Monkees 1987 Tour

1987 NORTH AMERICAN

'HERE WE COME AGAIN' TOUR

Dolenz, Jones and Tork
(July - October 1987)

(Photo by Henry Diltz)

"The Monkees aren't just a nostalgia act...their first
newly recorded album in eons displays plenty of pop savvy. The first single, "Heart and Soul," is an impressive release that rocks politely...and should raise the re-established outfit to the status of being more than a mere novelty."

-Billboard magazine, July 1987

THE SET LIST

The first half of the tour featured the following set list:

Last Train to Clarksville
A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You
Mary, Mary
You Just May Be The One (Peter lead vocal)
(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone
Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)
No Time
Cuddly Toy
Zilch / Randy Scouse Git
Can You Dig It (Peter lead vocal)
I'll Be True to You
She
Long Title: Do I Have to Do This All Over Again
Valleri
Your Auntie Grizelda
That Was Then, This Is Now
I'll Love You Forever / I Wanna Be Free
Goin' Down
It's Nice To Be With You
Zor and Zam
Daddy's Song
Ditty Diego (Monkees rap)
Bach's Two-Part Invention in F Major (Peter's keyboard solo)
Circle Sky (harmonized lead vocal by Micky, Davy and Peter)
Sometime in the Morning
Good Clean Fun (Peter on lead vocal & banjo)
Daydream Believer
Shades of Gray
Listen to the Band
When Love Comes Knockin' (At Your Door)
Through the Looking Glass
Hold on Girl
For Pete's Sake
Pleasant Valley Sunday
Encore:
I'll Be Back Up on My Feet
Heart and Soul
I'm a Believer

The second half of the tour featured a new set list with songs from Pool It!

Last Train to Clarksville
A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You
(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone
Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)
No Time
Cuddly Toy
Zilch / Randy Scouse Git
Can You Dig It (Peter lead vocal)
I’ll Be True to You
She
Gettin’ In
Sometime in the Morning
Valleri
Your Auntie Grizelda
That Was Then, This Is Now
Every Step of the Way
Bach’s Two-Part Invention in F Major (Peter's keyboard solo)
I’ll Love You Forever / I Wanna Be Free
Goin’ Down
It’s Nice To Be With You
For Pete's Sake
Zor and Zam
Daddy’s Song
Ditty Diego (Monkees rap)
Don’t Bring Me Down
Daydream Believer
Shades of Gray
Listen to the Band
When Love Comes Knockin’ (At Your Door)
Through the Looking Glass
Hold On Girl
Cripple Creek
Pleasant Valley Sunday
Encore:
I’ll Be Back Up on My Feet
Heart and Soul
I’m a Believer
Good Clean Fun; Do I Have to Do This All Over Again; Mary, Mary; You Just May Be the One; and Circle Sky were dropped later in the tour when songs from the new Pool It! album were added to the set list.

The Monkees with Weird Al Yankovic, who opened the shows in '87

THE TOUR SCHEDULE

July 1: Community Center Arena, Tucson, Arizona
July 2: Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
July 3: Silverbowl, Las Vegas, Nevada
July 4: Weber State College Stadium, Ogden, Utah
July 7: Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Denver, Colorado
July 9: Kansas Coliseum, Wichita, Kansas
July 10: Rosenblatt Stadium, Omaha, Nebraska
July 11: Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Des Moines, Iowa
July 12: Poplar Creek Music Theatre, Hoffman Estates, Illinois
July 14: Sandstone Amphitheatre, Kansas City, Missouri
July 15: Allsports Stadium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
July 17: Park Central Amphitheatre, Dallas, Texas
July 18: Southern Star Amphitheatre, Houston, Texas
July 19: Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi
July 21: Ruth Eckard Hall, Clearwater, Florida
July 22: Sunrise Musical Theatre, Sunrise, Florida
July 23: Orange County Civic Center, Orlando, Florida
July 24: Civic Center, Augusta, Georgia
July 25: Oak Mountain Amphitheatre, Birmingham, Alabama
July 26: Chastain Park, Atlanta, Georgia
July 29: The Gardens, Louisville, Kentucky
July 30: Riverbend, Cincinnati, Ohio
July 31: Sports & Music Center, Indianapolis, Indiana
August 1: Capitol Farms, Charlevoix, Michigan
August 4: Ionia Fair, Ionia, Michigan
August 6: Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland
August 7: Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland
August 8: Mann Music Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
August 9: Garden State Arts Center, Holmdel, New Jersey
August 10: Coliseum Theatre, Latham, New York
August 12: Great Woods, Mansfield, Massachusetts
August 13: Great Woods, Mansfield, Massachusetts
August 14: Fingerlakes Center, Lake Canandaigua, New York
August 15: Melody Fair, North Tonawanda, New York
August 16: Molson Park, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
August 18: Oakdale Music Theatre, Wallingford, Connecticut
August 19: Jones Beach Theatre, Wantagh, New York
August 20: The Pier, New York, New York
August 21: Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
August 25: Blossom Music Center, Cleveland, Ohio
August 26: Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, Michigan
August 27: Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, Michigan
August 28: Holiday Star Theatre, Merrillville, Indiana
August 29: Marcus Amphitheatre, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
August 30: Minnesota State Fair, Como Station, Minnesota
September 1: Fox Theatre, St. Louis, Missouri
September 5: Mahoning County Fair, Canfield, Ohio
September 6: The Naval Base, Quonset, Rhode Island
September 7: Great Arena, Great Adventure, Jackson, New Jersey
September 12: Washington State Fair, Puyallup, Washington
September 13: Washington State Fair, Puyallup, Washington
September 14: Spokane, Washington
September 16: Concord Pavilion, Concord, California
September 18: Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, California
September 19: Cow Expo Amphitheatre, Sacramento, California
September 20: Pacific Amphitheatre, Costa Mesa, California
September 21: Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, California
September 22: Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, California
September 23: Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, California
September 25: Harrahs, Lake Tahoe, Nevada
September 26: Harrahs, Lake Tahoe, Nevada
September 27: Harrahs, Lake Tahoe, Nevada
September 28: Harrahs, Lake Tahoe, Nevada
September 29: Harrahs, Lake Tahoe, Nevada
September 30: Harrahs, Lake Tahoe, Nevada
October 1: Harrahs, Lake Tahoe, Nevada
October 24: Lowry Park, Tampa, Florida

The Monkees in 1987

The Monkees’ 1987 North American tour followed hot on the heels of the extremely successful 20th anniversary reunion tour of 1986. The band was also touring in support of their new studio album, Pool It!, and the show eventually featured several tracks from the album. The first single, "Heart and Soul," quickly became a concert favorite and was prominently featured in the encore. The song’s accompanying video received heavy airplay on cable TV music show Nick Rocks, as did the second single from Pool It!, “Every Step of the Way.” The set list was more ambitious than the previous year's show with deeper album cuts now being played alongside the more familiar songs.

The Monkees at the American Music Awards

Beyond making an on-screen appearance at the American Music Awards in January, the band kept a fairly low profile in the early months of 1987. Davy and Peter returned to Australia in February to follow-up their successful string of concerts in early 1986 (before a full Monkees reunion had been finalized). Micky stayed behind in the United States to negotiate a new Monkees feature film (which was never made) and also had a guest starring role on television drama The New Mike Hammer. Davy found time to continue working on a solo album (Incredible, released in 1988) that had initially been started during breaks on the 1986 reunion tour. Recording sessions for Pool It! were also held before the band hit the road in July.

"Cuddly Toy"

Compared to the '86 tour, the 1987 performances were more theatrical and included costume changes, high tech lighting, comedy bits, video screens and a stage littered with memorabilia and props. Clips from the television show and The Monkees' movie Head were utilized during the concerts (for instance, the 'War Chant' scene from Head was screened before "Zor and Zam"). This was also the first tour in which Peter began performing his keyboard solo, “Bach's 2-Part Invention #8 In F” (originally performed by Peter on The Monkees' 1969 NBC television special 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee). Peter also handled lead vocals on his composition “Can You Dig It,” unlike the album version of the song where Micky is the lead vocalist.

Micky, Davy and Peter onstage in 1987

(Photo by Michael G. Bush)

The three Monkees played a larger role instrumentally during this tour, with Micky behind the drum kit for a good portion of the show. Peter switched back and forth between rhythm, bass and lead guitar, keyboards and banjo. Davy handled percussion duties and occasionally played an acoustic-electric guitar. Otherwise, The Monkees were backed by the same supporting band that had been on the 1986 North American tour, except a new backup drummer had been chosen and an extra guitarist had been added to round out the sound. The backing band included Dusty Hanvey (guitar), Larry Nelson (keyboards), Mark Clarke (bass), Sandy Gennaro (drums), Jeff Jones (rhythm guitar), Kevin Osborne (trombone), John Leslie (saxophone), Lon Seaman (trumpet) and Richard Fanning (trumpet). Weird Al Yankovic, at the height of his popularity, was the opening act for The Monkees.

With interest in the band still high, various Monkees conventions were held around the United States before and during the tour, with the most high profile gathering taking place in Los Angeles, California. In September 1987, The New Monkees television show premiered in syndication across the United States. The series was based on the concept of The Monkees’ original TV show. The New Monkees released an album to accompany the premiere, but both projects were critical and commercial flops. The series lasted 12 episodes, and then the project was abandoned. On the other hand, the original Monkees’ summer tour ended in October in front of a crowd of 72,000 in Tampa, Florida. It was successful enough to finish in the top 10 grossing concert tours of 1987. Even more impressive, since the 20th Anniversary Reunion Tour had began in 1986, The Monkees had played to over 1.5 million fans.

Following the conclusion of the tour, The Monkees were sued by their manager David Fishof, who claimed he was owed large sums of back profits. The Monkees’ relationship with Fishof actually began to sour in early 1987 when Fishof booked the trio to appear at MTV’s Super Bowl party TV special. When The Monkees could not attend due to scheduling conflicts, forcing Fishof to cancel, MTV took this move as a snub. As a result, the channel refused to air The Monkees’ new music videos from the Pool It! album. It should be noted that TV Guide magazine obtained and later reported about MTV request logs that showed “Heart and Soul” as one of the top 10 most requested videos throughout the summer of 1987. Fishof’s lawsuit was dismissed by a judge in late 1988.

(Photo by Henry Diltz)

1987 tour book

"Most of the capacity crowd spent most of the evening standing, screeching and singing along with The Monkees' more-than-90-minute performance at the Greek Theatre on Monday. As befits the Great Multimedia Crossover Success of the '60s, this first of two scheduled shows featured lots of old footage from the group's TV series, a few new videos, a set decorated like The Monkees' psychedelic clubhouse, and much in the way of props, pratfalls, costume changes, dance routines, slapshtick, face-pulling and leaping about from the three original, now middle-age members. In between all this, the trio, backed impeccably by a nine-piece band, sang its many big hits and several vintage showcase numbers as well as a handful of new tunes from its latest album."

-L.A. Times review of The Monkees' concert at The Greek Theatre in
Los Angeles, September 21, 1987

PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEO FOOTAGE

(Above) The music video for "Heart and Soul"

(Above) The music video for
"Every Step of the Way"

(Above) Profiled on Entertainment Tonight

(Above) "Last Train to Clarksville" live video
(Note: the audio was recorded in 1986)

(Above) The 1987 American Music Awards

(Above) Promoting a show in Orlando, Florida

THE TOUR PROGRAM

LIVE ONSTAGE IN 1987

More live videos from The Monkees' 1987 tour can be found here.

POOL IT!

Picture sleeve for the 1987 "Heart and Soul" single

(Photo by Henry Diltz)

The album cover

Davy at a promotional event for the album

Handbill

The VHS tape

Record store poster

Relaxing during a promotional photo session for "Pool It!" (Photo by Henry Diltz)

On the set of the "Heart and Soul" video with Micky, Ami Dolenz, Talia Jones, Jason Nesmith, Peter, Ivan Iannoli (Peter's son), Davy, Sarah Jones, Hallie Iannoli (Peter's daughter).

Promotional poster

"Heart and Soul Videography" handbill

The rare CD single (Courtesy Monkee45s.net)

THE MONKEES vs. MTV in 1987

(Click to enlarge)

Despite a friendship with MTV in 1986 that helped make The Monkees one of the biggest music stories of that year, things went sour in 1987 after an apparent misunderstanding between the band and the cable music network. Despite heavy airplay of the music video for The Monkees' 1986 comeback single, "That Was Then, This Is Now," MTV refused to play the video for "Heart and Soul," the lead single from the 1987 album, Pool It! Clearly MTV's lack of support for the video (at a time when MTV still screened music videos and played a larger role in making 'hits') had a negative impact on the single, a strong pop song that most likely could have been a bigger hit that summer. TV Guide reported the dispute, and the clipping to the left appeared in a late 1987 edition of the magazine.

The story below, which was originally published in Monkee Business Fanzine issue #43 in December 1987, goes into further detail. (Click each image to enlarge.)

Musicade Catalog (late 1987/early 1988)

The following audio is from a soundcheck in Cleveland, Ohio in August 1987. "Zor and Zam" (left) was played nightly on tour, but "Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day" (right), though rehearsed, never made the setlist. The Monkees were in Cleveland to perform at Blossom Music Festival.

The Monkees promoted songs from their 1987 Pool It! album on tour. Below are audience recordings for Pool It! songs "Don't Bring Me Down," "Gettin' In" and "Every Step of the Way." Monkees classic "Zor and Zam" is also included. The audio is from a concert on September 7, 1987 in Jackson, New Jersey.

Davy, Peter and Micky at a promotional event for the Pool It! album

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