Newmarket and took him to London where he portrayed Dickens’ mischievous Artful Dodger in the West End production of Oliver!. At 16, Davy found himself the toast of New York where he originated the Artful Dodger role on Broadway and was nominated for a Tony Award.
As a result, Davy was offered a contract with Columbia Pictures/Screen Gems Television, and The Monkees was created shortly after. “Ward Sylvester, the executive producer of The Monkees, was my manager at the time. We looked for different types of guys to be part of his idea for this TV show,” Davy says. “Then Micky, Peter, Mike and I were put together in one scene and everyone said, ‘That’s it ... magic! We’ll use you four!” Also a musical group, The Monkees’ album sales surpassed all records and outsold the Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined in 1967, and the group continues to be bestsellers 30 years later. The Monkees is the only act to have first four albums go to No. 1 on Billboard charts.
The Monkees’ hits include I Wanna Be Free, Daydream Believer, Last Train to Clarkesville, I’m A Believer, Look Out Here Comes Tomorrow, Mary Mary, I’m Not Your Stepping Stone, She, Forget that Girl, It’s Nice to be With You, I’ll Be True to You, and many more.
Theater remains in Davy’s blood. Coming full circle in Oliver!, he most recently received rave reviews for starring in the complex role of Fagin. He has also starred in productions of The Boyfriend, Harry Nilson’s The Point, and appeared as Jesus in Godspell, which played in London’s West End.
Davy Jones of the Monkees Live! is a Father’s Day concert slated for June 20 at the Araneta Coliseum. Sponsored by Imarflex Air Conditioner, The Philippine STAR, BusinessWorld, Cats Motors, the Edsa Shangri-La, etc, 2nd Avenue, C/S Origin, Jack TV, Focalcast and Getzmo.com. Produced by Ovation Productions.
For tickets, call Ticketnet at 911-5555 or Ovation Productions, 532-8883.