For about 18 months in the 1960s, The Monkees were the biggest pop act in the world, eventually selling around 75 million records. It’s often said that they were shunned and disliked by ‘serious’ musicians, but that simply isn’t true. Stephen Stills, Harry Nilsson, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles – all of them not only respected, but were also friendly with Micky, Davy, Peter and Mike. Some of them even joined the guys in the studio. The songs they recorded together have matured like fine wine and are now rightfully regarded as absolute classics. The group’s connection with Buddy Holly is pretty direct; no Buddy means no Beatles, no Beatles means no Monkees.

Micky was 12 when Buddy Holly had his breakthrough, and the young boy couldn’t help but fall in love with the rock and roll sounds he heard through the radio: ‘I was a huge fan … I was very young when he was big – those were my early formative years listening to music. He was incredibly influential. He started so much.’

Before joining The Monkees, like nearly every teenager in the world in the early 1960s, Dolenz was singing and playing in various bands: ‘I sung some of his songs in the covers bands I was in before The Monkees.’

The love for the boy from Lubbock goes even further. In 1974, Micky released a single called ‘Buddy Holly Tribute’. It’s a blistering medley of four of Holly’s most famous tunes. It really is something to behold – a powerhouse fusion of 1950s and 1970s rock. Micky still tours today.

Iain Lee