While pop singer Davy Jones is known all over the world as The Monkees’ lead vocalist, he’s also made a name for himself as a sportsman.
When he was 14, he was sent off to train as an apprentice jockey with well-known English rider Basil Foster at the Newmarket Stables. His father Harry, a railway fitter, had visions of Jones growing up to be a star jockey.
A high school dropout, Jones loved horses and diligently trained under Foster. Then came a break in his life. Some of the horses he rode were owned by London theater owners who kept in close touch with Foster. It was Foster who pushed Jones to audition for the role of Michael Darling in the Royal Shakespeare Theater play “Peter Pan” on Stratford-Upon-Avon.
One thing led to another and before he knew it, Jones was deluged by offers to appear in more stage acts. He starred as the Artful Dodger in “Oliver!” and performed on British TV soap operas, including the popular “Coronation Street.” Foster then encouraged Jones to take a trip to New York City where he was invited to reprise his role in “Oliver!” on Broadway.
In 1964, Jones was with the Broadcast cast of “Oliver!” on the Ed Sullivan Show, appearing on the same episode as The Beatles. He stayed on in the US, acting bit roles in TV shows, and a year later, auditioned for a pilot sit-com revolving around a pop group using “A Hard Day’s Night” as a framework.
Exactly 437 hopefuls showed up for the auditions. Among those who were turned down were Stephen Stills (later of Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young), songwriter Paul Williams, Danny Hutton (later of Three Dog Night) and even the infamous Charles Manson.
In the end, Jones was signed up with Mickey Dolenz, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith as The Monkees and the group made its TV debut in 1966. Prominent songwriters were recruited to produce tunes for The Monkees and the hits kept on rolling. The debut single “Last Train To Clarksville,” written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, went to No. 1. So did Neil Diamond’s “I’m a Believer” which was released with advance orders of 1,051,280 copies. The band’s first album sold over three million copies.
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It was a phenomenal rise to stardom for The Monkees who recorded 58 episodes of their TV series, sold 16 million copies of their nine albums and their 14 singles registered 7 1/2 million sales. But the ride eventually came to an end. Tork left in 1968, paying $160,000 for his contract release. He would later spend four months in jail for possession of marijuana and last March, was diagnosed to be suffering from a rare form of head and neck cancer.
The band, reformed to a trio, called it quits in 1970. In 1996, the original foursome reunited to record a new album “Justus” and the next year, went on an extensive road tour, ending at Wembley Arena in London.
Even as his musical career took off, horse racing remained a primary interest for Jones and when he turned 50 in 1995, he finally got his amateur jockey license in Pennsylvania. In 1996, Jones won his first championship in Lingfield on board his horse Big Race. Today, he has horse stables in the US and England.
“It’s a dangerous game,” he referred to horseracing. “I’ve been hurt before.” But racing thoroughbreds is a passion for Jones who would’ve surely been a professional jockey if The Monkees hadn’t interfered.
Jones, who collects saddles, once said his dream is to win the Grand National. At 5-4, his height is perfect for a jockey. Often kidded about his shortness, Jones said he likes wearing high-heeled boots because they add three inches to his height.
Aside from horseracing, Jones indulges in other sports like football, tennis and golf. He once clocked three hours and 40 minutes, a respectable time, in finishing the London Marathon. Jones recently disclosed in an interview with The STAR’s Ricky Lo that he was once an amateur fighter and would like to someday meet his idol, Manny Pacquiao. Curiously, Jones’ hometown is Manchester which is where Ricky Hatton is from.
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Jones, who lost both his parents to emphysema (his mother Doris died in 1960 and his father, 1969), has four children, Talia Elizabeth, 40, Sarah Lee, 37, Jessica Lillian, 27, and Annabel Charlotte, 20. Like in The Monkees’ hit song “Daydream Believer,” Jones continues to live a charmed life, making his dreams come true as a concert performer, a jockey and an actor.
Jones, 63, was scheduled to perform at the Araneta Coliseum last Saturday but the show was cancelled. Promoter Renen de Guia said he’s still hoping to bring Jones over, perhaps in a bill with a British Invasion band early next year.
“We paid Davy in full so the cancellation was a big loss for us,” said De Guia. “When we couldn’t push through with the show, we put out print ads in the newspapers and we repeatedly announced on radio that ticket-holders would be refunded. It’s always tough to cancel a show particularly after a lot of heavy promotional work. But sometimes, you’ve got to bite the bullet to live for another show. That’s what we have in mind with Davy. We took a step back now but we’re moving forward to make it up to the fans who were disappointed by the cancellation.”